Loreta Vallja, Sonila Duka, Alqi Çullaj
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, ALBANIA
Abstract: Extractable forms of phosphorus are studied more widely than the extractable forms of most other elements. The main reason for this is because P is the key element in aquatic chemistry of lakes being a limiting nutrient in the growth of algae under many conditions. Exchange with bottom sediments place an important role in making P available for algae and contributes, therefore to eutrophication. Many extractionschemes have been developed to determine different forms of P in sediments. The objective of the present study was to estimate the bioavailability/mobility of phosphate from Bovilla lake sediments using a sequential extraction procedure and to evaluate their possible contributions to the P-loadings the lake. Results for three stations of Bovilla Lake are presented. A relatively high total phosphorus content of 452 mg/kg DW have been found in sediment samples taken from three sites of Bovilla Lake. This shows an important potential of sediments to release the P compounds, especially under anoxic conditions.
Keywords: lake sediment, phosphorus, sequential fractionation
