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Bacterial eutrophic index for potential water quality evaluation of a freshwater ecosystem

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Abstract

Water quality evaluation of freshwater ecosystems has been widely reported based on the physical and chemical parameters of water (e.g., Carlson’s trophic state index (TSI)), while the aquatic microorganisms are actually a more intuitive way to reflect the eutrophic levels. This article was based on 27 global freshwater ecosystems including freshwater rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. Bacterial eutrophic index (BEI) was determined as the function of temperature and abundances of Cyanobacteria and Actinobacteria. BEI and TSI values of the freshwater ecosystems were determined and the correlation analysis of TSI and BEI indicated their positive correlation (ρ = 0.452, p < 0.01). Furthermore, an eutrophication classification based on BEI was proposed. It turned out that BEI was a possible feasible method for water quality evaluation. The aquatic microorganism-based method such as BEI should be considered for water quality evaluation of a freshwater ecosystem. Complicated models combined with physicochemical (e.g., TSI) and microbial (e.g., BEI) method are recommended for water quality evaluation of a freshwater ecosystem in future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Water and Wastewater Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430065, China

    Bin Ji, Jiechao Liang & Rong Chen

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  1. Bin Ji
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  2. Jiechao Liang
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  3. Rong Chen
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Bin Ji: conceptualization, writing - review, and editing

Jiechao Liang: literature search and data analysis; writing - draft

Rong Chen: literature search; validation

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Correspondence to Bin Ji.

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Ji, B., Liang, J. & Chen, R. Bacterial eutrophic index for potential water quality evaluation of a freshwater ecosystem. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 32449–32455 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09585-4

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