Fig. 1: Conceptual model of carbon budget throughout the life cycle of phytoplankton in lakes.
From: Global lake phytoplankton proliferation intensifies climate warming
During their growth, phytoplankton sequester atmospheric CO2 and store it in the form of biomass OC. Upon death, a portion of this OC remains buried, while the remaining part is recycled to the atmosphere as CO2 and CH4. The x is the mineralization efficiency of OC in lake environments, and the x1 is the proportion of CH4 in CO2 and CH4 emissions. OC, CO2 and CH4 represent organic carbon, carbon dioxide and methane, respectively.
