A novel ecological state at Bear Pond (Adirondack Mountains, NY, USA) following acidification and partial recovery

Lake and Reservoir Management, 35:208-223

J. Curt Stager, Brendan Wiltse, Brian Cumming, Thomas Holsen, Jonathan Stetler, Corey Laxson, Cristina Marcillo, & Donald Charles

The pH of precipitation in the northeastern United States has risen as industrial sulfur and nitrogen oxide emissions have declined following amendment of the Clean Air Act in 1990, but the effects of this change on the region’s lakes are not yet fully documented. Here we use the siliceous remains of diatoms and chrysophyte algae in a sediment core from Bear Pond (Adirondack State Park, NY), which acidified during the 20th century, to reconstruct pH variability during the last 2 centuries, evaluate the extent to which the lake has recovered from acidification, and determine the timing of that reversal to help identify its causes. Inferred pH declined erratically from a high of 6.4 during the 1860s to 5.7–5.9 during the 1930s, then decreased to the 4.9–5.4 range by 1995–2010. After 2010, inferred pH rose and remained within the 5.4–5.6 range following an abrupt rise in the pH of regional precipitation. Although the acidification trend at Bear Pond has now reversed, the lake ecosystem has not returned to its pre-impact condition. Distinctive members of the pre-acidification diatom community are still absent, chrysophytes have become unusually abundant, and water clarity (Secchi depth) has decreased by about half. Furthermore, the original fish community was lost due to stocking and piscicide treatment in 1958, and high concentrations of toxaphene residues from the piscicide are present in the sediments. Full ecological restoration of formerly acidic lakes such as Bear Pond may be unlikely due to complicating factors such as climate change and fisheries management practices.