Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Spatiotemporal variations of water quality and their driving forces in the Yangtze River Basin, China, from 2008 to 2020 based on multi-statistical analyses

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Water quality deterioration is a prominent issue threatening water security worldwide. As the largest river in China, the Yangtze River Basin is facing severe water pollution due to intense human activities. Analyzing water quality trends and identifying the corresponding driver factors are important components of sustainable water quality management. Thus, spatiotemporal characteristics of the water quality from 2008 to 2020 were analyzed by using a Mann–Kendall test and rescaled range analysis (R/S). In addition, multi-statistical analyses were used to determine the main driving factors of variation in the permanganate index (CODMn), ammonia nitrogen (NH3–N) concentration, and total phosphorus (TP) concentration. The results showed that the mean concentrations of NH3–N and TP decreased from 0.31 to 0.16 mg/L and 0.16 to 0.07 mg/L, respectively, from 2008 to 2020, indicating that the water quality improved during this period. However, the concentration of CODMn did not reduce remarkably. Based on R/S analysis, the NH3–N concentration was predicted to continue to decrease from 2020 to 2033, whereas the CODMn concentration was forecast to increase, highlighting an issue of great concern. In terms of spatial distribution, water quality in the upstream was better than that of the mid-downstream. Multi-statistical analyses revealed that the temporal variation in water quality was predominantly influenced by tertiary industry (TI), the nitrogen fertilizer application rate (N-FAR), the phosphate fertilizer application rate (P-FAR), and the irrigation area of arable land (IAAL), with contribution rates of 15.92%, 14.65%, 3.46%, and 2.84%, respectively. The spatial distribution of CODMn was mainly influenced by TI, whereas that of TP was primarily determined by anthropogenic activity factors (e.g., N-FAR, P-FAR). This study provides deep insight into water quality evolution in the Yangtze River Basin that can guide water quality management in this region.

Graphical abstract

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Not applicable.

References

  • Bai H, Chen Y, Wang YG, Song Z, Tong HJ, Wei Y, Yu Q, Xu ZY, Yang SH (2021) Contribution rates analysis for sources apportionment to special river sections in Yangtze River Basin. J Hydrol 600:126519

  • Cao Q, Hao ZC, Yuan FF, Su ZK, Berndtsson R (2017) ENSO influence on rainy season precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin. Water 9:469

  • Chen TG, Wang Y, Gardner C, Wu F (2020a) Threats and protection policies of the aquatic biodiversity in the Yangtze River. J Nat Conserv 58:125931

  • Chen ZY, Chen SM, Liu C, Nguyen LT, Hasan A (2020b) The effects of circular economy on economic growth: a quasi-natural experiment in China. J Clean Prod 271:122558

  • Dai ZJ, Du JZ, Zhang XL, Su N, Li JF (2011) Variation of riverine material loads and environmental consequences on the Changjiang (Yangtze) estuary in recent decades (1955–2008). Environ Sci Technol 45:223–227

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deng F, Lin T, Zhao Y, Yuan Y (2017) Zoning and analysis of control units for water pollution control in the Yangtze River Basin, China. Sustainability 9:1374

  • Di Z, Chang M, Guo P, Li Y, Chang Y (2019) Using real-time data and unsupervised machine learning techniques to study large-scale spatio–temporal characteristics of wastewater discharges and their influence on surface water quality in the Yangtze River Basin. Water 11:1268

  • Dong L, Lin L, Tang XQ, Huang Z, Zhao LY, Wu M, Li R (2020) Distribution characteristics and spatial differences of phosphorus in the main stream of the urban river stretches of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Water 12:910

  • Grinn-Gofron A, Bosiacka B, Bednarz A, Wolski T (2018) A comparative study of hourly and daily relationships between selected meteorological parameters and airborne fungal spore composition. Aerobiologia 34:45–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guo H, Hu Q, Zhang Q, Feng S (2011) Effects of the Three Gorges Dam on Yangtze River flow and river interaction with Poyang Lake, China: 2003–2008. J Hydrol 416:19–27

  • Hirsch RM, Slack JR, Smith RA (1982) Techniques of trend analysis for monthly water quality data. Wiley 18:107–121

  • Hu M, Liu Y, Zhang Y, Shen H, Yao M, Dahlgren RA, Chen D (2020) Long-term (1980–2015) changes in net anthropogenic phosphorus inputs and riverine phosphorus export in the Yangtze River basin. Water Res 177:115779

  • Hui B, Yan C, Yonggui W, Zhen S, Hongjin T, Yao W, Qing Y, Ziyi X, Shuihua Y (2021) Contribution rates analysis for sources apportionment to special river sections in Yangtze River Basin. J Hydrol 600:126519

  • Jiacong H, Yinjun Z, Haijian B, Jian P, Feifei D, Junfeng G, B. AG (2021) Characterizing the river water quality in China: recent progress and on-going challenges. Water Res 201:117309

  • Lanyu L, Mi Z, Luyu Y, Xin L, Fengying Z (2021) Analysis of indexes exceeding water quality standards in the Yangtze River basin during the 13th five-year plan period. IOP Conf Ser Earth Environ Sci 675:012031

