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Total inputs of phosphorus and nitrogen by wet deposition into Lake Taihu, China

  • Eutrophication in Lakes
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Abstract

Lake Taihu suffers from eutrophication caused by riverine nutrient inputs and air deposition. To characterize wet deposition of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) to the lake, precipitation collection and measurements of total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) and other components at five cities around Lake Taihu were made from July 2002 to June 2003. TP and TN concentrations and deposition rates exhibited strong spatial variation in the whole catchment. An inverse correlation between station-averaged TP and TN concentrations and precipitation amount was found. Maximal TP concentration in rainfall was found in Suzhou, and maximal TN in Wuxi. However, highest wet deposition rates of TP and TN were found in Suzhou, which suggests that atmospheric nutrients are mostly from the east and northwest area of Lake Taihu. Mean TP and TN deposition rates were 0.03 and 2.0 t km−2 year−1 respectively in Lake Taihu, which are greater than reported values in other areas by comparision. Total N and P contributed to the lake by wet deposition were 75 and 4720 t per year, respectively, which represent about 7.3% and 16.5% of total annual N and P inputs via inflow rivers. Wet deposition, especially N, could have significant effects on eutrophication in the lake, which shows that air deposition should be taken into account while reducing the external nutrients in the lake.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to gratefully acknowledge financial support from Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX1−SW−12), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40501078, 40131160734), Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No. 2002AA601011) and Director Foundation of Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Thanks to the Environmental Monitoring Centers of Wuxi, Suzhou, Changzhou, Jintan and Huzhou for their sample collection and analysis. The authors are indebted to Professor Guang Gao, Dr. Guangwei Zhu, Dr. Xiaoli Shi and Dr. Lu Zhang for their help with mathematical analysis on chemical data. This manuscript benefited from the comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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  1. Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Liancong Luo, Boqiang Qin, Longyuan Yang & Yuzhi Song

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  1. Liancong Luo
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Luo, L., Qin, B., Yang, L. et al. Total inputs of phosphorus and nitrogen by wet deposition into Lake Taihu, China. Hydrobiologia 581, 63–70 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0515-3

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