Abstract
The Lake Taihu drainage basin is an economically developed area with some of the highest population densities in China. The lake has deteriorated due to ecological destruction and eutrophication. Three short sediment cores from eastern, northeastern and southwestern Lake Taihu were collected. Total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), pigments, elements and particle size were analyzed for the purpose of understanding past trophic status and pollution levels. Sedimentation rates were based on 137Cs or 210Pb methods. Results indicated that sediment particle size became coarser since the 1920s, and the lake was contaminated by heavy metals, such as Cu and Zn, since the 1970s. A remarkable increase in eutrophication since the 1980s due to increased loading of untreated effluents from industry, agriculture and urbanization is reflected by total organic carbon, total nitrogen and pigments in the studied cores. However the onset times of eutrophication in different parts of Lake Taihu were not synchronous.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank colleagues in Lake Sedimentation and Environment Laboratory of NIGLAS for field and laboratory support. We are indebted to Dr Qu Wenchuan for reviewing of this manuscript. Thanks are due to Dr. Li Shiji for providing facilities. Financial support was from the CAS project (KZCX2-YW-319-2), NSFC (40472085) and a 973 project (2002CB412301).
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Xue, B., Yao, S. & Xia, W. Environmental changes in Lake Taihu during the past century as recorded in sediment cores. Hydrobiologia 581, 117–123 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0513-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-006-0513-5