The proliferation of cyanobacteria due to eutrophication has become a critical environmental issue, adversely affecting aquatic ecosystems and water quality. This study explores the potential of silicon carriers to promote diatom growth as a strategy to outcompete harmful cyanobacteria, utilizing both continuous flow reactors and in-situ enclosures in a eutrophic lake. The carriers effectively supplemented metasilicates, increasing diatom biomass by 6.3 times while suppressing cyanobacterial densities by 50 %. Diatoms completely covering the carriers absorbed phosphorus from the water for their proliferation, thereby securing a competitive advantage over cyanobacteria in phosphorus utilization. This led to an 84 % reduction in total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, higher dissolved oxygen levels, and increased water transparency. The resource-based competition model demonstrated the competitive dynamics between diatoms and cyanobacteria mediated by carrier systems, while establishing the critical silicon-to-phosphorus ratio threshold (≥ max[566, 251 + 6.88/TP]) required for diatom dominance under a dilution rate of 0.1 per day. These findings highlight the potential of silicon carriers as an innovative approach for controlling cyanobacterial blooms while simultaneously improving water quality through silicon supplementation and enhancing the competitiveness of diatoms.

中文翻译：

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通过载体补充硅，以增强硅藻与蓝藻水华的竞争并修复富营养化水域

富营养化导致的蓝藻增殖已成为一个关键的环境问题，对水生生态系统和水质产生不利影响。本研究探讨了硅载体促进硅藻生长的潜力，作为一种战胜有害蓝藻的策略，利用连续流反应器和富营养化湖泊中的原位围栏。载体有效地补充了偏硅酸盐，使硅藻生物量增加了 6.3 倍，同时抑制了 50% 的蓝藻密度。完全覆盖载体的硅藻从水中吸收磷以进行增殖，从而在磷利用方面获得优于蓝藻的竞争优势。这导致总磷 （TP） 浓度降低了 84%，溶解氧水平更高，水透明度更高。基于资源的竞争模型展示了由载体系统介导的硅藻和蓝藻之间的竞争动态，同时建立了在每天 0.1 的稀释速率下硅藻优势所需的临界硅磷比阈值 （≥ max[566， 251 + 6.88/TP]）。这些发现突出了硅载体作为一种创新方法的潜力，它不仅可以控制蓝藻水华，同时通过补充硅来改善水质并提高硅藻的竞争力。