Pelagic and benthic net production of dissolved inorganic carbon in an unproductive subarctic lake

1. Both the pelagic and benthic net dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) productions were measured in situ on four occasions from June to September 2004, in the unproductive Lake Diktar-Erik in subarctic Sweden. The stable isotopic signal ( δ ¹³C) of respired organic material was estimated from hypolimnion water data and data from a laboratory incubation using epilimnion water.
2. Both pelagic and benthic habitats were net heterotrophic during the study period, with a total net DIC production of 416 mg C m^?2 day^?1, of which the pelagic habitat contributed approximately 85%. The net DIC production decreased with depth both in the pelagic water and in the sediments, and most of the net DIC production occurred in the upper water column.
3. Temporal variations in both pelagic and benthic DIC production were small, although we observed a significant decrease in pelagic net DIC production after the autumn turnover. Water temperature was the single most important factor explaining temporal and vertical variations in pelagic DIC production. No single factor explained more than 10% of the benthic net DIC production, which probably was regulated by several interacting factors.
4. Pelagic DIC production, and thus most of the whole-lake net production of DIC, was mainly due to the respiration of allochthonous organic carbon. Stable isotope data inferred that nearly 100% of accumulated DIC in the hypolimnion water had an allochthonous carbon source. Similarly, in the laboratory incubation using epilimnion water, c. 85% of accumulated DIC was indicated to have an allochthonous organic carbon source.