Do alternative stable states exist in large shallow Taihu Lake,China?

Regime shifts from submersed macrophyte dominance to phytoplankton dominance have been widely reported in small-to medium-sized shallow lakes.However,alternative stable states in large shallow lakes(surface area>500 km^(2))remain unconfirmed.To understand the alternative stable states and the main influencing factors of submersed macrophytes in large lakes,the ecosystem states from monitoring data from 1959 to 2019 in large shallow Taihu Lake(2338 km^(2)in average depth of 2.12 m)in China were examined.Changes in submersed macrophyte coverage(C_(Mac))and phytoplankton chlorophyll a(Chl a)in the time series and their relationships with environmental factors were analyzed.During the field investigation from August 2018 to May 2019,nutrients and Chl a showed obvious heterogeneity across the lake,being generally higher in the western and northern areas and lower in the southeast area,while C_(Mac)was only observed in the eastern areas,e.g.,East Taihu Lake,Xukou Bay,and Gonghu Bay.During the long-term monitoring from 1959 to 2019 in the Central Region,Meiliang Bay,and East Taihu Lake,Chl a increased significantly in the time series.C_(Mac)varied slightly among different subareas,always at low levels(<10%)in the Central Region and Meiliang Bay but at relatively high levels in East Taihu Lake(10%–90%).Frequency distributions of response variables had no multimodality except for C_(Mac)in East Taihu Lake,with two peaks between 15%and 20%and between 55%and 60%.A dual relationship was found between Chl a and total phosphorus(TP)in the areas with and without macrophytes,while C_(Mac)showed no relationship with TP,and submersed macrophytes did not flourish in the Central Region and Meiliang Bay even when TP was at very low levels(≈10 mg/m3).Taihu Lake had similar algal turbidity(TurbAlg)as small-to mediumsized lakes but generally presented with higher values of nonalgal turbidity(TurbNonAlg),as did their contribution to total turbidity as a percentage.This study suggested that large shallow Taihu Lake may have no alternative stable states,but more evidence is needed for East Taihu Lake,which was dominated by macrophytes,as it remains unknown whether hysteresis occurs between the processes of eutrophication and oligotrophication.Unfavorable conditions caused by wind might be the main reason due to the absence of submersed macrophytes in Taihu Lake.These results demonstrate that stricter nutrient control is needed to maintain a healthy state or to recover from a decayed state for large lakes.

Effects of Aquatic Plants on the Feature of Sediment Resuspension in Lake Taihu

[Objective] The aim was to study effects of aquatic plants on resuspen- sion of sediment in Lake Taihu. [Method] New resuspension simulator was used in the research. Elodea nuttalli, submerged plant, and Phragmites australis, emergent aquatic plant, were grown in substrate sludge with varied planting density set. Study of simulation experiment on the feature of sediment resuspension was carried on under shearing stress of 0.2-0.5 N/m2 and agitation of 1-30 min. [Result] Aquatic plant growing would effectively reduce seston concentration in water. Concentrations of final Suspended Particulate Matter （SPM） in experimental groups and control groups were as follows： water without plant〉coverage of 30% of Elodea nuttalli〉cov- erage of 60% of Elodea nuttalli〉Phragmites australis with concentration of 50 stock/m2〉 coverage of 90% of Elodea nuttalli〉Phragmites australis with concentration of 80 stock/m2〉Phragmites australis with concentration of 150 stock/m2; SPM concentration showed a tendency from increasing to stable with change of stirring time under dif- ferent shearing stresses： SPM concentration was of severe change at early stage in barrel without aquatic plant while change of SPM concentration in barrel with aquatic plant was quite mild and grew smaller with concentration increasing; SPM concentration was reduced much more if Phragmites australis planted compared with that of Elodea nuttalli; under different shearing stresses, reduction of SPM concen- tration by increase of Phragmites australis area was much more than by increase of Elodea nuttalli area. [Conclusion] It would provide powerful scientific reference for control on aquatic environment through comprehensive research on the feature of sediment resuspension.

