Response of eutrophication development to variations in nutrients and hydrological regime : a case study in the Changjiang River (Yangtze) Basin

Data and literature related to water quality as well as nutrient loads were used to evaluate the Changjiang River (also Yangtze or Yangzi) Basin with respect to its hydrological regime, sediment transport, and eutrophication status. Waterbodies exhibited different eutrophic degrees following the ranking order of river reservoir lake. Most of the eutrophic lakes and reservoirs distributed in the upstream Sichuan Basin and Jianghan Plain are located in the middle main stream reaches. During the past decade, the water surface area proportion of moderately eutrophic lakes to total evaluated lakes continually increased from 31.3% in 2009 to 42.7% in 2018, and the trophic level of reservoirs rapidly developed from mesotrophic to slightly eutrophic. Construction and operation of numerous gates and dams changed the natural transportation rhythm of runoff, suspended solids (SS), and nutrients, and reduced flow velocity, resulting in decreased discharge runoff, slow water exchange, and decreased connectivity between rivers and lakes as well as accumulated nutrient and SS, which are the main driving forces of eutrophication. To mitigate eutrophication, jointly controlling and monitoring nutrient concentrations and flux at key sections, strengthening water quality management for irrigation backwater and aquaculture wastewater, and balancing transportation among runoff, SS, and nutrients is recommended

Diverse responses of hydrodynamics, nutrients and algal biomass to water diversion in a eutrophic shallow lake

Water diversion has been increasingly applied to accelerate lake water exchange and alleviate urgent water crisis. However, effects of water diversion on water exchange and water quality for eutrophic lakes remain controversial. In this study, a three-dimensional hydrodynamic-water quality-sediment diagenesis model has been developed to assess effects of water diversion on hydrodynamics and water quality in eutrophic shallow Lake Wanghu. Results suggested that water diversion could dramatically promote water exchange and reduce residence time in most lake regions but its influence on water quality was diverse. A water transferring flow rate of 20–30 m3/s could reduce water age to 40–58 days during regular water diversion operation, whereas a high transferring flow rate of 100 m3/s was the best for emergency operation in late spring before the wet season. Moreover, nutrients and Chlorophyll-a exhibited notable spatial heterogeneity in improvement efficiency. Nutrients level in the donating system was a prerequisite to the relationship among water transport time scales, nutrients, and algal biomass in this eutrophic lake. During a clean water diversion, nutrients and algal biomass were positively associated with water age. However, when the donating system contained high level of nutrients, accumulated nutrients in the lake may still trigger algal bloom after a temporary relief due to flushing effect. Therefore, these water diversion strategies could be applied to guide a sustainable management of eutrophic Lake Wanghu in terms of transferring flow rate, wind fields, water quality in the donating system, transferring operation, and water diversion route.acceptedVersionPeer reviewe

Model studies on the dynamics of hydrophobic organic compounds in shallow lake ecosystems

The twentieth century witnesses the widespread eutrophication and intensive organic contaminations in earth surface water systems located in highly populated areas, resulting in severe deterioration of water quality in freshwater ecosystems around the globe. This is particularly the case for many freshwater shallow lakes in China. The interaction between excess nutrient loading and enormous organic contaminants discharge has raised increasing attention from both scientists and lake managers, whereas accurate prediction for both substances cannot be properly predicted based on knowledge from either field alone. However, efforts in the related scientific research, particularly the development of relevant modeling tools, remains scarce. To this end, the aim of this thesis is to develop an integrated ecological and chemical modeling tool, which is composed of contaminant fate module (CF), food web accumulation module (FW) and ecological module (EM), in the hope to fulfill the research gap above. We collected three groups of HOCs, namely hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), in multiple compartments from two Chinese shallow lakes that are currently in distinct ecological states, i.e., Lake Small Baiyangdian (in clear state) and Lake Chaohu (in turbid state). In particular, paleo-records of PAHs residual levels in Lake Chaohu in two sediment cores covering the time span of over 60 years were obtained. We elaborated to explicitly investigate the fate, transport and transformation of these contaminants in these two shallow lakes using the developed modeling tool, with either steady state or dynamic simulations (in time scales of both short-term intra-annual (1-2 years) and long-term inter-annual (60 years)). The following issues were addressed: 1) fate of the chemicals in lake environment and the dominant processes; 2) seasonal patterns of chemicals in lakes and the driving factors; 3) long-term dynamics of chemicals in lakes and the driving factors; and 4) impact of abrupt changes in ecosystems on the distribution of contaminations in shallow lakes. For modeling techniques, we implemented uncertainty analysis on the model using both classic Monde Carlo and more advanced Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithm. We recommend to apply MCMC to contaminant modeling approach to make calibration possible and to remove the overestimated uncertainty in predictions. Furthermore, we compared the advantages and disadvantages of our model to other models with similar objectives, and we further proposed a more comprehensive modeling framework that incorporates hydrodynamic models to address spatial variations of contamination, which embraces the fruitful outcomes in aquatic ecosystem modeling. Finally, we advocate to add modeling approach as the third dimension for the ‘contemporary & paleo-observations’ strategy, which together contribute to the ‘golden triangle’ framework. New insights and discoveries may emerge for the evaluation on the organic contaminants in shallow lake systems, which may contribute to ecological and human health risk assessment. This ‘golden triangle’ may serve as the multidiscipline framework for limnologic research in the future.</p

