Nutrient availability for phytoplankton production in a multiple- impoundment series.

Investigated the availability of N and P for phytoplankton production and the importance of inter-reservoir nutrient transfers in a headwater-to-mainstream series of 3 hypolimnetic-discharge impoundments during June-December 1982. Dissolved nutrient analyses and enrichment experiments indicated that P, rather than N, was the primary limiting nutrient for plankton growth throughout the reservoir series. The productivity of reservoirs located in multiple-impoundment series should be viewed in the context of the limnological dynamics resulting from river basin-level reservoir operations. -from Authors