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Understanding the patterns and mechanisms of urban water ecosystem degradation: phytoplankton community structure and water quality in the Qinhuai River, Nanjing City, China

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Abstract

The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of environmental parameters and the phytoplankton community were investigated in October 2010 and January 2011 in the Qinhuai River, Nanjing, China. Results showed that the water quality in the study area was generally poor, and the main parameters exceeding standards (level V) were nitrogen and phosphorus. The observed average concentrations of the total nitrogen (TN) were 4.90 mg L−1 in autumn and 9.29 mg L−1 in winter, and those of the total phosphorus (TP) were 0.24 mg L−1 in autumn and 0.88 mg L−1 in winter, respectively. Thirty-seven species, 30 genera, and four phyla of phytoplankton were detected in the river. Cyanophyta and Bacillariophyta were the dominant phyla in autumn, with average abundance and biomass of 221.5 × 104 cells L−1 and 4.41 mg L−1, respectively. The dominant population in winter was Bacillariophyta, and the average abundance and biomass were 153.4 × 104 cells L−1 and 6.58 mg L−1, respectively. The results of canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) between environmental parameters and phytoplankton communities showed that Chlorophyta could tolerate the higher concentrations of the permanganate index, nitrogen, and phosphorus in eutrophic water; Bacillariophyta could adapt well to changing water environments; and the TN/TP ratio had obvious impacts on the distributions of Cyanophyta, Euglenophyta, and some species of Chlorophyta. CCA analyses for autumn and winter data revealed that the main environmental parameters influencing phytoplankton distribution were water temperature, conductivity, and total nitrogen, and the secondary factors were dissolved oxygen, NH4 +–N, NO3–N, TN, CODMn, TN/TP ratio, and oxidation-reduction potential.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Science and Technology major program (2009ZX07317-007), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Key Program: 50839002, 21077056), Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes foundation, Hohai University (2007KJ003), and State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture (Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences) foundation (0812201228).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory for Integrated Regulation and Resources Exploitation on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenhua Zhao, Tengfei Mi & Ying Jiang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenhua Zhao, Tengfei Mi & Ying Jiang

  3. State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, People’s Republic of China

    Zhenhua Zhao & Wenming Yan

  4. Nanjing Institute of Industry Technology, Nanjing, 210016, People’s Republic of China

    Liling Xia

  5. College of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Yanzheng Gao

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  1. Zhenhua Zhao
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  3. Liling Xia
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Correspondence to Zhenhua Zhao or Yanzheng Gao.

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Zhao, Z., Mi, T., Xia, L. et al. Understanding the patterns and mechanisms of urban water ecosystem degradation: phytoplankton community structure and water quality in the Qinhuai River, Nanjing City, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20, 5003–5012 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1464-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-013-1464-9

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