Abstract
The Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China (MRSNWDPC), the longest trans-basin water diversion project in the world, has been in operation for over 6 years. The water quality of this mega hydro-project affects the safety of more than 60 million people and the health of an ecosystem over 160,000 km2. Abnormal algal proliferation can cause water quality deterioration, eutrophication, and hydro-project operation issues. However, few studies have investigated and reported planktonic algae and their relationship with the water quality of this trans-basin water diversion project. Here, spatio-temporal characteristics of algal cell density (ACD) and 11 water quality parameters, including water temperature (WT), pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), permanganate index (CODMn), 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), fecal coliforms (F. coli), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (NH3−N), fluoride (F−), and sulfate (SO42−) in the MRSNWDPC from May 2015 to February 2019 were determined using multivariate statistical approaches. Consistent seasonal variation in ACD was observed each year, which grew in spring and then continuously decreased from summer to winter. Summer and winter are the seasons with the highest and lowest ACDs, with average values of 572.95 × 104 cell/L and 157.09 × 104 cell/L, respectively. The NH3−N was positively correlated with ACD growth in all seasons, with Pearson correlation coefficients ranging from 0.594 to 0.738 (P < 0.01). The results of the principal component analysis show that the sources affecting the water quality variation in this project are complex, and NH3−N was the most critical water quality parameter affecting ACD variation, which was linked to ACD in four seasons with strong positive loadings ranging from 0.754 to 0.882, followed by CODMn. The management department of the MRSNWDPC should focus on key periods of phytoplankton control in spring and summer; in addition, variation in the concentrations of NH3−N and CODMn merits special attention. This study provides a helpful reference for the water quality security and algae control strategy of the MRSNWDPC and similar projects in the world.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
Part of the data in this article can be obtained by readers after the article is published online. Contact the corresponding author: dongguoshao@163.com, or the first author: nongxizhi@whu.edu.cn..
References
Barakat, A., El Baghdadi, M., Rais, J., Aghezzaf, B., & Slassi, M. (2016). Assessment of spatial and seasonal water quality variation of Oum Er Rbia River (Morocco) using multivariate statistical techniques. International Soil and Water Conservation Research, 4(4), 284–292.
Barnett, J., Rogers, S., Webber, M., Finlayson, B., & Wang, M. (2015). Sustainability: Transfer project cannot meet China’s water needs. Nature, 527(7578), 295–297.
Bayram, A., Onsoy, H., Komurcu, M. I., & Tufekci, M. (2014). Reciprocal influence of Kurtun Dam and wastewaters from the settlements on water quality in the stream HarAYit. NE Turkey. Environmental Earth Sciences, 72(8), 2849–2860.
Bergström, A.-K. (2010). The use of TN:TP and DIN:TP ratios as indicators for phytoplankton nutrient limitation in oligotrophic lakes affected by N deposition. Aquatic Sciences, 72(3), 277–281.
Borutsky, E., Wu, H. W., Bai, G. D., Ge, M. S., Wang, Q. L., Wang, S. D., & Chen, S. Z. (1959). Hydrobiological survey of the region of the projected dam-reservoir of Tankiangkou, with propositions for fisheries management. Acta Hydrobiol Sinica, 1, 33–56.
Bostanmaneshrad, F., Partani, S., Noori, R., Nachtnebel, H.-P., Berndtsson, R., & Adamowski, J. F. (2018). Relationship between water quality and macro-scale parameters (land use, erosion, geology, and population density) in the Siminehrood River Basin. Science of the Total Environment, 639, 1588–1600.
Chen, F. Z., Song, X. L., Hu, Y. H., Liu, Z. W., & Qin, B. Q. (2009). Water quality improvement and phytoplankton response in the drinking water source in Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu. China. Ecological Engineering, 35(11), 1637–1645.
Chen, P., Li, L., & Zhang, H. B. (2015). Spatio-temporal variations and source apportionment of water pollution in Danjiangkou Reservoir Basin. Central China. Water, 7(6), 2591–2611.
Chen, X., Zhou, W. Q., Pickett, S. T. A., Li, W. F., Han, L. J., & Ren, Y. F. (2016). Diatoms are better indicators of urban stream conditions: A case study in Beijing, China. Ecological Indicators, 60, 265–274.
Chen, Y. W., Qin, B. Q., Teubner, K., & Dokulil, M. T. (2003). Long-term dynamics of phytoplankton assemblages: Microcystis-domination in Lake Taihu, a large shallow lake in China. Journal of Plankton Research, 25(4), 445–453.
