Spatial Distribution of Chlorophyll a and Its Relationship with the Environment During Summer in Lake Poyang: a Yangtze-Connected Lake
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Hydrobiologia (2014) 732:61–70 DOI 10.1007/s10750-014-1844-2 PRIMARY RESEARCH PAPER Spatial distribution of chlorophyll a and its relationship with the environment during summer in Lake Poyang: a Yangtze-connected lake Zhaoshi Wu • Hu He • Yongjiu Cai • Lu Zhang • Yuwei Chen Received: 15 November 2013 / Revised: 26 January 2014 / Accepted: 22 February 2014 / Published online: 6 April 2014 Ó Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014 Abstract Lake Poyang, a Yangtze-connected lake except in the east. The relationships between shade that is the largest freshwater lake in China, was studied index and chl a varied regionally. Chl a varied in summer from 2009 to 2012. The primary objective inversely with the variation of the shade index, was to investigate the spatial variability of chlorophyll especially in the north and south, reflecting light a (chl a) on a whole-lake scale and to identify the key limitation. However, the correlation was positive in factors affecting phytoplankton growth. Stepwise the east due to high chl a concentration negatively multiple linear regression and Spearman’s rank cor- affecting light availability, which was promoted by relation analyses showed that the shade index is the sufficient nutrients. In the center, no factor was found major factor determining the spatial distribution of chl to have an obvious effect on phytoplankton growth, a; nutrients don’t explain much variation in chl a, most likely because of human activities and high heterogeneity. These new data on the spatial variabil- ity of chl a and its relationship with light availability in Handling editor: Judit Padisa´k Lake Poyang will be crucial to understand chl Z. Wu Á H. He Á Y. Cai Á L. Zhang Á Y. Chen (&) a regulation and contribute to the knowledge regard- Poyang Lake Laboratory for Wetland Ecosystem ing phytoplankton in the Yangtze Basin. Research, State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Keywords Lake Poyang Á Yangtze-connected Á Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, People’s Republic of Chl a Á Shade index Á Region China e-mail: [email protected] Z. Wu Introduction e-mail: [email protected] H. He Because of its fundamental role in aquatic food chains e-mail: [email protected] and sensitivity to environmental changes, phytoplank- Y. Cai ton is important for various bodies of water (Reynolds, e-mail: [email protected] 1984a, b). To adequately understand the phytoplank- L. Zhang ton life cycle and its response to ecological change, e-mail: [email protected] many studies have focused on phytoplankton distri- bution through time and space (Reynolds, 1984a; H. He Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dokulil & Padisak, 1994; Valdes-Weaver et al., 2006). Beijing 100049, People’s Republic of China Generally, the spatial distribution of phytoplankton 123 62 Hydrobiologia (2014) 732:61–70 biomass is related to identifiable limnological charac- The primary objectives of this study were (1) to teristics of the ecosystems concerned (Reynolds, obtain a broader understanding of chl a distribution in 1984a). Various environmental factors are associated Lake Poyang on a whole-lake scale and (2) to explore with phytoplankton biomass [measured as chlorophyll the key environmental variables regulating phyto- a (chl a)] in freshwater lakes, such as nutrients (total plankton in Lake Poyang and establish primary models phosphorus, total nitrogen, or the ratio of TN: TP) and of chl a concentration. Our study will provide a basis light (Dillon & Rigler, 1974; Wang et al., 2008;Xu for understanding chl a regulation in Lake Poyang that et al., 2010; Zhang et al., 2012). Of these factors, is crucial for monitoring ecological changes in the lake. nutrient conditions have received particular attention Additionally, our research will contribute to the and are generally regarded as the primary limiting knowledge of phytoplankton in the Yangtze Basin factor of algal growth. and in shallow lakes worldwide. There are hundreds of shallow lakes in the Yangtze Basin. The limnological conditions of these lakes vary widely (Wang et al., 2008). Because of human activity Materials and methods during the 1950s–1970s, only two large Yangtze- connected lakes remain, namely, Lake Poyang and Study area Lake Dongting, the largest and second largest freshwa- ter lakes in China, respectively; these lakes are Lake Poyang (28°220–29°450N, 115°470–116°450E) is extremely different from the Yangtze-isolated lakes, located in Jiangxi Province in China in the downstream especially with regard to hydrological conditions. These region of the Yangtze River (Fig. 1). With a watershed two types of lakes are both important for providing area of 1.622 9 105 km2, Lake Poyang is the largest drinking water, sightseeing, and economic develop- freshwater lake in China. The annual discharge and ment, among other human uses. As a consequence, these