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Restoration in northern Lake Gehu, a eutrophic lake in China

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Abstract

Lake Gehu is a severely eutrophic lake in southeast China. A series of restoration measures have been implemented since 2009 in northern Lake Gehu. This study compared aquatic plants, water quality, sediment, and phytoplankton between restoration and control areas to investigate the effect of restoration measures. The results demonstrated that aquatic macrophyte coverage increased from 0% to 10.6%; mean TP, TN, and CODMn concentrations increased by 50.0%, 42.4%, and 40.8%, respectively, compared with those before the measures were carried out; the mean Secchi depth (SD) increased to 42.5 cm, which is 1.4 times higher than that before restoration; the mean euphotic depth (Zeu) in the summer increased from 91 to 130 cm; the mean chl a concentration decreased from 34.8 to 20.2 μg/L, compared with that before restoration; the Shannon-Wiener index of phytoplankton increased by 28.7%. The mean TP and TN concentrations in sediments decreased by 63.8% and 52.4%, respectively, compared with that before dredging. These results indicate that the restoration in northern Lake Gehu was effective. To complete the transformation from an algae- to a macrophyte-stable state within the region, further measures must be adopted. This restoration of a eutrophic lake can serve as a reference for similar eutrophic lakes.

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Acknowledgement

We thank FAN Fan, GAO Ya and WANG Qing for their assistance in sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences / State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Xiaodong Wu  (吴晓东), Wenchao Li  (李文朝) & Jizheng Pan  (潘继征)

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xiaodong Wu  (吴晓东)

  3. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, 215011, China

    Shuzhan Ma  (马书占) & Bingfa Chen  (陈丙法)

  4. Yancheng Academy of Environmental Protection Technology and Engineering, Nanjing University, Yancheng, 224000, China

    Shangwei He  (何尚卫)

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  1. Xiaodong Wu  (吴晓东)
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Correspondence to Jizheng Pan  (潘继征).

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Supported by the Major Science and Technology Program for Water Pollution Control and Treatment of China (No. 2012ZX07101-007-01) and the Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment

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Wu, X., Li, W., Pan, J. et al. Restoration in northern Lake Gehu, a eutrophic lake in China. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 35, 1417–1431 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-017-6107-4

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