Environmental abundance and microcystin-LR production ability of toxic Microcystis in Nanquan region of Lake Taihu

The variations of environmental abundance and microcystin-LR （MC-LR） production ability of toxic Microcystis in the Nanquan region of Lake Taihu are investigated by real-time quantitative PCR （RTQ-PCR） and high performance liquid chromatography （HPLC） from May to December in 2009. Simultaneously, degrees of water pollution and eutrophication are monitored. The results indicate that the water quality in the Nanquan region of Lake Taihu is in a moderate degree of pollution and eutrophication. Algal density exceeds the threshold of bloom from May to November. The environmental abundance of toxic Microcystis is more than 40% from May to October and then significantly declines to 5.66% due to the obvious reduction in the water temperature in December. From May to December, the MC-LR production ability of toxic Microcystis ranges from 1.661 to 9.293 μg/108cells. With the significant drops in water temperature and algal density, the MC-LR production ability of toxic Microcystis is obviously increased from November to December. It is concluded that the lake presents Microcystis bloom and the toxic Microcystis becomes dominant during most of the year. The environmental abundance and the MC-LR production ability of toxic Microcystis have a close relationship with water temperature. The effective control of toxic Microcystis should be considered in both the bloom period and the non-bloom period of winter since the MC-LR production ability of toxic Microcystis obviously increases in winter.

Phosphorus fractionation and bio-availability in Taihu Lake(China) sediments

Typical sediments from Taihu Lake, a meso-to-hypereutrophic lake, were collected and examined on the basis of P-fractionation by sequential extraction scheme. Sedimentary inorganic phosphorus were fractioned into four forms and the rank order according to the mean concentration of P-fractions in Taihu Lake was NaOH-P>BD-P>HCl-P>NH_4Cl-P. The concentrations of BD-P were linearly correlated with the content of active Fe(R2=0.96). Also, the linear relationship between the sum of BD-P and NaOH-P and the sum of active Fe and active Al content was observed within the six sediments investigated(R2=0.96). Moreover, the bio-available phosphorus(BAP) content was estimated by the sum of NH_4Cl-P, BD-P, and NaOH-P, viz. BAP=NH_4Cl-P+NaOH-P+BD-P. In Taihu Lake, the BAP contents are ranging from 0.10 mg/g dw to 1.25 mg/g dw, and average 0.40 mg/g dw for all sediment samples. The relative contributions of BAP to total sedimentary phosphorus(TP) and inorganic sedimentary phosphorus(IP) range from 18.67% to 50.79%(33.61% on average) and from 52.82% to 82.09%(67.81% on average), respectively.

Effects of hydrodynamics processes on phosphorus fluxes from sediment in large,shallow Taihu Lake

The turnover of phosphorus （P） in lake sediments, a major cause of eutrophication and subsequent deterioration of water quality, is in need of deep understanding. In this study, effects of resuspension on P release were studied in cylindrical microcosms with Yshape apparatus. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between flux of suspended substance across sediment-water interface （Fss） and the wind speed, and an increasing Fss during each wind process followed by a steady state. The maximal Fss under fight, moderate, and strong wind conditions were 299.9±41.1,573.4±61.7, and 2093.8±215.7 g/m^2, respectively. However, flux of P across sediment-water interface （Fp） did not follow a similar pattern as Fss responding to wind intensity, which increased and reached the maximum in initial 120 rain for fight wind, then decreased gradually, with maximal flux of 9.4±1.9 mg/m^2. A rapid increase of Fp at the first 30 rain was observed under moderate wind, with maximal flux of 11.2±0.6 mg/m^2. Surprisingly, strong wind caused less Fp than under light and moderate wind conditions with maximal flux of 3.5±0.9 mg/m^2. Fss in water column declined obviously during the sedimentation process after winds, but Fp varied with wind regime. No obvious difference was detected on Fp after 8 h sedimentation process, compared with the initial value, which means little redundant P left in the water column after winds.