Assessing the Feasibility of Nutrient Trading Between Point Sources and Nonpoint Sources in the Chao Lake Basin Final

This pilot project will determine the Feasibility of an effective point-nonpoint source nutrient trading program could be established in the Lake Chao Basin, Program's potential benefits, Framework and necessary elements for such a program

Changes of water clarity in large lakes and reservoirs across China observed from long-term MODIS

Water clarity is a well-established first-order indicator of water quality and has been used globally by water regulators in their monitoring and management programs. Assessments of water clarity in lakes over large temporal and spatial scales, however, are rare, limiting our understanding of its variability and the driven forces. In this study, we developed and validated a robust Secchi disk depth (ZSD) algorithm for lakes across China based on two water color parameters, namely Forel-Ule Index (FUI) and hue angle α, retrieved from MODIS data. The MODIS ZSD model shows good results when compared with in-situ measurements from 17 lakes, with a 27.4% mean relative difference (MRD) in the validation dataset. Compared with other empirical ZSD models, our FUI and α-based model demonstrates improved performance and adaptability over a wide range of water clarity and trophic states. This algorithm was subsequently applied to MODIS measurements to provide a comprehensive assessment of water clarity in large lakes (N = 153) across China for the first time. The mean summer ZSD of the studied lakes between 2000 and 2017 demonstrated marked spatial and temporal variations. Spatially, the ZSD of large lakes presented a distinct spatial pattern of “high west and low east” over China. This spatial pattern was found to be associated with the significant differences in lake depth and altitude between west and east China while China's population, GDP, temperature, and precipitation distribution have also contributed to a certain extent. Temporally, the ZSD of most lakes increased during this period, with an overall mean rate of 3.3 cm/yr for all lakes. Here, 38.6% (N = 59) of the lakes experienced a significant increase in their ZSD value during the past 18 years while only 8.5% (N = 13) showed a significant decreasing trend. Significant increases in lake ZSD were observed in west China, which were found to correlate with the increase of air temperature and lake surface area. This is possibly a response of the lakes in west China to climate change. In the lake systems of east China, which are predominately used as a drinking water source, the increase in lake ZSD was found to be strongly correlated with changes in local GDP (gross domestic production), NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) and lake surface area, suggesting a combined effect of the implemented management practices and climatic variability. The results of this study provide important information for water quality conservation and management in China, and also highlight the value of satellite remote sensing in monitoring water quality over lakes at a large scale and long-term

Proceedings of the Australia-China Wetland Network Research Partnership Symposium

This publication is a compilation of short papers presented at the Australia-China Wetland Network Research Partnership Symposium, held in China at the Nanjing International Conference Hotel, 24 March 2014. The symposium, jointly organised by the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) of Federation University Australia and the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGLAS), brought together a range of scientists including the neo-ecologists, palaeoecologists and hydrologists from both Australia and China. More than 100 students and scientists from across China attended the symposium. A majority of papers presented at the symposium have overlapping themes between ecology and hydrology of the large river and wetland systems that are exposed to a range of impacts posed by humans and recent climate change. The research focus of this volume is around the topic highlighting the conservation and management of degraded wetlands in Australia and China and the maintenance of a long term ecological resilience

Remote Sensing of the Aquatic Environments

The book highlights recent research efforts in the monitoring of aquatic districts with remote sensing observations and proximal sensing technology integrated with laboratory measurements. Optical satellite imagery gathered at spatial resolutions down to few meters has been used for quantitative estimations of harmful algal bloom extent and Chl-a mapping, as well as winds and currents from SAR acquisitions. The knowledge and understanding gained from this book can be used for the sustainable management of bodies of water across our planet

Alternative stable states in large shallow lakes?

