Variability in the water chemistry of shallow ponds in southeast England, with special reference to the seasonality of nutrients and implications for modelling trophic status

The variability in water chemistry of samples taken on a monthly basis (October 1990–December 1991) from 31 shallow, artificial ponds in southeast England was examined. The survey revealed great within-year variation in the concentrations of nutrients. Total phosphorus (TP) concentrations displayed no overall marked seasonal pattern, although many sites experienced summer peaks with a simultaneous increase in soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations, indicating that sediment P release occurred. SRP and nitrate (NO₃–N) concentrations displayed a marked seasonal pattern similar to that observed in deep, stratifying lakes, with 55% and 94% of the sites surveyed, respectively, experiencing a decline in concentrations in the spring, maintaining low levels throughout summer and the highest levels occurring in winter. Dissolved silica (SiO₂–(Si) also displayed a marked seasonal distribution with a spring decline in concentrations associated with diatom growth, followed by an increase in the summer.The study demonstrated that intra-annual variability in nutrient concentrations is high and tends to be greatest in the most enriched waters. Thus, a high sampling frequency is required to provide representative annual mean data. Furthermore, annual means rather than winter–spring means provide more appropriate estimates of TP and SRP in these waters, owing to the importance of internal cycling of nutrients in summer. The findings are especially relevant to sampling strategy design and the averaging of seasonal water chemistry data for use in predictive models of lake trophic status.