Seasonal variation of Microcystis in Lake Taihu and its relationships with environmental factors

In order to monitor the changes of Microcystis along with temporal and spatial variations, seasonal variation of Microcystis in Lake Taihu was investigated by 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （16S-23S rRNA-ITS DGGE） and microscopic evaluation. Samples were collected quarterly at four sites （River Mouth, Meiliang Bay, Cross Area, and Lake Center） from August 2006 to April 2007. Results showed that Microcystis dominated total phytoplankton abundance at the four sites in all seasons except winter. The average annual abundance of Microcystis was relatively high at River Mouth and Meiliang Bay, reaching 81.22×10^6 and 61.32×10^6 cells/L, respectively. For temporal variations, Shannon-Wiener diversity index （H＇） according to DGGE profile revealed the richness of Microcystis in summer （H＇ = 1.375±0.034） and winter （H＇ = 1.650 ±0.032） was lower than that in spring （H＇ = 2.078 ±0.031） and autumn （H＇ = 2.365 ±0.032） （P 〈 0.05）. While for spatial variations, the richness of Microcystis at River Mouth （H＇ = 2.015± 0.074） was higher than at other sites during four seasons （P 〈 0.01）. Very few differences of Microcystis diversity in the same season were observed among the other three sites （P 〉 0.05）. Canonical correspondence analysis （CCA） was performed to elucidate the relationships between Microcystis operational taxonomic units （OTUs） composition and the environmental factors. Results of CCA revealed that temperature was strongly positively correlated with the first axis （r = 0.963）, while TSS was negative correlated with the second axis （r = -0.716）. Phylogenetic tree based on the sequencing results of target bands on DGGE gel indicated that samples collected in summer and winter constituted two separated clusters.

Bioaccumulation of heavy metals in fishes from Taihu Lake,China

The Cr, Zn, Cu, Cd, Pb contents were determined in Cyprinus carpio Linnaeus, Carassius auratus Linnaeus, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix and Aristichthys nobilis, which were caught from Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, a large, shallow and eutrophic lake of China. The results showed that： （1） the Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd contents in the edible parts of the four fish species were much lower than Chinese Food Health Criterion （1994）, but the Zn contents were higher than the Criterion; （2） Cd contents were the highest in the liver of fish, Pb contents were almost the same in all organs of fish, Cr contents mainly enriched in the skin and gonads, Zn contents were the highest in the gonad （♀）, and Cu contents were the highest in the liver; （3） the total metal accumulation was the greatest in the liver and the lowest in the muscle. The total metal accumulation was the highest in C. auratus L. This investigation indicated that fish products in Taihu Lake were still safe for human consumption, but the amount consumed should be controlled under the Chinese Food Health Criterion to avoid excessive intake of Zn.

Three-dimensional eutrophication model and application to Taihu Lake,China

Taihu Lake, the largest freshwater shallow lake in eastern China, has suffered from severe eutrophication over the past two decades. This research developed a three-dimensional eutrophication model to investigate the eutrophication dynamics. The model fully coupled the biological processes and hydrodynamics, and also took into account the effects of sediment release and the external loads from the tributaries. After sensitivity analyses, the key parameters were defined and then calibrated by the field observation data. The calibrated model was applied to study the seasonal primary productions and its regional differences. The comparisons between model results and field data in year 2000 indicated that the model is able to simulate the eutrophication dynamics in Taihu Lake with a reasonable accuracy. From the simulation experiments, it was found that the meteorological forcing have significant influences on the temporal variations of the eutrophication dynamics. The wind-induced circulation and sediment distribution play an important role in the spatial distribution of the algae blooms.

Sediment distribution pattern mapped from the combination of objective analysis and geostatistics in the large shallow Taihu Lake, China

Investigation was made into sediment depth at 723 irregularly scattered measurement points which cover all the regions in Taihu Lake, China. The combination of successive correction scheme and geostatistical method was used to get all the values of recent sediment thickness at the 69×69 grids in the whole lake. The results showed that there is the significant difference in sediment depth between the eastern area and the western region, and most of the sediments are located in the western shore-line and northern regimes but just a little in the center and eastern parts. The notable exception is the patch between the center and Xishan Island where the maximum sediment depth is more than 4.0 m. This sediment distribution pattern is more than likely related to the current circulation pattern induced by the prevailing wind-forcing in Taihu Lake. The numerical simulation of hydrodynamics can strong support the conclusion. Sediment effects on water quality was also studied and the results showed that the concentrations of TP, TN and SS in the western part are obviously larger than those in the eastern regime, which suggested that more nutrients can be released from thicker sediment areas.

