High phytoplankton diversity in eutrophic states impedes lake recovery
High phytoplankton diversity in eutrophic states impedes lake recovery
Aim: the widely observed positive response of productivity to biodiversity, known as the biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR), underpins nature-based solutions for mitigating and adapting to global changes. Little is known of the role of such emergent processes in the restoration of damaged ecosystems. Here, we test for evidence of a BPR in degraded freshwater lakes, and its role in underpinning or undermining lake recovery from eutrophic states.
Location: Lower Yangtze and Huaihe river basins, China, East Asia.
Taxa: freshwater phytoplankton; also macrophytes, fish, zooplankton and zoobenthos.
Methods: a systematic review of biodiversity studies was conducted to enumerate freshwater biodiversity change during eutrophication, encompassing 572 samples from 155 lakes in East China. Empirical samples were then taken of 93 phytoplankton communities from 38 lakes in ecologically degraded states of eutrophication. Samples were analysed for niche overlap in relation to biodiversity and productivity, and metrics of network structure indicative of community stability.
Results: reviewed publications on eutrophication in East China lakes revealed losses in biodiversity of macrophytes, fishes, zooplankton and zoobenthos but not phytoplankton. Empirically sampled eutrophic lakes maintained high phytoplankton biodiversity through niche differentiation, and phytoplankton biodiversity correlated positively with biomass, in line with the expectations of BPR.
Conclusions: the positive effect of biodiversity on phytoplankton productivity in eutrophic lakes acts in opposition to the negative impacts on productivity induced by eutrophication-management strategies of nutrient suppression. In degraded systems, the BPR contributes to sustaining productivity of lake phytoplankton communities, impeding recovery from a eutrophic state. This is a case of the BPR playing an undesirable role at the ecosystem level. Lake recovery programmes need to anticipate that the control of phytoplankton biomass will depend on reducing nutrients to a level sufficient to degrade the internal structure of the phytoplankton community.
biodiversity-productivity relationship, eutrophication, lake ecosystem, lake restoration, niche overlap, regime shift
1914-1925
Wang, Rong
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Doncaster, C. Patrick
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Zheng, Wenxiu
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Xu, Min
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Yang, Hui
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Li, Yun
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Cai, Yongjiu
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Zhao, Yanjie
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Zhang, Enlou
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Yang, Xiangdong
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Qin, Boqiang
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November 2023
Wang, Rong
fd4ca2d0-78f2-40c2-aad1-355e7f3f3022
Doncaster, C. Patrick
0eff2f42-fa0a-4e35-b6ac-475ad3482047
Zheng, Wenxiu
cd845ef7-e642-4214-8b06-a4c0fb95da6f
Xu, Min
54cc2f17-f40e-4477-86e6-42751e7dbff6
Yang, Hui
e5186fbb-da7e-4237-9910-a44dd5fe4c3d
Li, Yun
fbe20681-3f5b-4187-95d8-3e678690e99b
Cai, Yongjiu
c7f88c5a-c698-4af2-b5ba-e834c9331ec4
Zhao, Yanjie
84baf146-1a1f-46a7-9c03-66e5dfb68401
Zhang, Enlou
53b50c45-bb12-4d5f-86e4-e656d44bcfa1
Yang, Xiangdong
7ecb5c8e-22cb-4f65-829d-8b3442dc6529
Qin, Boqiang
c013fb76-b190-456d-ae4f-29cd92e79ced
Wang, Rong, Doncaster, C. Patrick, Zheng, Wenxiu, Xu, Min, Yang, Hui, Li, Yun, Cai, Yongjiu, Zhao, Yanjie, Zhang, Enlou, Yang, Xiangdong and Qin, Boqiang
(2023)
High phytoplankton diversity in eutrophic states impedes lake recovery.
Journal of Biogeography, 50 (11), .
(doi:10.1111/jbi.14698).
Abstract
Aim: the widely observed positive response of productivity to biodiversity, known as the biodiversity-productivity relationship (BPR), underpins nature-based solutions for mitigating and adapting to global changes. Little is known of the role of such emergent processes in the restoration of damaged ecosystems. Here, we test for evidence of a BPR in degraded freshwater lakes, and its role in underpinning or undermining lake recovery from eutrophic states.
Location: Lower Yangtze and Huaihe river basins, China, East Asia.
Taxa: freshwater phytoplankton; also macrophytes, fish, zooplankton and zoobenthos.
Methods: a systematic review of biodiversity studies was conducted to enumerate freshwater biodiversity change during eutrophication, encompassing 572 samples from 155 lakes in East China. Empirical samples were then taken of 93 phytoplankton communities from 38 lakes in ecologically degraded states of eutrophication. Samples were analysed for niche overlap in relation to biodiversity and productivity, and metrics of network structure indicative of community stability.
Results: reviewed publications on eutrophication in East China lakes revealed losses in biodiversity of macrophytes, fishes, zooplankton and zoobenthos but not phytoplankton. Empirically sampled eutrophic lakes maintained high phytoplankton biodiversity through niche differentiation, and phytoplankton biodiversity correlated positively with biomass, in line with the expectations of BPR.
Conclusions: the positive effect of biodiversity on phytoplankton productivity in eutrophic lakes acts in opposition to the negative impacts on productivity induced by eutrophication-management strategies of nutrient suppression. In degraded systems, the BPR contributes to sustaining productivity of lake phytoplankton communities, impeding recovery from a eutrophic state. This is a case of the BPR playing an undesirable role at the ecosystem level. Lake recovery programmes need to anticipate that the control of phytoplankton biomass will depend on reducing nutrients to a level sufficient to degrade the internal structure of the phytoplankton community.
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Accepted/In Press date: 2 July 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 August 2023
Published date: November 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB310403), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, 42207503). R.W. acknowledges the financial support of the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (award Y2021086). No formal permits were required.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Keywords:
biodiversity-productivity relationship, eutrophication, lake ecosystem, lake restoration, niche overlap, regime shift
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 480592
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/480592
ISSN: 0305-0270
PURE UUID: a985e3d8-3d67-4292-ad38-2c88bc341edc
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Date deposited: 07 Aug 2023 16:40
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 02:41
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Contributors
Author:
Rong Wang
Author:
Wenxiu Zheng
Author:
Min Xu
Author:
Hui Yang
Author:
Yun Li
Author:
Yongjiu Cai
Author:
Enlou Zhang
Author:
Xiangdong Yang
Author:
Boqiang Qin
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