  • Li PY, Tian R, Liu R (2019) Solute geochemistry and multivariate analysis of water quality in the guohua phosphorite mine, Guizhou Province, China. Exposure Health 11:81–94

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li K, Jacob DJ, Shen L, Lu X, De Smedt I, Liao H (2020) Increases in surface ozone pollution in China from 2013 to 2019: anthropogenic and meteorological influences. Atmos Chem Phys 20:11423–11433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li BY, Chen NC, Wang W, Wang C, Schmitt RJP, Lin AW, Daily GC (2021a) Eco-environmental impacts of dams in the Yangtze River Basin, China. Sci Total Environ 774:145743

  • Li X, Xu YC, Li M, Ji R, Dolf R, Gu XY (2021b) Water quality analysis of the Yangtze and the Rhine River: a comparative study based on monitoring data from 2007 to 2018. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 106:825–831

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Yan DH, Peng H, Xiao SB (2021c) Evaluation of precipitation in CMIP6 over the Yangtze River Basin. Atmos Res 253:105406

  • Liang ZW, Siegert M, Fang WW, Sun Y, Jiang F, Lu H, Chen GH, Wang SQ (2018) Blackening and odorization of urban rivers: a bio-geochemical process. Fems Microbiol Ecol 94:fix180

  • Lonborg C, Carreira C, Jickells T, Alvarez-Salgado XA (2020) Impacts of global change on ocean dissolved organic carbon (DOC) cycling. Front Mar Sci 7:00466

  • Ma T, Zhao N, Ni Y, Yi JW, Wilson JP, He LH, Du YY, Pei T, Zhou CH, Song C, Cheng WM (2020) China’s improving inland surface water quality since 2003. Sci Adv 6:eaau3798

  • Mao X, Yang Y, Gao F, Yu X (2021) Green economy in Yangtze River economic belt based on DEA model study on evaluation of development efficiency. Sci J Intell Syst Res 3:2664

  • Morrice JA, Danz NP, Regal RR, Kelly JR, Niemi GJ, Reavie ED, Hollenhorst T, Axler RP, Trebitz AS, Cotter AM, Peterson GS (2008) Human influences on water quality in Great Lakes coastal wetlands. Environ Manage 41:347–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naveedullah N, Hashmi MZ, Yu CN, Shen CF, Muhammad N, Shen H, Chen YX (2016) Water quality characterization of the siling reservoir (Zhejiang, China) using water quality index. Clean-Soil Air Water 44:553–562

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen A, Trolle D, Sondergaard M, Lauridsen TL, Bjerring R, Olesen JE, Jeppesen E (2012) Watershed land use effects on lake water quality in Denmark. Ecol Appl 22:1187–1200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin HP, Su Q, Khu ST, Tang N (2014) Water quality changes during rapid urbanization in the Shenzhen River catchment: an integrated view of socio-economic and infrastructure development. Sustainability 6:7433–7451

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Semenov MY, Semenov YM, Silaev AV, Begunova LA (2019) Assessing the self-purification capacity of surface waters in Lake Baikal Watershed. Water 11:1505

  • Sliva L, Williams DD (2001) Buffer zone versus whole catchment approaches to studying land use impact on river water quality. Water Res 35:3462–3472

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stoddard JL, Van Sickle J, Herlihy AT, Brahney J, Paulsen S, Peck DV, Mitchell R, Pollard AI (2016) Continental-scale increase in lake and stream phosphorus: are oligotrophic systems disappearing in the United States? Environ Sci Technol 50:3409–3415

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun R, Yao P, Wang W, Yue B, Liu G (2017) Assessment of Wetland ecosystem health in the Yangtze and Amazon River Basins. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 6:81

  • Sun X, Zhang H, Zhong M, Wang Z, Liang X, Huang T, Huang H (2019) Analyses on the temporal and spatial characteristics of water quality in a Seagoing River using multivariate statistical techniques: a case study in the Duliujian River, China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16:1020

  • Tian JX, Chang J, Zhang ZX, Wang YJ, Wu YX, Jiang T (2019) Influence of Three Gorges Dam on downstream low flow. Water 11:65

  • Tinggui C, Yan W, Caleb G, Feng W (2020) Threats and protection policies of the aquatic biodiversity in the Yangtze River. J Nat Conserv 58:125931

  • Tong YD, Zhang W, Wang XJ, Couture RM, Larssen T, Zhao Y, Li J, Liang HJ, Liu XY, Bu XG, He W, Zhang QG, Lin Y (2017) Decline in Chinese lake phosphorus concentration accompanied by shift in sources since 2006. Nat Geosci 10:507

  • Wang J, Da L, Song K, Li B-L (2007) Temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas during rapid urbanization in Shanghai, China. Environ Pollut 152:387–393

  • Weili D, Bin H, Yaning C, Shan Z, Yi W, Daniel N, Wen C, Guishan Y (2018) Identification of long-term trends and seasonality in high-frequency water quality data from the Yangtze River basin, China. PLoS One 13:e0188889