Composition analysis of colored dissolved organic matter in Taihu Lake based on three dimension excitation-emission fuorescence matrix and PARAFAC model, and the potential application in water quality monitoring

Taihu Lake is one of the five biggest lakes in China. Surface water samples from 26 sampling sites of Taihu Lake were collected. Furthermore wet chemical analysis （CODCr and BOD5） and measurement of three dimensional excitation-emission matrix （3DEEM） spectra in the laboratory have been conducted. Using parallel factor analysis （PARAFAC） model, three components of colored dissolved organic matter （CDOM） have been identified successfully, based on the analysis of 3DEEM data. The characteristics of the three components also have been described by comparing them to some components of CDOM, identified in earlier researches. Meanwhile, spatial variations of concentration for the three components in Taihu Lake have been analyzed, and the result indicates that the concentration of component 1 depends more on the situation of wastewater pollution and can be used as the indicator of wastewater pollution. The relationship between the concentrations of the three components and results of the wet chemical analysis show that none of the three components can be used as indicators of gross organic matter in water. However, the concentrations of all the three components have obvious linear relationships with the BOD5 value, especially for component 1 （r = 0.72878）. Finally, the potential applications of the composition analysis based on 3DEEM and PARAFAC model in water quality monitoring have been illuminated.

Heavy-metal contents in suspended solids of Meiliang Bay,Taihu Lake and its environmental significances

Surface water was taken from river mouth to the central area of Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake, a large shallow eutrophic lake in China. Suspended solids were condensed by centrifugation 25 L surface water samples from each selected site. Suspended solids and surface sediments were further freeze-dried and microwave digested before determining the metals by ICP-AES. Among the metals analyzed in suspended solids and sediments, contents of Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn in suspended solids were significantly higher than those in sediments while contents of Al, Ba, Be, Ca, Co, Fe, K, Mg, Pb, and V in suspended solids were 10%—30% higher than those in sediments. Sr and Ti contents in suspended solids and sediments were very similar. Na content in suspended solids was lower than that in sediments. Heavy metals were significantly accumulated in suspended solids. From the river mouth to the center of Meiliang Bay, contents of Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn in suspended solids showed a gradual decreasing trend indicating the river(Zhihugang River) still discharged large quantity of heavy metals to Meiliang Bay. The study suggests that the geochemical behaviors and ecological effects of heavy metals in suspended solids may serve as a good indicator for the pollution of lake.

DYNAMIC VARIATIONS OF WATER QUALITY IN TAIHU LAKE AND MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ITS INFLUENTIAL FACTORS

Dynamic variation of water quality in Meiliang Bay and part of West Taihu Lake has been analysed based on data from 1991 to 1992. Principal Component Analysis is used to reveal the mutual relationships of various factors. It is shown that there existis an obvious spatial and temporal variation in the main factors of water quality. Annual values of TP, CON, TN, Chl-a and conductivity decrease evidently from inner Meiliang Bay to the outer from north to south. TP and TN fluctuate seasonally with much higher value in winter. This is particularly true for the mouth of Liangxi River. In addition, the Chl-1 has a synchronous variation with water temperature, although being lagged a little, and closely relates to TP and TN. Finally, the results from Principal Component Analysis show that TP, TN, SS (or SD), water temperature and Chl-a are the most influential factors to water qualuty in this area, and both suspensions and algae can contribute to transparency to Taihu Lake.

