Abstract
Purpose
Hundreds of small montane lakes developed due to karstification and landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) region. These lakes provide important ecosystem services at local to regional scales, while limited information is available on their ecological conditions. This study aims to explore physicochemical composition of water and surface sediments in these lakes along an elevational gradient from 28 to 2088 m a.s.l.
Materials and methods
Water and surface sediment samples were collected from 47 lakes in the TGR region and its adjacent regions. Physicochemical parameters in water and sediment samples were analyzed; multivariate analyses were used to explore the general pattern of altitudinal variations in water and sediment composition.
Results and discussion
Conductivity, ionic concentrations, dissolved organic carbon, total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) in water column declined with rising elevation. Concentrations of total carbon, TN, and TP, and activities of radionuclides in surface sediments were positively correlated with elevation, while concentrations of Fe and Al, and clay percentage decreased with rising elevation. The difference between high-elevation lakes (> 1500 m) and the rest of lakes was identified using the methods of hierarchical agglomerative clustering and principal component analysis. Peak values in sedimentary magnetic properties at the elevations between 500 and 1000 m indicated strong soil erosion due to relocation of residents, highlighting the conservation priority of small montane lakes at the middle elevations.
Conclusions
Water and sediment composition of 47 lakes in the TGR region and its adjacent regions displayed clear variations along the altitudinal gradient. Temperature and human activity intensity generally decrease with increasing elevation. Under scenarios of climate warming and enhanced human disturbances, high-elevation lakes will experience similar limnological processes occurring in middle- and low-elevation lakes at present.
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All authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit. Data are available on request.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge Pan Deng, Li Junlu, Wang Pingan, Huang Bing, Xu Yinchao, Zhu Zongmin, Ji Junliang, Zhu Yuxin, Xia Weilan, Jiang Ying, and Hu Chunhua for field and laboratory assistance. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.
Funding
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers U20A2094, 42171166, and 42271165). Xu Chen was supported by a scholarship of China Scholarship Council (202006415001).
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Runzhou Wang: investigation, writing—original draft. Jia Peng: investigation. Shuangyu Xu: investigation. Linghan Zeng: writing—review and editing. Xu Chen: conceptualization, funding acquisition, supervision, writing—reviewing and editing.
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Wang, R., Peng, J., Xu, S. et al. Altitudinal variations in water and sediment composition of 47 lakes in the Three Gorges Reservoir region and its adjacent regions: implications for watershed environmental management. J Soils Sediments 23, 3513–3526 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03580-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-023-03580-1