Influence of sulfate enrichment on the carbon dioxide and phosphate fluxes across the sediment-water interface

Fluxes of CO2 and o-P across the sediment-water interface were measured adding different amounts of sulfate in order to quantify the influence in these processes against a control, and using chloramphenicol as an inhibitor of bacterial activity. These experiments were performed under oxic and anoxic conditions. Results show that the addition of sulfate stimulated the fluxes of CO2 and o-P, while the use of chloramphenicol decreased these fluxes. The ratio of o-P release to Org-C release ranged from 1 to 5 under oxic conditions and from 18 to 42 under anoxic conditions.