Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain Lake
Aquatic macrophytes are a vital component of lake ecosystems, profoundly influencing ecosystem structure and function. Under future scenarios of more frequent extreme floods and intensified lake eutrophication, aquatic macrophytes will face increasing challenges. Therefore, understanding aquatic mac...
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MDPI AG
2025-08-01
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| author | Zhuoxuan Gu Yan Li Jingxiang Li Zixin Liu Yingying Chen Yajing Wang Erik Jeppesen Xuhui Dong |
| author_facet | Zhuoxuan Gu Yan Li Jingxiang Li Zixin Liu Yingying Chen Yajing Wang Erik Jeppesen Xuhui Dong |
| author_sort | Zhuoxuan Gu |
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| description | Aquatic macrophytes are a vital component of lake ecosystems, profoundly influencing ecosystem structure and function. Under future scenarios of more frequent extreme floods and intensified lake eutrophication, aquatic macrophytes will face increasing challenges. Therefore, understanding aquatic macrophyte responses to flood disturbances and nutrient enrichment is crucial for predicting future vegetation dynamics in lake ecosystems. This study focuses on Huangmaotan Lake, a Yangtze River floodplain lake, where we reconstructed 200-year successional trajectories of macrophyte communities and their driving mechanisms. With a multiproxy approach we analyzed a well-dated sediment core incorporating plant macrofossils, grain size, nutrient elements, heavy metals, and historical flood records from the watershed. The results demonstrate a significant shift in the macrophyte community, from species that existed before 1914 to species that existed by 2020. Unlike the widespread macrophyte degradation seen in most regional lakes, this lake has maintained clear-water plant dominance and experienced continuous vegetation expansion over the past 50 years. We attribute this to the interrelated effects of floods and the enrichment of ecosystems with nutrients. Specifically, our findings suggest that nutrient enrichment can mitigate the stress effects of floods on aquatic macrophytes, while flood disturbances help reduce excess nutrient concentrations in the water column. These findings offer applicable insights for aquatic vegetation restoration in the Yangtze River floodplain and other comparable lake systems worldwide. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj-art-cbd262cd8a1645eea021b049abbbcc402025-08-20T04:00:49ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472025-08-011415238110.3390/plants14152381Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain LakeZhuoxuan Gu0Yan Li1Jingxiang Li2Zixin Liu3Yingying Chen4Yajing Wang5Erik Jeppesen6Xuhui Dong7School of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaSchool of Geography and Remote Sensing, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaDepartment of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, DenmarkCentre for Climate and Environmental Changes, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, ChinaAquatic macrophytes are a vital component of lake ecosystems, profoundly influencing ecosystem structure and function. Under future scenarios of more frequent extreme floods and intensified lake eutrophication, aquatic macrophytes will face increasing challenges. Therefore, understanding aquatic macrophyte responses to flood disturbances and nutrient enrichment is crucial for predicting future vegetation dynamics in lake ecosystems. This study focuses on Huangmaotan Lake, a Yangtze River floodplain lake, where we reconstructed 200-year successional trajectories of macrophyte communities and their driving mechanisms. With a multiproxy approach we analyzed a well-dated sediment core incorporating plant macrofossils, grain size, nutrient elements, heavy metals, and historical flood records from the watershed. The results demonstrate a significant shift in the macrophyte community, from species that existed before 1914 to species that existed by 2020. Unlike the widespread macrophyte degradation seen in most regional lakes, this lake has maintained clear-water plant dominance and experienced continuous vegetation expansion over the past 50 years. We attribute this to the interrelated effects of floods and the enrichment of ecosystems with nutrients. Specifically, our findings suggest that nutrient enrichment can mitigate the stress effects of floods on aquatic macrophytes, while flood disturbances help reduce excess nutrient concentrations in the water column. These findings offer applicable insights for aquatic vegetation restoration in the Yangtze River floodplain and other comparable lake systems worldwide.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2381lake sedimentaquatic macrophyteplant macrofossilnutrient enrichmentextreme flood |
| spellingShingle | Zhuoxuan Gu Yan Li Jingxiang Li Zixin Liu Yingying Chen Yajing Wang Erik Jeppesen Xuhui Dong Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain Lake Plants lake sediment aquatic macrophyte plant macrofossil nutrient enrichment extreme flood |
| title | Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain Lake |
| title_full | Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain Lake |
| title_fullStr | Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain Lake |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain Lake |
| title_short | Combined Effects of Flood Disturbances and Nutrient Enrichment Prompt Aquatic Vegetation Expansion: Sediment Evidence from a Floodplain Lake |
| title_sort | combined effects of flood disturbances and nutrient enrichment prompt aquatic vegetation expansion sediment evidence from a floodplain lake |
| topic | lake sediment aquatic macrophyte plant macrofossil nutrient enrichment extreme flood |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/14/15/2381 |
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