storage capacity of the lake are approximately lakes are damaged by human activities and are experi- 1.457 9 1011 and 2.95 9 1010 m3,respectively(Zhu encing accelerated eutrophication, resulting inincreased & Zhang, 1997). There are five main river tributaries, phytoplankton biomass and toxic algal blooms (Jin, including the Gan River, Fu River, Xin River, Xiu River, 2003;Wangetal.,2008). However, greater attention has and Rao River, that flow into Lake Poyang. The been focused on chl a regulation in Yangtze-isolated limnologyofLakePoyangisstronglyaffectedby lakes, such as Lake Taihu and Lake Chaohu (Chen et al., seasonal differences in the water level. Consistent with 2003;Dengetal.,2007). As a result of their completely the variation in the water level, the lake area changes different limnological characteristics, the theories of chl seasonally and reaches its peak in the summer. With a regulation derived from Yangtze-isolated lakes are not abundant resources, such as water, sand, and wind, Lake applicable to Yangtze-connected lakes. Poyang plays an important role in local economic Lake Poyang, a Yangtze-connected lake, is the development and has been heavily exploited for sand largest freshwater lake in China, but research on chl extraction, transport, fishing, tourism, and other uses. As a distribution and regulation in Lake Poyang is still at a result, Lake Poyang has exhibited a rising trend in an early stage. For such a large and complex lake phytoplankton biomass (Wu et al., 2013). ecosystem, investigations must have a sufficient In such a large and complex lake, the relationship spatial extent (especially in areas less well studied) between chl a and environmental variables may be to detect the spatial variability of chl a and its region dependent. To determine the relationship relationships with environmental factors. However, between chl a concentration and environmental fac- previous surveys of chl a have had limited spatial and tors more accurately, the study area was divided into temporal coverage (Pan et al., 2009). Furthermore, four regions: northern, middle, eastern, and southern few experimental or empirical studies are available to Lake Poyang, referred to as North LPY, Middle LPY, elucidate the principal factors influencing phytoplank- East LPY, and South LPY, respectively (Fig. 1). ton biomass (Wu et al., 2013, 2014). Additionally, no These spatial delineations reflect the different hydro- modeling efforts have been undertaken to establish the logical conditions of Lake Poyang. North LPY, which relationship between chl a concentration and the connects the lake with the Yangtze River, is relatively responsible environmental variables. narrow, and the environmental factors vary within a 123 Hydrobiologia (2014) 732:61–70 63 Fig. 1 Location of Lake Poyang, delineating the four regions: North LPY (North Lake Poyang), Middle LPY (Middle Lake Poyang), East LPY (East Lake Poyang), and South LPY (South Lake Poyang) narrow range (Wu et al., 2013). Middle LPY covers of the intrinsic variability of the lake area. The lake the largest area in our study, with moderate water area is approximately 4,000 km2 in summer, much depth and nutrient concentrations. The water flow rate larger than in the dry seasons (Zhu & Zhang, 1997; in Middle LPY is lower than in South LPY or North Shankman et al., 2006), which enables sampling to be LPY (Dou & Jiang, 2003). East LPY is located in a more extensive and comprehensive. In addition, the relatively calm environment, and the hydrological lake ecosystem is relatively stable due to the balance conditions are much different from the other three of water levels between the Yangtze River and Lake regions. South LPY receives large amount of water Poyang, which excludes some effects of complex from inflows in its southern portion. hydrological conditions and is beneficial for exploring In Lake Poyang, it is ideal to investigate the spatial the relationship between chl a concentration and distribution and regulation of chl a in summer because environmental factors. 123 64 Hydrobiologia (2014) 732:61–70 Sample collection and lab analysis and the responsible environmental variables, includ- ing TN, TP, pH, conductivity, Secchi depth, and shade Sampling was conducted in July (2009–2011) in Lake index. The value of R2 was used to identify the best Poyang at 19 regular sampling sites. To obtain more model. The percentage model error (PE) was spatial data on the entire lake, we added two additional employed to evaluate the predictiveP ability of the surveys in August 2011 and July 2012, with 36 and 48 P model. PE was calculated by PE ¼ O À 1 Â 100=n additional sites, respectively. The sampling in North according to Canfield & Bachmann (1981). In the LPY, Middle LPY, and South LPY was continuous formula above, P is the predicted chl a concentration starting in 2009, with a larger area sampled in August with no transformation and O is observed chl a con- 2011 and July 2012. The monitoring of East LPY was centration. With regard to regional differences, the started in August 2011.