Many lakes worldwide are experiencing great change due to eutrophication. Consequently, species composition changes, toxic algal blooms proliferate, and drinking water supplies dwindle. The transition to the deteriorated state can be catastrophic with an abrupt change from macrophyte to phytoplankton domination. This has been shown repeatedly in small lakes. Whether such alternative stable states also exist in large shallow lakes is less clear, however. Here we discuss the characteristics that give rise to alternative stable states in large shallow lakes either in the lake as whole or restricted to specific regions of the lake. We include the effect of lake size, spatial heterogeneity and internal connectivity on a lake's response along the eutrophication axis. As a case study, we outline the eutrophication history of Lake Taihu (China) and illustrate how lake size, spatial heterogeneity and internal connectivity can explain the observed spatial presence of different states. We discuss whether these states can be alternatively stable by comparing the data with model output (PCLake). These findings are generalised for other large, shallow lakes. We conclude that locations with prevailing size effects generally lack macrophytes; and, therefore, alternative stable states are unlikely to occur there. However, most large shallow lakes have macrophytes whose presence remains unexplained when only size effect is taken into account. By including spatial heterogeneity in the analysis, the presence of macrophytes and alternative stable states in large shallow lakes is better understood. Finally, internal connectivity is important because a high internal connectivity reduces the stability of alternative states

Drivers of Spatiotemporal Eukaryote Plankton Distribution in a Trans-Basin Water Transfer Canal in China

Planktonic eukaryotes are important components of aquatic ecosystems, and analyses of the whole eukaryotic planktonic community composition and function have far-reaching significance for water resource management. We aimed to understand the spatiotemporal variation and drivers of eukaryotic plankton distribution in the Middle Route Project of the South-to-North Water Diversion in Henan Province, China. Specifically, we examined planktonic assemblages and water quality at five stations along the canal and another one located before the dam in March, June, September, and December 2019. High-throughput sequencing revealed that the eukaryotic plankton community was primarily composed of 53 phyla, 200 genera, and 277 species, with Cryptophyta, Ciliophora, and norank_k_Cryptophyta being the dominant phyla. Redundancy analysis of the eukaryotic community and environmental factors showed that five vital factors affecting eukaryotic plankton distribution were oxidation-reduction potential, nitrate nitrogen, pH, total phosphorus, and water flow velocity. Furthermore, the geographical distribution of eukaryotic communities was consistent with the distance decay model. Importantly, environmental selection dominantly shaped the geographical distribution of the eukaryotic community. In summary, our study elucidates the ecological response of planktonic eukaryotes by identifying the diversity and ecological distribution of planktonic eukaryotes in trans-basin diversion channels

Trophic state assessment of global inland waters using a MODIS-derived Forel-Ule index

Eutrophication of inland waters is considered a serious global environmental problem. Satellite remote sensing (RS) has been established as an important source of information to determine the trophic state of inland waters through the retrieval of optically active water quality parameters such as chlorophyll-a (Chl-a). However, the use of RS techniques for assessment of the trophic state of inland waters on a global scale is hindered by the performance of retrieval algorithms over highly dynamic and complex optical properties that characterize many of these systems. In this study, we developed a new RS approach to assess the trophic state of global inland water bodies based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery and the Forel-Ule index (FUI). First, the FUI was calculated from MODIS data by dividing natural water colour into 21 indices from dark blue to yellowish-brown. Then the relationship between FUI and the trophic state index (TSI) was established based on in-situ measurements and MODIS products. The water-leaving reflectance at 645 nm band was employed to distinguish coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM)-dominated systems in the FUI-based trophic state assessment. Based on the analysis, the FUI-based trophic state assessment method was developed and applied to assess the trophic states of 2058 large inland water bodies (surface area >25 km2) distributed around the world using MODIS data from the austral and boreal summers of 2012. Our results showed that FUI can be retrieved from MODIS with a considerable accuracy (92.5%, R2 = 0.92) by comparing with concurrent in situ measurements over a wide range of lakes, and the overall accuracy of the FUI-based trophic state assessment method is 80.0% (R2 = 0.75) validated by an independent dataset. Of the global large water bodies considered, oligotrophic large lakes were found to be concentrated in plateau regions in central Asia and southern South America, while eutrophic large lakes were concentrated in central Africa, eastern Asia, and mid-northern and southeast North America