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Yan X, Xia Y, Zhao X, Ti C, Xia L, Chang SX, Yan X. Coupling nitrogen removal and watershed management to improve global lake water quality. Nat Commun 2025; 16:2182. [PMID: 40038252 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57442-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2025] [Indexed: 03/06/2025] Open
Abstract
Lakes play a vital role in nitrogen (N) removal and water quality improvement, yet their efficiency varies due to differing watershed N input and lake characteristics, complicating management efforts. Here we established the N budget for 5768 global lakes using a remote sensing model. We found that watershed N input reduction and lake water quality improvement are nonlinearly related and depends on lake N removal efficiency. A 30% reduction in N loading in watersheds with high N removal efficiencies can improve cumulative water quality by over 70%. Stricter reduction could accelerate achieving water quality goal (≤1 mg N L-1), shortening the time by up to 30 years for most lakes. However, heavily polluted lakes with low N removal efficiencies (50 of 534 lakes with >1 mg N L-1) may not achieve the UN's clean water SDG by 2030, even with a 100% N input reduction. Our research highlights the need for targeted N management strategies to improve global lake water quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Changshu National Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China
| | - Yongqiu Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Changshu National Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China.
| | - Xu Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Changshu National Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China
| | - Chaopu Ti
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Changshu National Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China
| | - Longlong Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Changshu National Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China
| | - Scott X Chang
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Xiaoyuan Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Changshu National Agro-Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, PR China.
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Sahu B, Pradhan UK, P B U, Bambaras P. Dissolved and suspended nutrient complexity in an urbanized creek-estuary confluence: Implication on water quality alteration. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2024; 209:117259. [PMID: 39536369 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2024.117259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 10/02/2024] [Accepted: 11/03/2024] [Indexed: 11/16/2024]
Abstract
The Thane Creek-Ulhas estuary confluence region acts as a naturally active infiltration system, crucial for altering water quality in the area and Arabian Sea. Particle-water exchange, hydrodynamics, and anthropogenic discharge influence nutrient transfer and transformation, highlighting the need for effective water quality management in this urbanized ecosystem. We analyzed monthly hydrography and nutrient data in water, and particulates from April 2021 to March 2022, including period of Cyclone Gulab at four locations along the inflow and outflow sectors. Our results revealed prevalent hypoxic conditions in the confluence waters, driven by microbial oxygen demand that surpassed the chemical load due to indiscriminate sewage inflow. Phosphorus emerged as the limiting nutrient, inhibited by adsorption/desorption equilibrium. Dissolved phosphate was transformed into particulate form under intermediate suspended load, with further transform into organic phosphorous during non-monsoon season. Excessive ammonium from sewage during the cyclone and elevated urea during non-monsoon indicated regenerated nitrogen forms, rendering the region eutrophic and hyper-eutrophic, with intermittent organic pollution. Engineering interventions may help mitigate water quality alterations that pose significant ecological risks in this mangrove-dominant confluence ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Balaram Sahu
- CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre Lokhandwala Rd. Andheri (W), Mumbai 400053, India; Department of Science & Technology (Chemistry), University of Mumbai, Mumbai 400098, India
| | - Umesh Kumar Pradhan
- CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre Lokhandwala Rd. Andheri (W), Mumbai 400053, India.
