Responses of a coastal phytoplankton community to increased nutrient input from the Changjiang (Yangtze) River

Nutrient input from the Changjiang River (Yangtze River) has been increasing dramatically since the 1960s. At the mouth of the Changjiang River, the nitrate concentration has increased about three-fold in 40 years, from 20.5 mu mol/L in the 1960s to 59.1 mu mol/L in the 1980s and to 80.6 mu mol/L in 1990-2004. Phosphate concentration increased by a factor of 30%, from 0.59 mu mol/L in the 1980s to 0.77 mu mol/L in 1990-2004. The increasing nitrate input has arisen mostly from the mid and lower reaches of the Changjiang River, where the river meets one of the most strongly developed agriculture areas in China. Responses of the coastal phytoplankton community to the increasing nutrient inputs are also seen in the available monitoring data. First, a trend of increasing phytoplankton standing stock from 1984 to 2002 appeared in the Changjiang River estuary and adjacent coastal waters, especially in late spring. Secondly, the proportion of diatoms in the whole phytoplankton community showed a decreasing trend from about 85% in 1984 to about 60% in 2000. Finally, red tides/harmful algal blooms increased dramatically in this area in terms of both number and scale. About 30-80 red tide events were recorded each year from 2000 to 2005 in the East China Sea. The scale of some blooms has been in excess of 10,000 km(2). (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Long-term ecological interactions between nutrient and phytoplankton community in the Changjiang estuary

Both nitrate (NO (3) (-) ) and soluble reactive phosphate (PO (4) (3-) ) concentration in the freshwater end-member at the mouth of the Changjiang River have increased dramatically since the 1960s. Within the same period in the sea area, with surface salinity > 30, NO (3) (-) concentration has shown an obvious increase, PO (4) (3-) has not changed greatly and dissolved reactive silica (SiO (3) (2-) ) has deceased dramatically. An examination of the elemental ratio of NO (3) (-) to PO (4) (3-) at the mouth of the Changjiang River did not show a systematic trend from the 1960s to 2000s largely because both nutrients increased simultaneously. In comparison, the elemental ratio of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) to PO (4) (3-) in surface seawater, with salinity > 22, has shown a clearly increasing trend. Furthermore, an overall historical change of the SiO (3) (2-) :PO (4) (3-) ratio has undergone a reverse trend in this area. Based on the changes of SiO (3) (2-) :PO (4) (3-) and DIN:PO (4) (3-) ratios, we can conclude that an overall historical change of SiO (3) (2-) :DIN ratio has decreased in this area from the 1950-1960s to 2000s. The argument that phytoplankton productivity in the Changjiang estuary has been enhanced by increasing nutrient input from the riverine transport was supported by these results. A comparative study analyzing the shift of phytoplankton composition from the mid-1980s to 2000s was also made. The results indicated that the average yearly percentage of diatom species in the Changjiang estuary has decreased from 84.6% during 1985-1986 to 69.8% during 2004-2005. Furthermore, the average yearly percentage of diatom abundance in the Changjiang estuary decreased from 99.5% during to 75.5% over the same time period, while the abundance of dinoflagellates has increased dramatically, from 0.7% to 25.4%.

长江中下游湖泊的环境演化：沉积物的碳、氮同位素记录研究

本项研究以长江中下游地区的浅水湖泊（太湖、巢湖、龙感湖）为研究对象，碳、氮同位素为研究手段，结合210Pb和14C年代学，以及沉积物中TOC、TN、C/N比值、TP等多种地球化学参数，对近代沉积环境演化过程，沉积物有机质来源以及西太湖形成演化的古环境进行分析研究。通过研究，得到以下主要认识： 1. 太湖沉积物剖面上δ13Corg和C/N比值分布范围指示太湖沉积物的有机物质来源主要是水生藻类。竺山湾T3点基本没有陆源物质输入；梅梁湾T2点有部分陆源物质输入；湖心T4点沉积物有机质来源还可能是不同于梅梁湾和竺山湾的水生植物。沉积物的地球化学参数剖面指示太湖从1920s始，沉积环境受人为因素的影响而逐渐营养化。 2. 巢湖沉积物δ13Corg和δ15N的研究结果，不仅指示沉积物有机质来源主要是水生藻类，受城市污染和农业面源污染输入的一定影响，而且指示了在沉积历史上因为巢湖闸的建成，湖泊生产力和浮游植物物种也发生了改变，湖泊富营养化。 3. 龙感湖沉积物δ13Corg和δ15N的研究分析，表明湖泊有机沉积以自身有机物源为主，受陆源输入影响小。1960s围垦造成营养盐输入量的增加，因为草型湖泊这一特征有利于营养盐的积累，缓解水体的富营养化程度，龙感湖始终处于中营养程度。 4. 太湖、巢湖和龙感湖表层沉积物孔隙水中NO3－和SO42-含量的差异，主要受水域污染状况、底泥有机质的丰富情况、环境水动力条件的变化、泥沙沉积和再悬浮过程引起的元素累积和释放影响，也是藻型湖泊与草型湖泊生产力大小、有机质沉积通量以及微生物丰度和活性等差异的表征。 5. 沉积物表层吸附态NH4+-N含量，体现了水域环境受污染的严重程度是：龙感湖<巢湖<太湖梅梁湾。三个湖泊中底泥有机质丰度差异和生物参与的氨化作用差别都非常显著。三个湖泊的沉积物表层铵态氮的含量，均表明了沉积物表层向上覆水体可能具有潜在的铵态氮迁移趋势。 6. 太湖古环境分析研究中，竺山湾和梅梁湾沉积物剖面的粒度分析、δ13Corg、δ15N、TOC、TN、C/N比值和TP都随沉积深度，对应14C定年结果，指示了西太湖沉积演化历程的三个阶段及其有机质来源。6870~6670 a B.P.，研究区被咸水覆盖，有机质来源是典型的水体自生来源，在竺山湾有逐渐增加的C4植物的输入。6670~5140 a B.P.，可能形成瀉湖并出现沉积间断。5140 a B.P.至今，形成淡水湖泊，沉积有机质主要来自湖泊自生物源，存在沉积间断。 7. 长江中下游的浅水湖泊沉积物中的有机质来源主要以湖泊自生来源为主，因为水体初级生产力的升高受陆源物质输入增加的影响，流域内人类活动引起的陆源物质输入不容忽视。长江中下游湖泊的近代沉积环境演化过程因为近岸距离、水动力强度和发育不同的水生植物等因素存在区域性差异，导致湖泊富营养化的最大根源是人为因素的影响发生的环境演变。