Discussion
The anoxic conditions observed in the deepest layers were propitious to the release of phosphorus by sediment
(via feedback mechanisms), thus accelerating the eutrophication process as discussed in previous studies by [9]
[17]. According to these authors, anoxic conditions were persistent after the macrophyte removal, and phosphorus
dynamics, initially driven by allochthonous loads, was replaced by internal (autochthonous) ecological
processes.