Numerical simulation of wind-driven circulation and pollutant transport in Taihu Lake based on a quadtree grid

In this study,a two-dimensional flow-pollutant coupled model was developed based on a quadtree grid.This model was established to allow the accurate simulation of wind-driven flow in a large-scale shallow lake with irregular natural boundaries when focusing on important smallscale localized flow features.The quadtree grid was created by domain decomposition.The governing equations were solved using the finite volume method,and the normal fluxes of mass,momentum,and pollutants across the interface between cells were computed by means of a Godunov-type Osher scheme.The model was employed to simulate wind-driven flow in a circular basin with non-uniform depth.The computed values were in agreement with analytical data.The results indicate that the quadtree grid has fine local resolution and high efficiency,and is convenient for local refinement.It is clear that the quadtree grid model is effective when applied to complex flow domains.Finally,the model was used to calculate the flow field and concentration field of Taihu Lake,demonstrating its ability to predict the flow and concentration fields in an actual water area with complex geometry.

Beta-Glucosidase Activity in Paddy Soils of the Taihu Lake Region, China

The profile distribution of β-gulcosidase activity in twelve typical paddy soil profiles with high productivity in the Taihu Lake region of China were investigated. Activities of β-gulcosidase in the plow layers were in the range of 52.68- 137.02μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1 with a mean of 89.22μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1. However, most plow layers ranged from 70 to 110 μg PNP g^-1 soil h^-1. The profile distribution of β-gulcosidase activity in the 12 soil profiles decreased rapidly with soil depth, with activity at the 60 cm depth only about 10% of that in the surface layers （0-15 cm or 0-20 cm）. In these soil profiles, β-gulcosidase activity was significantly positively correlated with soll organic carbon and arylsulphatase activity. Meanwhile, a significantly negative correlation was shown between β-gulcosidase activity and soil pH.

Residual Levels and New Inputs of Chlorinated POPs in Agricultural Soils from Taihu Lake Region

Selected persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT) and its principal metabolites 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE) and 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)e- thane (DDD), hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and its isomers (α-,β-, γ-, and δ-HCH), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), endo- sulfan, dieldrin, and endrin were quantified to determine current levels of organochlorine pesticides, to assess the eco- toxicological potential, and to distin…

Geochemistry of Iron,Sulfur and Related Heavy Metals in Metal-Polluted Taihu Lake Sediments

To understand the geochemical characteristics of iron and sulfur and the extent of iron-sulfide minerals influencing heavy metal behaviour in metal-polluted sediments of Talhu Lake, two sites, in Meiliang Bay （ML） and Wuli Lake （WL）, were selected to study the fractionation of iron, sulfur and related heavy metals. There were relatively high concentrations of Fe^2＋ and low concentrations of total S^2- in porewaters, indicating that conditions in these sediments favored iron reduction. The concentrations of acid volatile sulfides in sediments were 1.9-9.6 μmol g^-1 at ML and 1.0-11.7 μmool g^-1 at WL, both in the range of values detected in unpolluted lakes. Pyrite-S was 10.2-49.4 μmol g^-1 at ML and 10.3- 33.0 μmol g^-1 at WL, accounting for more than 69% of the reduced inorganic sulfur at both sites. The low degree of sulphidization （〈 14%） and pyritization （〈 10%） indicate that sulfate may be the limiting factor for pyrite formation. The extractability of Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, and Cr in sediments all suggest that sulfides are not the major binding phase for these metals during early diagenesis. Sulfur may play a modest role in the geochemistry of iron and traced metals in the sediments.

Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis in removal of pollutant in Taihu Lake, China