Chen, Z. J., Yuan, J., Sun, F., Zhang, F., Chen, Y., Ding, C. Y., Shi, J. W., Li, Y. Y., & Yao, L. G. (2018). Planktonic fungal community structures and their relationship to water quality in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, China. Scientific Reports, 8.
China, M. (2002a). Determination methods for the examination of water and wastewater of China, China Environmental Science Press.
China, M. (2002b). Environmental quality standards for surface water.
China, M. (2002c). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (Version 4). China Environmental Science Press.
China, M. (2009). Water quality—Guidance on sampling techniques.
Conley, D. J., Paerl, H. W., Howarth, R. W., Boesch, D. F., Seitzinger, S. P., Havens, K. E., Lancelot, C., & Likens, G. E. (2009). Controlling eutrophication: Nitrogen and phosphorus. Science, 323(5917), 1014–1015.
Fisher, T. R., Peele, E. R., Ammerman, J. W., & Harding, L. W. (1992). Nutrient limitation of phytoplankton in Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 82(1), 51–63.
Gao, J. (2020). The “Galaxy River” nourishes the people——Discuss about the Middle Route of South-to-North Water Diversion of China, National Development and Reform Commission of China.
Gao, Q., Li, Y., Cheng, Q. Y., Yu, M. X., Hu, B., Wang, Z. G., & Yu, Z. Q. (2016). Analysis and assessment of the nutrients, biochemical indexes and heavy metals in the Three Gorges Reservoir, China, from 2008 to 2013. Water Research, 92, 262–274.
Gerloff-Elias, A., Spijkerman, E., & Proschold, T. (2005). Effect of external pH on the growth, photosynthesis and photosynthetic electron transport of Chlamydomonas acidophila Negoro, isolated from an extremely acidic lake (pH 2.6). Plant Cell And Environment, 28(10), 1218–1229.
Gokce, D., & Ercan-Altindag, S. (2019). Relationships between environmental factors and phytoplankton community in two dam lakes. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 28(1), 77–86.
Guclu, Y. S. (2018). Multiple Sen-innovative trend analyses and partial Mann-Kendall test. Journal of Hydrology, 566, 685–704.
Guildford, S. J., & Hecky, R. E. (2000). Total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and nutrient limitation in lakes and oceans: Is there a common relationship? Limnology & Oceanography, 45(6).
Han, Y., Aziz, T. N., Del Giudice, D., Hall, N. S., & Obenour, D. R. (2021). Exploring nutrient and light limitation of algal production in a shallow turbid reservoir. Environment Pollution, 269, 116210.
He, J., Wu, X., Zhang, Y., Zheng, B., Meng, D., Zhou, H., Lu, L., Deng, W., Shao, Z., & Qin, Y. (2020). Management of water quality targets based on river-lake water quality response relationships for lake basins—A case study of Dianchi Lake. Environmental Research, 186.
He, Q., Qiu, Y., Liu, H., Sun, X., Kang, L., Cao, L., Li, H., & Ai, H. (2017). New insights into the impacts of suspended particulate matter on phytoplankton density in a tributary of the Three Gorges Reservoir. China. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1–11.
Head, I. M. (1998). Bioremediation: Towards a credible technology. Microbiology, 144(3), 599–608.
Huang, Z., & Liu, C. (2020). The Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transferred over 37.9 billion cubic meters of water and directly benefited 79 million people, Hubei Daily.
Hudson, J. J., Taylor, W. D., & Schindler, D. W. (1999). Planktonic nutrient regeneration and cycling efficiency in temperate lakes. Nature, 400(6745), 659–661.
Hunter-Cevera, K. R., Neubert, M. G., Olson, R. J., Solow, A. R., Shalapyonok, A., & Sosik, H. M. (2016). Physiological and ecological drivers of early spring blooms of a coastal phytoplankter. Science, 354(6310), 326–329.
Jankowska, J., Radzka, E., & Rymuza, K. (2017). Principal component analysis and cluster analysis In Multivariate assessment of water quality. Journal of Ecological Engineering, 18(2), 92–96.
Jiang, Y. J., He, W., Liu, W. X., Qin, N., Ouyang, H. L., Wang, Q. M., Kong, X. Z., He, Q. S., Yang, C., Yang, B., & Xu, F. L. (2014). The seasonal and spatial variations of phytoplankton community and their correlation with environmental factors in a large eutrophic Chinese lake (Lake Chaohu). Ecological Indicators, 40, 58–67.
Kalin, M., Cao, Y., Smith, M., & Olaveson, M. M. (2001). Development of the phytoplankton community in a pit-lake in relation to water quality changes. Water Research, 35(13), 3215–3225.
