Deciphering centurial anthropogenic pollution processes in large lakes dominated by socio-economic impacts

Synergistic impacts of nutrient enrichment and climate change on long‐term water quality and ecological dynamics in contrasting shallow‐lake zones

“…Human disturbances on Eastern Taihu Lake are dominated by aquaculture (pen‐fishing) and agriculture which has intensified since the 1990s with less urbanization (Supporting Information Fig. S4) (Zhao et al 2013; Lin et al 2020). Concomitantly, increasing influx of bioavailable nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural effluent, domestic sewage and aquaculture fertilizer sources to the lake (Supporting Information Table S1, Fig.…”

“…In contrast, primary production showed abrupt increases between 1995 and 2005 in Eastern Taihu Lake, and alternating phototrophic assemblages where macrophytes, chlorophytes, and cyanobacteria (during 1960–1990) or cryptophytes and siliceous algae (after 1990) assumed greater importance. The differences in phototrophic responses, first, should be attributed to the longer and stronger anthropogenic pressures in northern parts of Taihu Lake (Qin et al 2008; Lin et al 2020), with more nutrient loading and accumulation, and higher trophic level. Eastern Taihu Lake is located downstream and is relatively isolated because of the poor internal connectivity that limits nutrient transport (Supporting Information Fig.…”

“…The core sediments are composed of > 90% silt (4–63 μ m) and clay (< 4 μ m), and colored gray to brown/dark‐brown from the bottom to the top of the cores (Lin et al 2020). To measure total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen content, samples were ground and pretreated with 1 mol L −1 HCl to remove carbonate, and measured using a Euro 3000 elemental analyzer.…”

“…The phosphorus enrichment factor, an indicator of sediment nutrient level and changes in anthropogenic nutrient loading, was calculated based on the sedimentary phosphorus concentration profiles following the method as described in Supporting Information. The 210 Pb age model of both sediment cores were computed with serac R package (Bruel and Sabatier 2020), and the chronological results have been reported in detail in our previous study (Lin et al 2020), which suggested mean sedimentation rates of 0.39 and 0.42 cm yr −1 for Meiliang Bay core and Eastern Taihu Lake core, respectively, over the past ~100 yr (Supporting Information Fig. S3).…”

Intensified sensitivity and adaptability of zooplankton Bosminidae in subtropical shallow freshwater lakes with increasing trophic level

“…Since entering the Anthropocene, the impact of human activities on freshwater environments such as lakes has been increasing (Lin et al, 2020). Under the combined effects of anthropogenic activities (such as rapid industrialization and urbanization) and climate change, lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in eastern China, which is located in a subtropical region with a relatively dense population and developed economy, have undergone drastic deterioration over a few decades (Qin et al, 2013;Zhu et al, 2019).…”