Two plant populations of Phragmites australis and Typha orientalis grown in gravel and sediment substrate were studied to assess their capabilities for purifying polluted water in Taihu Lake, China. The substrate displayed most significant effects on the suspended matter （P 〈 0.01）, with the reduction of 76%-87% and 52%--63% for P. australis, and 83%-86% and 45%-62% for T. orientalis in gravel substrate and sediment substrate, respectively. Both species and substrates significantly decreased the N and P concentrations of water body （P 〈 0.01）. P. australis showed higher total N and P concentrations in tissues than T. orientalis and had a greater potential to remove nutrients from the lake. Phosphate was easily to concentrate in the belowground tissues, while nitrate concentration was higher in leaf and stalk. Therefore, harvesting the aboveground tissues could take most of nitrate out of the sediment. The saturate photosynthetic rate （Asat） of P. australis was higher than that of T. orientalis when grown in sediment substrate. But instance water-use- efficiency （WUEi） （A/E） and intrinsic water use efficiency （A/gs） showed the maximum values of two species grown in river water. With significant difference in gs, however, intercellular CO2 concentration （Ci） had no obvious difference in two species which indicated that high Asat value of P. australis might result from the increased carboxylation capacity of the mesophyll, because of the central role of N in photosynthetic enzymes. Our findings suggest that the plants could absorb most of nitrogen in polluted water, while gravel displayed a high capacity for absorbing the suspended matters and phosphate salts. Therefore, biological and physiological pathways for pollutant removal should be integrated.

Impact of Taihu Lake on City Ozone in the Yangtze River Delta

The lake-breeze at Taihu Lake generates a different specific heat capacity between the water body and the surrounding land. Taihu Lake has a significant impact on the atmospheric conditions and the air quality in the Yangtze River Delta. This phenomenon is referred to as the Taihu Lake effect. In this study, two simulations were conducted to determine the impact of the Taihu Lake effect in the reference experiment （R-E） and sensitivity experiments （NO_TH）. The control simulations demonstrated that the meteorological field and the spatial distribution of ozone （03） concentrations over Taihu lake obviously changed once the land-use type of water body was substituted by cropland. The surface temperature of Taihu Lake was reduced under the impact of Taihu Lake, and a huge temperature difference caused a strong lake-breeze effect. The results also showed that the difference in the average concentrations of 03 between the R-E and NO_TH experiments reached 12 ppbv in most areas of Taihu Lake, all day, on 20 May 2014. During daytime （0800-1600 LST, LST=UTC＋8）, the influence of the Taihu Lake effect on 03 in the Suzhou region was not significant. However, the influence of the Taihu Lake effect on 03 in the Suzhou region was obvious during nighttime （1800-2400 LST）. The larger changes in the physical and chemical processes were horizontal and vertical advections under the influence of the Taihu Lake effect in Taihu Lake.

Assessment of Nitrogen Pollutant Sources in Surface Waters of Taihu Lake Region

The nitrogen （N） pollution status of the 12 most important rivers in Changshu, Taihu Lake region was investigated. Water samples were collected from depths of 0.5-1.0 m with the aid of the global positioning system （GPS）. The seasonal variations in the concentrations of different N components in the rivers were measured. Using tension-free monolith lysimeters and ^15N-labeled fertilizer, field experiments were carried out in this region to determine variations of iSN abundance of NO3^- in the leachate during the rice and wheat growing seasons, respectively. Results showed that the main source of N pollution of surface waters in the Taihu Lake region was not the N fertilizer applied in the farmland but the urban domestic sewage and rural human and animal excreta directly discharged into the water bodies without treatment. Atmospheric dry and wet N deposition was another evident source of N pollutant of the surface waters. In conclusion, it would not be correct to attribute the N applied to farmlands as the source of N pollution of the surface waters in this region.

Maintaining healthy rivers and lakes through water diversion from Yangtze River to Taihu Lake in Taihu Basin

On the basis of the Taihu water resources assessment, an analysis of the importance and rationality of the water diversion from the Yangtz,e River to Taihu Lake in solving the water problem and establishing a harmonious eco-environment in the Taihu Basin is performed. The water quantity and water quality conjunctive dispatching ＇decisi＂ofi-makifig support system, which ensures flood control, water supply and eco-aimed dispatching, is built by combining the water diversion with flood control dispatching and strengthening water resources monitoring and forecasting. With the practice and effect assessment, measures such as setting the -integrated basin management format, further developing water diversion and improving the hydraulic engineering projects system and water monitoring system are proposed in order to maintain healthy rivers and guarantee the development of the economy and society in the Taihu Basin.