Klausmeier, C. A., Litchman, E., Daufresne, T., & Levin, S. A. (2004). Optimal nitrogen-to-phosphorus stoichiometry of phytoplankton. Nature, 429(6988), 171–174.
Kocer, M. A. T., & Sevgili, H. (2014). Parameters selection for water quality index in the assessment of the environmental impacts of land-based trout farms. Ecological Indicators, 36, 672–681.
Li, C. H., Ye, C., Zhang, Y., Zhao, X. F., Kong, X. L., & Chen, X. G. (2013). Temporal and spatial distribution of algal density and its relationship with water quality and wind factor in the littoral zone of Lake Taihu. Research of Environmental Sciences, 26(12), 1290–1300.
Li, L. C., Zhang, L. P., Xia, J., Gippel, C. J., Wang, R. C., & Zeng, S. D. (2015). Implications of modelled climate and land cover changes on runoff in the Middle Route of the South to North Water Transfer Project in China. Water Resources Management, 29(8), 2563–2579.
Li, S., & Zhang, Q. (2010). Spatial characterization of dissolved trace elements and heavy metals in the upper Han River (China) using multivariate statistical techniques. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 176(1–3), 579–588.
Li, S. Y., Xu, Z. F., Cheng, X. L., & Zhang, Q. F. (2008). Dissolved trace elements and heavy metals in the Danjiangkou Reservoir. China. Environmental Geology, 55(5), 977–983.
Liang, J., Xin, X., Lu, L., Hu, S., Zhu, D., & Tang, J. (2017). Analysis of water quality variation and potential pollution sources in main channel of Middle Route Project of South to North Water Diversion. Yangtze River, 48(15), 6–9.
Liu, L. H., Peng, W. Q., Wu, L. X., & Liu, L. S. (2018). Water quality assessment of Danjiangkou Reservoir and its tributaries in China. 2017 2nd International Conference on Environmental Engineering And Sustainable Development, (Ceesd 2017) 112.
Liu, R. H., Kang, Y. H., Wan, S. Q., & Pei, L. (2016). Evaluation of methods of nutrient and water management on tea performance and nutrient loss in the Danjiangkou Reservoir area, China. Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, 62(8), 1123–1135.
Liu, R. H., Kang, Y. H., Zhang, C., Pei, L., Wan, S. Q., Jiang, S. F., Liu, S. P., Ren, Z. Y., & Yang, Y. (2014). Chemical fertilizer pollution control using drip fertigation for conservation of water quality in Danjiangkou Reservoir. Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems, 98(3), 295–307.
Liu, X., Lu, X. H., & Chen, Y. W. (2011). The effects of temperature and nutrient ratios on Microcystis blooms in Lake Taihu, China: An 11-year investigation. Harmful Algae, 10(3), 337–343.
Madhu, N. V., Balachandran, K. K., Martin, G. D., Jyothibabu, R., Thottathil, S. D., Nair, M., Joseph, T., & Kusum, K. K. (2010). Short-term variability of water quality and its implications on phytoplankton production in a tropical estuary (Cochin backwaters-India). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 170(1–4), 287–300.
Neill, M. (2005). A method to determine which nutrient is limiting for plant growth in estuarine waters - at any salinity. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50(9), 945–955.
Nicholls, K. H., & Dillon, P. J. (1978). Evaluation of phosphorus-chlorophyll-phytoplankton relationships for lakes. Internationale Revue Der Gesamten Hydrobiologie, 63(2), 141–154.
Niu, A. P., Song, L. Y., Xiong, Y. H., Lu, C. J., Junaid, M., & Pei, D. S. (2019). Impact of water quality on the microbial diversity in the surface water along the Three Gorge Reservoir (TGR), China. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 181, 412–418.
Nong, X. Z., Shao, D. G., Xiao, Y., & Zhong, H. (2019). Spatio-temporal characterization analysis and water quality assessment of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12), 2227.
Nong, X. Z., Shao, D. G., Zhong, H., & Liang, J. K. (2020). Evaluation of water quality in the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China using the water quality index (WQI) method. Water Research, 178.
O’Farrell, I., Lombardo, R. J., Pinto, P. D., & Loez, C. (2002). The assessment of water quality in the Lower Lujan River (Buenos Aires, Argentina): Phytoplankton and algal bioassays. Environmental Pollution, 120(2), 207–218.
Paerl, H. W., Fulton, R. S., Moisander, P. H., & Dyble, J. (2001). Harmful freshwater algal blooms, with an emphasis on cyanobacteria. TheScientificWorldJOURNAL, 1, 76–113.
Putro, B., Kjeldsen, T. R., Hutchins, M. G., & Miller, J. (2016). An empirical investigation of climate and land-use effects on water quantity and quality in two urbanising catchments in the southern United Kingdom. Science of the Total Environment, 548, 164–172.
Redfield, A., Ketchum, B., & Richards, F. (1963). The influence of organisms on the composition of seawater. The Sea, 2, 26–77.
Shapiro, J., & Wright, D. I. (1984). Lake restoration by biomanipulation—Round Lake, Minnesota, the 1st 2 Years. Freshwater Biology, 14(4), 371–383.
Sun, C. C., Wang, Y. S., Wu, M. L., Dong, J. D., Wang, Y. T., Sun, F. L., & Zhang, Y. Y. (2011). Seasonal variation of water quality and phytoplankton response patterns in Daya Bay, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 8(7), 2951–2966.
Supp, S. R., & Ernest, S. K. M. (2014). Species-level and community-level responses to disturbance: A cross-community analysis. Ecology, 95(7), 1717–1723.
Takamura, N. (1992). Phytoplankton species shift accompanied by transition from nitrogen dependence to phosphorus dependence of primary production in Lake Kasumigaura Japan. Archiv Fur Hydrobiologie, 124, 129–148.
Todd, A. S., Manning, A. H., Verplanck, P. L., Crouch, C., McKnight, D. M., & Dunham, R. (2012). Climate-change-driven deterioration of water quality in a mineralized watershed. Environmental Science & Technology, 46(17), 9324–9332.
Tripathi, M., & Singal, S. K. (2019). Use of principal component analysis for parameter selection for development of a novel Water Quality Index: A case study of river Ganga India. Ecological Indicators, 96, 430–436.
Varol, M. (2019). Arsenic and trace metals in a large reservoir: Seasonal and spatial variations, source identification and risk assessment for both residential and recreational users. Chemosphere, 228, 1–8.
Vorosmarty, C. J., Meybeck, M., Fekete, B., Sharma, K., Green, P., & Syvitski, J. P. M. (2003). Anthropogenic sediment retention: Major global impact from registered river impoundments. Global and Planetary Change, 39(1–2), 169–190.
Wang, H. J., Liang, X. M., Jiang, P. H., Wang, J., Wu, S. K., & Wang, H. Z. (2008). TN: TP ratio and planktivorous fish do not affect nutrient-chlorophyll relationships in shallow lakes. Freshwater Biology, 53(5), 935–944.
Wang, L. H., Huang, J. L., Du, Y., Hu, Y. X., & Han, P. P. (2013). Dynamic assessment of soil erosion risk using Landsat TM and HJ satellite data in Danjiangkou Reservoir Area. China. Remote Sensing, 5(8), 3826–3848.
Wang, Y., Wu, H., Gao, L., Shen, F., & San Liang, X. (2019). Spatial distribution and physical controls of the spring algal blooming off the Changjiang river estuary. Estuaries and Coasts, 42(4), 1066–1083.
WHO. (2019). Progress on household drinking water, sanitation and hygiene 2000–2017: special focus on inequalities.
Woodward, G., Bonada, N., Feeley, H. B., & Giller, P. S. (2015). Resilience of a stream community to extreme climatic events and long-term recovery from a catastrophic flood. Freshwater Biology, 60(12), 2497–2510.
Wu, J. G., Huang, J. H., Han, X. G., Gao, X. M., He, F. L., Jiang, M. X., Jiang, Z. G., Primack, R. B., & Shen, Z. H. (2004). The Three Gorges Dam: An ecological perspective. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2(5), 241–248.
Wu, N. C., Schmalz, B., & Fohrer, N. (2012). Development and testing of a phytoplankton index of biotic integrity (P-IBI) for a German lowland river. Ecological Indicators, 13(1), 158–167.
Wu, Z. S., Cai, Y. J., Liu, X., Xu, C. P., Chen, Y. W., & Zhang, L. (2013). Temporal and spatial variability of phytoplankton in Lake Poyang: The largest freshwater lake in China. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 39(3), 476–483.
Wu, Z. S., Wang, X. L., Chen, Y. W., Cai, Y. J., & Deng, J. C. (2018). Assessing river water quality using water quality index in Lake Taihu Basin, China. Science of the Total Environment, 612, 914–922.
Xie, L., Xie, P., Li, S., Tang, H., & Liu, H. (2003). The low TN: TP ratio, a cause or a result of Microcystis blooms? Water Research, 37(9), 2073–2080.
