Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century
Exogenous drivers may cause a gradual and reversible change in a lake equilibrium, or they may force it over a threshold to a persistent alternative stable state, described as a regime shift in the ecosystem. In the mid-and-lower Yangtze River Basin (MLYB), major environmental problems in shallow la...
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/7/1136 |
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| author | Yanjie Zhao Rong Wang Xiangdong Yang John A. Dearing Charles Patrick Doncaster Peter Langdon Xuhui Dong |
| author_facet | Yanjie Zhao Rong Wang Xiangdong Yang John A. Dearing Charles Patrick Doncaster Peter Langdon Xuhui Dong |
| author_sort | Yanjie Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Exogenous drivers may cause a gradual and reversible change in a lake equilibrium, or they may force it over a threshold to a persistent alternative stable state, described as a regime shift in the ecosystem. In the mid-and-lower Yangtze River Basin (MLYB), major environmental problems in shallow lakes have been eutrophication and abrupt algal blooms under anthropogenic disturbances for the recent century. Much value is therefore placed on understanding the changes in shallow-lake ecosystems that characteristically precede changes in the state of the lake. Here, we describe a case study of the paleolimnological signature in diatom assemblages of various types of regime shifts caused by historically documented anthropogenic drivers in a temperate shallow lake: Taibai Lake. We evaluate the effectiveness of paleolimnological data as a surrogate for long-term monitoring. Algorithms using sequential <i>t</i> and <i>F</i> statistics detected breakpoints in the time series of diatom assemblages, in 1994–1996, 1974–1977, 1952–1956, and 1931–1934, respectively. The regression statistics suggest that the hydrodynamic–ecosystem and aquacultural–ecosystem relationships fit better in the breakpoint regression model, and the relationship between nutrient loading and ecosystem state suits the linear model. Feedback loops help reconstruct dynamic changes in Taibai influenced by major stressors. Our study exemplifies the value of system approaches to identifying regime shifts and their possible causes in shallow lakes from paleolimnological records. The case study of Taibai set an example of reconstructing the ecological regime shifts in shallow lakes in the MLYB and understanding the state changes in lake ecosystems, which will benefit effective lake management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:19:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1da20f658b1e40baa02676005a0a68b6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:19:56Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-1da20f658b1e40baa02676005a0a68b62023-12-01T00:20:43ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-04-01147113610.3390/w14071136Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last CenturyYanjie Zhao0Rong Wang1Xiangdong Yang2John A. Dearing3Charles Patrick Doncaster4Peter Langdon5Xuhui Dong6State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaSchool of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKSchool of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UKSchool of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaExogenous drivers may cause a gradual and reversible change in a lake equilibrium, or they may force it over a threshold to a persistent alternative stable state, described as a regime shift in the ecosystem. In the mid-and-lower Yangtze River Basin (MLYB), major environmental problems in shallow lakes have been eutrophication and abrupt algal blooms under anthropogenic disturbances for the recent century. Much value is therefore placed on understanding the changes in shallow-lake ecosystems that characteristically precede changes in the state of the lake. Here, we describe a case study of the paleolimnological signature in diatom assemblages of various types of regime shifts caused by historically documented anthropogenic drivers in a temperate shallow lake: Taibai Lake. We evaluate the effectiveness of paleolimnological data as a surrogate for long-term monitoring. Algorithms using sequential <i>t</i> and <i>F</i> statistics detected breakpoints in the time series of diatom assemblages, in 1994–1996, 1974–1977, 1952–1956, and 1931–1934, respectively. The regression statistics suggest that the hydrodynamic–ecosystem and aquacultural–ecosystem relationships fit better in the breakpoint regression model, and the relationship between nutrient loading and ecosystem state suits the linear model. Feedback loops help reconstruct dynamic changes in Taibai influenced by major stressors. Our study exemplifies the value of system approaches to identifying regime shifts and their possible causes in shallow lakes from paleolimnological records. The case study of Taibai set an example of reconstructing the ecological regime shifts in shallow lakes in the MLYB and understanding the state changes in lake ecosystems, which will benefit effective lake management.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/7/1136regime shiftshallow lakepaleolimnologyfeedbackMiddle-Lower Yangtze River BasinTaibai Lake |
| spellingShingle | Yanjie Zhao Rong Wang Xiangdong Yang John A. Dearing Charles Patrick Doncaster Peter Langdon Xuhui Dong Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century Water regime shift shallow lake paleolimnology feedback Middle-Lower Yangtze River Basin Taibai Lake |
| title | Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century |
| title_full | Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century |
| title_fullStr | Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century |
| title_short | Reconstruction of Ecological Transitions in a Temperate Shallow Lake of the Middle Yangtze River Basin in the Last Century |
| title_sort | reconstruction of ecological transitions in a temperate shallow lake of the middle yangtze river basin in the last century |
| topic | regime shift shallow lake paleolimnology feedback Middle-Lower Yangtze River Basin Taibai Lake |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/7/1136 |
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