| | - Udayakrishnan P B
- CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre Lokhandwala Rd. Andheri (W), Mumbai 400053, India
| | - Priyanka Bambaras
- CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography, Regional Centre Lokhandwala Rd. Andheri (W), Mumbai 400053, India
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Nietch CT, Hawley RJ, Safwat A, Christensen JR, Heberling MT, McManus J, McClatchey R, Lubbers H, Smucker NJ, Onderak E, Macy S. Implementing constructed wetlands for nutrient reduction at watershed scale: Opportunity to link models and real-world execution. JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION 2024; 79:113-131. [PMID: 38994438 PMCID: PMC11235211 DOI: 10.2489/jswc.2024.00077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/28/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
The negative effects of nutrient pollution in streams, rivers, and downstream waterbodies remain widespread global problems. Understanding the cost-effectiveness of different strategies for mitigating nutrient pollution is critical to making informed decisions and defining expectations that best utilize limited resources, which is a research priority for the US Environmental Protection Agency. To this end, we modeled nutrient management practices including residue management, cover crops, filter strips, grassed waterways, constructed wetlands, and reducing fertilizer in the upper East Fork of the Little Miami River, an 892 km2 watershed in southwestern Ohio, United States. The watershed is 64% agriculture with 422 km2 of row crops contributing an estimated 71% of the system's nutrient load. The six practices were modeled to treat row crop area, and among them, constructed wetlands ranked highest for their low costs per kilogram of nutrient removed. To meet a 42% phosphorus (P) reduction target for row crops, the model results suggested that the runoff from 85.5% of the row crop area would need to be treated by the equivalent of 3.61 km2 of constructed wetlands at an estimated cost of US$2.4 million annually (or US$48.5 million over a 20-year life cycle). This prompted a series of projects designed to understand the feasibility (defined in terms of build, treatment, and cost potential) of retrofitting the system with the necessary extent of constructed wetlands. The practicalities of building this wetland coverage into the system, while leading to innovation in unit-level design, has highlighted the difficulty of achieving the nutrient reduction target with wetlands alone. Approximately US$1.2 million have been spent on constructing 0.032 km2 of wetlands thus far and a feasibility analysis suggests a cost of US$38 million for an additional 0.409 km2. However, the combined expenditures would only achieve an estimated 13% of the required treatment. The results highlight the potential effectiveness of innovative design strategies for nutrient reduction and the importance of considering realistic field-scale build opportunities, which include accounting for acceptance among landowners, in watershed-scale nutrient reduction simulations using constructed wetlands.
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Affiliation(s)
- C T Nietch
- US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - R J Hawley
- Sustainable Streams, LLC, Louisville, Kentucky
| | - A Safwat
- Aptim Federal Services, LLC, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - J R Christensen
- US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - M T Heberling
- US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - J McManus
- US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - R McClatchey
- Clermont Soil and Water Conservation District, Owensville, Ohio
| | - H Lubbers
- Clermont County Office of Environmental Quality, Batavia, Ohio
| | - N J Smucker
- US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - E Onderak
- Coldwater Consulting, LLC, Galena, Ohio
| | - S Macy
- Division of Parks and Watercraft, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus, Ohio
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Zhang W, Li H, Xu D, Xia T. Wetland Destruction in a Headwater River Leads to Disturbing Decline of In-stream Nitrogen Removal. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:2774-2785. [PMID: 38299516 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c07404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Wetlands have long been recognized as efficient nitrogen (N) processing systems. While widespread interest is in constructing wetlands to mitigate N pollution, there is a dearth of information about the environmental consequences following wetland dismantlement. This study elucidated the changing trajectories of water quality and N removal capacity in a headwater river that initially contained a series of constructed wetlands but later underwent wetland destruction. An estimated 17% surge in total N concentration has been reported since the wetlands' destruction. This adverse trend is primarily attributed to a weakened in-stream N removal capacity, which was reduced to a mere 25% of the levels observed when the wetlands were operational. Further analysis confirms that the presence of wetlands actively shapes desirable environmental settings for N processing. In stark contrast, wetland destruction leads to unfavorable environmental conditions, which not only restrain in-stream anaerobic metabolisms but also trigger algal proliferation and biological N fixation. Collectively, this research provides compelling evidence of the detrimental consequences associated with wetland destruction, emphasizing the need for remedial strategies to mitigate these negative effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wangshou Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Hengpeng Li
- Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Dawei Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 20092, China
| | - Tianyu Xia
- Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
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Wang Z, Liu K. Nutrients transport behavior in inlet river in the Yellow River Delta in winter. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 197:115815. [PMID: 37984090 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The nutrients such as dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN, NH4+-N, NO2--N, and NO3--N), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP, PO43-) and dissolved SiO2 (DSi) funneled by the inlet river are the dominant factors to coastal eutrophication. This study investigated nutrient transport process in typical inlet rivers in the Yellow River Delta. The indicator of coastal eutrophication potential and concentration ratio between upstream and downstream stations were used to evaluate the influence of different sources to the nutrient risks. It showed that urban areas are the most important source of the nutrients in studied rivers. The harbor and mariculture would have greater risk because of their proximity close to the coastal area. Wetland was a vital conversion to eliminate the river nutrients, and the retention could reach 80 %. It is imperative to protect and construct wetlands to reduce the nutrient pollution in the inlet river.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaohua Wang
- First Institute of Oceanography, MNR, Qingdao 266061, China
| | - Kai Liu
- Dongying Marine Development Research Institute, Dongying 257091, China.
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