Xin, X., Zhang, H., Lei, P., Tang, W., Yin, W., Li, J., Zhong, H., & Li, K. (2020). Algal blooms in the middle and lower Han River: Characteristics, early warning and prevention. Science of The Total Environment, 706, 135293.
Yang, G., Yang, G. R., & Liu, J. L. (1996). Plankton resource survey of Dan Jiangkou Reservoir. Journal of Hubei Agricultural College, 16(1), 38–42.
Yang, J., Lv, H., Yang, J., Liu, L. M., Yu, X. Q., & Chen, H. H. (2016). Decline in water level boosts cyanobacteria dominance in subtropical reservoirs. Science of the Total Environment, 557, 445–452.
Yang, J., Wang, F., Lv, J. P., Liu, Q., Nan, F. R., Xie, S. L., & Feng, J. (2019). Responses of freshwater algal cell density to hydrochemical variables in an urban aquatic ecosystem, northern China. Environmental Monitoring And Assessment, 191(1).
Yang, J., Yu, X., Liu, L., Zhang, W., & Guo, P. (2012a). Algae community and trophic state of subtropical reservoirs in southeast Fujian. China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 19(5), 1432–1442.
Yang, J. R., Lv, H., Isabwe, A., Liu, L. M., Yu, X. Q., Chen, H. H., & Yang, J. (2017). Disturbance-induced phytoplankton regime shifts and recovery of cyanobacteria dominance in two subtropical reservoirs. Water Research, 120, 52–63.
Yin, D. C., Zheng, L. L., & Song, L. R. (2011). Spatio-temporal distribution of phytoplankton in the Danjiangkou Reservoir, a water source area for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (Middle Route), China. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 29(3), 531–540.
Yu, L., & Li, F. (2020). The first phase of the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has transferred a total of 30.6 billion cubic meters of water, benefiting 67 million people in four provinces and cities, People Daily.
Yuan, Z. W., Wang, L., Lan, T., Ji, Y., & Zhao, H. Z. (2016). Water quality assessment and source identification of water pollution in the Banchengzi reservoir, Beijing. China. Desalination and Water Treatment, 57(60), 29240–29253.
Zhang, Y. N., Huang, X., Yin, W., & Zhu, D. (2017). Multitemporal Landsat image based water quality analyses of Danjiangkou Reservoir. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, 83(9), 643–652.
Zhao, L., Zhang, N., Du, R., & Q. . (2009). Integrated correlation coefficient analysis of environmental factors of Danjiangkou Reservoir on growth of plankton. J. Henan Normal University (natural Science), 37(4), 128–132.
Zhu, W., Sun, Q., Chen, F., & Li, M. (2015). Cellular N: P ratio of Microcystis as an indicator of nutrient limitation—implications and applications. Environmental Earth Sciences, 74(5), 4023–4030.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all the editors and reviewers for their valuable suggestions and comments which significantly improved this article, and would also need to acknowledge the Construction and Administration Bureau of the Middle Route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China that supported the data collection.
Funding
This research was funded by the China National Critical Project for Science and Technology on Water Pollution Prevention and Control (No. 2017ZX07108-001), and the Wuhan University Postgraduate Visiting Study Grant Project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
The contribution list is shown in the following form. Guarantor of integrity of entire study: Yuming Shang, Jiankui Liang, and Dongguo Shao. Study concepts: Xizhi Nong, Jiankui Liang, and Dongguoshao. Study design: Yuming Shang, Jiankui Liang, and Dongguo Shao. Literature research: Xizhi Nong and Dongguoshao. Data acquisition: Xizhi Nong and Jiankui Liang. Data analysis/interpretation: Xizhi Nong and Dongguoshao. Statistical analysis: Xizhi Nong and Dongguoshao. Manuscript preparation: Xizhi Nong, Yuming Shang, and Dongguoshao. Manuscript editing: Xizhi Nong, Yuming Shang, and Dongguoshao. Manuscript revision/review: Xizhi Nong, Yuming Shang, Jiankui Liang, and Dongguoshao.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
This article contains results that have not been published and have not been sent to another journal.
Consent for publication
All authors consent to publish this article in this journal.
Conflict of interest
The authors declared that they have no conflicts of interest.
Research involving human and animals participants
This research does not involve human beings and animals; it does not apply.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nong, X., Shao, D., Shang, Y. et al. Analysis of spatio-temporal variation in phytoplankton and its relationship with water quality parameters in the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China. Environ Monit Assess 193, 593 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09391-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09391-6