  • Wu Z, Wang X, Chen Y, Cai Y, Deng J (2018) Assessing river water quality using water quality index in Lake Taihu Basin, China. Sci Total Environ 612:914–922

  • Wu J, Zeng SD, Yang LH, Ren YX, Xia J (2021a) Spatiotemporal characteristics of the water quality and its multiscale relationship with land use in the Yangtze River Basin. Remote Sens 13:3309

  • Wu P, Wang NR, Zhu LJ, Lu YJ, Fan HX, Lu Y (2021b) Spatial-temporal distribution of sediment phosphorus with sediment transport in the Three Gorges Reservoir. Sci Total Environ 769:144986

  • Xia JJ, Xu GH, Guo P, Peng H, Zhang X, Wang YG, Zhang WS (2018) Tempo-spatial analysis of water quality in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China, after its 175-m experimental impoundment. Water Resour Manage 32:2937–2954

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao M, Zhang Q, Singh VP (2015) Influences of ENSO, NAO , IOD and PDO on seasonal precipitation regimes in the Yangtze River basin, China. Int J Climatol 35:3556–3567

  • Xiong Y, Ran Y, Zhao S, Zhao H, Tian Q (2020) Remotely assessing and monitoring coastal and inland water quality in China: progress, challenges and outlook. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 50:1266–1302

  • Xu J, Bao XJ, Wei WS, Shen SK, Bi HT, Grace JR, Lim CJ (2004) Characterization of gas spouted beds using the rescaled range analysis. Can J Chem Eng 82:37–47

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu X, Zhao Y, Zhang XL, Xia SY (2018) Identifying the impacts of social, economic, and environmental factors on population aging in the Yangtze River Delta using the geographical detector technique. Sustainability 10:1528

  • Yi QT, Chen QW, Hu LM, Shi WQ (2017) Tracking nitrogen sources, transformation, and transport at a basin scale with complex plain river networks. Environ Sci Technol 51:5396–5403

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • You QH, Fang N, Liu LL, Yang WJ, Zhang L, Wang YQ (2019) Effects of land use, topography, climate and socio-economic factors on geographical variation pattern of inland surface water quality in China. PLoS One 14:e0217840

  • Yuanchen C, Lu Z, Guofeng S, Maodian L, Wei D, Jie F, Liyang Y, Long C, Xuejun W, Weiping L, Meirong Z (2019) Resolution of the ongoing challenge of estimating nonpoint source neonicotinoid pollution in the yangtze river basin using a modified mass balance approach. Environ Sci Technol 53:2539–2548

  • Zeng H, Wu J (2013) Heavy metal pollution of lakes along the mid-lower reaches of the Yangtze River in China: intensity, sources and spatial patterns. Int J Environ Res Public Health 10:793–807

  • Zhai XY, Xia J, Zhang YY (2014) Water quality variation in the highly disturbed Huai River Basin, China from 1994 to 2005 by multi-statistical analyses. Sci Total Environ 496:594–606

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Ni SQ, Wu WJ, Huang X, Jiang HQ, Li QQ, Wang JN, Wu GF, Zorn C, Yu CQ (2019) Evaluating the effectiveness of the pollutant discharge permit program in China: a case study of the Nenjiang River Basin. J Environ Manag 251:109501

  • Zhang JP, Zhi MM (2020) Effects of basin nutrient discharge variations coupled with climate change on water quality in Lake Erhai, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:43700–43710

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao P, Tang XY, Tang JL, Wang C (2013) Assessing water quality of Three Gorges Reservoir, China, over a five-year period from 2006 to 2011. Water Resour Manage 27:4545–4558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou X, Chen C, Chen F, Song Z (2021) Changes in net anthropogenic nitrogen input in the watershed region of Zhanjiang Bay in south China from 1978 to 2018. Environ Dev Sustain 23:17201–17219

  • Zhou YQ, Ma JR, Zhang YL, Qin BQ, Jeppesen E, Shi K, Brookes JD, Spencer RGM, Zhu GW, Gao G (2017) Improving water quality in China: environmental investment pays dividends. Water Res 118:152–159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu M, Zhang ZX, Zhu B, Kong R, Zhang FY, Tian JX, Jiang T (2020) Population and economic projections in the Yangtze River Basin based on shared socioeconomic pathways. Sustainability 12:4202

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 41807372 and 41630645), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (FRF-TP-20-059A1) and the Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences (no. SKLECRA2021OFP02).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Shasha Liu, Rui Fu & Chengyu Suo

  2. China National Environmental Monitoring Center, Beijing, 100012, China

    Yun Liu

Authors
  1. Shasha Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Rui Fu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yun Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Chengyu Suo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Conceptualization, methodology, and writing–review and editing were conducted by Shasha Liu. Software, formal analysis, and writing–original draft preparation were performed by Rui Fu. The investigation was conducted by Yun Liu. Visualization was performed by Chengyu Suo. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shasha Liu.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Xianliang Yi

Publisher's note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 292 KB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, S., Fu, R., Liu, Y. et al. Spatiotemporal variations of water quality and their driving forces in the Yangtze River Basin, China, from 2008 to 2020 based on multi-statistical analyses. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 69388–69401 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20667-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20667-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation