Environ Sci Pollut Res

DOI 10.1007/s11356-014-3920-6

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Research on self-purification capacity of Lake Taihu

Tao Han & Hongju Zhang & Weiping Hu & Jiancai Deng &
Qinqin Li & Guie Zhu

Received: 1 September 2014 / Accepted: 25 November 2014

# Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014

Abstract An effective measure to cope with eutrophication
of lakes is to remove nutrients that can cause algal blooming
by taking advantage of natural water purification processes.
Here, the term “purification” is defined, in a wide sense, as the
potential role of a water body to contribute to the reduction of
pollutants and thus controlling eutrophication. Also regarded
as a kind of ecological regulating services, biological purifi-
cation involves various processes concerning seasonal nutri-
ent fixation, such as uptake by aquatic macrophyte, biofouling
onto foliage substrates, feeding by organisms in higher trophic
level, and eternal loss or removal of substance from the water.
In order to evaluate the water purification ability, a numerical
lake ecosystem model (EcoTaihu) was developed and applied
to Lakes Taihu. The model includes the biological interactions
between pelagic compartments (phytoplankton and zooplank-
ton, detritus, dissolved organic matter, fish, and nutrients).
Under dynamic forcing of meteorological and hydrological
parameters, the model was run over years to evaluate the
annual nutrient cycles and purification functions. The repro-
ducibility of the model was validated for water body by
comparison with the field data from the water quality
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
T. Han (*) : W. Hu : J. Deng
State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
e-mail: than@niglas.ac.cn
H. Zhang
Water Resources Conservation Bureau, Taihu Basin Authority,
Ministry of Water Resources, Shanghai 200434, China
Q. Li
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
G. Zhu
Shanghai Investigation Design and Research Institute Co. Ltd.,
Shanghai 200434, China
monitoring campaign. Numerical results revealed that self-
purification capacity of nitrogen of Lake Taihu in years
2006, 2008, and 2010 is 4.00×104, 4.27×104, and 4.11×
104 ton, respectively, whereas self-purification capacity of
phosphorus of Lake Taihu in years 2006, 2008, and 2010 is
1.56×103, 1.80×103, and 1.71×103 ton, respectively.
Keywords Self-purification capacity . EcoTaihu model .
Lake Taihu . Nutrient removal . Eutrophication
Introduction
Accelerated eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs during the
last century in most parts of the world represents a serious
degradation of water quality (Albay et al. 2003; Murphy et al.
2000; Pyo and Jin 2007). In China, the total area of lakes is
91,019 km2, which accounts for 0.95 % of territorial area (Qin
2009). About one third of these lakes are freshwater lakes
mainly distributed in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze
River, from which all are shallow lake, and most lakes have
been eutrophic or are eutrophying (Cai et al. 2012; LU et al.
2011; Qin 2002). Lake Taihu is the third largest freshwater
lake in China, with a water surface area of 2338 km2. Its basin
area is 36,500 km2, belonging to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui
Provinces, and Shanghai City (Fig. 1). The basin area ac-
counts for 0.4 % of the Chinese territory land, but the GDP
in the area accounts for 11 % that of China (Hu et al. 2008).
Lake Taihu is used for drinking water, flood control, transpor-
tation, aquaculture, and tourism (Qin et al. 2007; Song et al.
2007). In recent years, with the economic and social develop-
ment, harmful algae blooms in Lake Taihu are worsening due
to the increased anthropogenic load on water bodies, especial-
ly in the western and northern parts of the lake (Dong et al.
2008; Gong et al. 2011). Such blooms can affect the drinking

Fig. 1 Location of Lake Taihu in
Yangtze River delta
water supply and exemplifies the severity of eutrophication
problems (Paerl and Huisman 2008).
Self-purification capacity is a capability by which lakes are
enabled to dilute, lessen, or eliminate the undesirable effects
of entered pollutants. The role of self-purification increases
with the deterioration of natural water quality (Ostroumov
2005). The self-purification of water in natural ecosystems is
a complex group of processes which includes physical, chem-
ical, and biological components (Moiseenko 1999;
Ostroumov 2011; Rodriguez et al. 1994). Precise specification
of such processes may be considered as a powerful instrument
in lakes sustainable management which cannot be obtained
only by observations on site and experiments in a laboratory.
However, few studies have been carried out to tackle the
problems of self-purification capacity of Lake Taihu (Chen
et al. 2012) as it is very difficult to identify the leading factors
in the determination of lacustrine ecosystems behavior, then at
understanding their interactions. Numerical modeling is a
good choice as a technique to achieve such a task because it
enables one to simultaneously quantify different factors.
In this study, a three-dimensional EcoTaihu model (Hu
et al. 2006b) was used to investigate self-purification capacity
of nitrogen and phosphorus in Lake Taihu. The impact of
tributaries and wind of the lake was also taken into account
by a series of numerical model simulations.
Methods
Study area
Lake Taihu (30° 55′ 40″–31° 32′ 58″ N; 119° 52′ 32″–
120° 36′ 10″ E) is a large shallow lake located in the
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Yangtze Delta, China (Fig. 1). The lake has an area of
2338 km2, is 68.5 km long (north–south), 34 km wide
(east–west), and has a maximum depth of less than 3.0 m.
Lake Taihu is very eutrophic, and cyanobacterial blooms
re-occur annually (Guo 2007; Qin et al. 2007; Stone 2011;
Wu et al. 2013). The maximum area of the blooms cov-
ered more than 50 % of the total lake area in 2007, and
the monthly mean concentrations of total nitrogen and
total phosphorus were 3.54 and 0.15 mg/L, respectively,
between 2006 and 2010 (Qin et al. 2006; Xu et al. 2010;
Zhang et al. 2012).
Model description
EcoTaihu model (Hu et al. 2006a; Hu and Qin 2002) is a
vertical-compressed three-dimensional ecological model
which is designed to illustrate the complex nonlinear
processes of Lake Taihu. The model comprises three
modules; the first one is a relatively independent hydro-
dynamic module. The second is food chain network mod-
ule, including fish, organic detritus, zooplankton, algae as
well as aquatic macrophyte. The third is material trans-
form and transport module, including the dissolved oxy-
gen, nitrogen and phosphorus transport, and conversion
sub-module (Fig. 2). The model was developed since
2002 and has been validated by long-term field observa-
tion data. In the water transfers from the Yangtze River to
Lake Taihu, whose target is to improve the water quality
and to abate the jeopardy of water bloom in Lake Taihu,
the model plays an important role to assess the environ-
mental effects of the water transfer (Hu et al. 2008; Zhang
et al. 2013).
Environ Sci Pollut Res
Fig. 2 Components and structure
of EcoTaihu model
surface algae nitrogen plate
Model setup
Rectangular grids were used for setting up the model for Lake
Taihu, containing 2338 active cells with a uniform grid size of
1000 m. Lake Taihu is divided into eight subzones: Gonghu
Bay, Meiliang Bay, Zhushan Bay, West Lake Zone, Southwest
Lake Zone, East Taihu Bay, East Lake Zone, and Central
Zone. There are 172 tributaries connecting to Lake Taihu.
For convenience, the tributaries are grouped into 33 rivers
including all major channels, natural or engineered, and num-
bered as 1–33 (Fig. 3). A vertical sigma coordinate with
evenly distributed five-layer system was applied to better
simulate the bottom topography. Lake bed and water surface
elevations were used to determine vertical cell thickness. A
typical initial average water depth in each grid ranged from
0.3 m in the littoral areas to 2.8 m in the central lake regions.
Average maximum slopes of water depth were less than 0.30,
meeting the condition of hydrostatic consistency and avoiding
a pressure gradient error from sigma transformation (Mellor
et al. 1994). The model is driven by atmospheric forcing,
surface wind stress, and tributary inflow and outflow, as Lake
Taihu is a typical shallow lake with wind-driven currents and a
lack of stratification. Therefore, temperature has been treated
as constant due to its little effect on the results. Daily precip-
itation data, treated as water surface boundary conditions
Surface drift
algae
surface algae phosphorus plate
EcoTaihu Model
according to mass balance law (Hu and Qin 2002), were
obtained by averaging data from eight monitoring stations
in the vicinity of the lake. Daily wind data were obtained
from the weather station of Taihu Laboratory for Lake
Ecosystem Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Daily
tributary inflow and outflow data were also obtained from
TBA. Initial conditions were set for surface elevation, flow
velocity, and nutrient concentration. The initial surface eleva-
tion was set as the average value of the first day of the
simulation period with an assumption that the lake surface is
level.
In this study, the term “water purification” is defined as an
overall process of the lake ecosystem function that results in
the nutrient removal or decomposition. Water purification
includes seasonal binding processes such as uptake by mac-
rophyte, assimilation by phytal microorganisms, and feeding
by fish in addition to nutrient removal processes such as those
owing to denitrification and sedimentation. Generally, nitro-
gen and phosphorus are considered to be important limiting
factors of lake eutrophication (Jorgensen et al. 1991;
Mazumder 1994; Phillips et al. 2008; Prairie et al. 1989;
Sterner et al. 1997; Xu et al. 2010), so they were chosen to
study the self-purification capacity of Lake Taihu. The nitro-
gen module of EcoTaihu model includes nine components,
which are ammonia nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen,
 Environ Sci Pollut Res

3 2
The phosphorus cycle in EcoTaihu model is illustrated in
4 1
Fig. 5. The cycle related with self-purification capacity is

Meiliang Bay
8 7 5
32 31
6 shown in Eq. (2) where MP is self-purification capacity of
Zhushan Bay
30
9
33
phosphorus, Fpo2sub is the dissolved phosphorus absorbed by

y
Ba
29 aquatic plants, Fdep2sed is the sedimentation of the detritus

u
gh
phosphorus, Fp2fish is phosphorus uptake by fish, and Fpsub2fish

on
28

G
10
is subtracted the same reason as the nitrogen.
West Lake Zone

27
26
25 M P ¼ F po2sub þ F dep2sed þ F p2fish − F psub2fish ð2Þ

Ea
Central Zone 24

st
La
The remaining settings of the model were based on the field

ke
22

Zo
23 data and the literatures as well as physiological rate coeffi-

n
11

e
cients and parameters. Selected values of the model parame-
21
ters are summarized in Table 1.

y
So

Ba
ut

u
hw

ih
Ta
es
t

Results
st

20
La

Ea
ke

19
Zo

12
ne

Model calibration
13 17 18
14 15 16

Fig. 3 Grid setup, zone division, and tributaries of EcoTaihu model. 1

The observation data of Lake Taihu from January 17, 2007 to
Xiaowanli, 2 Daxuan river, 3 Liangxi river, 4 Zhihu port, 5 Wujin port, 6 January 18, 2008 was introduced to calibrate EcoTaihu model
Shatang port, 7 Caohe river, 8 Yincun port, 9 Yapu port, 10 Dapu, 11 because the algae bloom in Lake Taihu was very serious in
Dagang river, 12 Changxing port, 13 Yangjiabu, 14 Hangchang bridge, 2007. The location of measuring sites by Taihu Basin Author-
15 Huanlvduan, 16 Sanli bridge, 17 Jiaxing, 18 Lianhu bridge, 19 Miao
port, 20 Taipu river, 21 Lianhu bridge, 22 Guadingkou, 23 Puqian, 24
ity of MWR (TBA) was shown in Fig. 6. The simulated DO,
Xujiang, 25 Haiyangshan, 26 Huguang river, 27 Zhenhu, 28 Jinshuwan, TP, TN, and algae biomass concentration in 2007 were com-
29 Wangyu river, 30 Xidong, 31 Huazhuang 32, Wangting, 33 Nanquan pared to the measured values in Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10.

(1) DO
detritus nitrogen, algae nitrogen, zooplankton nitrogen, fish The annual average relative errors of DO of all sites
nitrogen, aquatic plant nitrogen, and exchangeable sediment were 14 % (Fig. 6). The percentages of the errors at 30
nitrogen. The phosphorus module includes eight components, sites in 12 months less than 5 %, within 5 to 10 %, 10 to
which are orthophosphate, detritus phosphorus, algae phos- 15 %, 15 to 20 %, 20 to 25 %, 25 to 30 %, and greater
phorus, zooplankton phosphorus, plant phosphorus, fish phos- than 30 % were 38.3, 22.2, 13.6, 8.1, 3.9, 4.4, and 9.4 %
phorus, and soluble phosphorus in pore water and exchange- respectively. The maximum annual mean relative error at
able phosphorus at the bottom sediment. 30 sites was 62.75 %, while the minimum of the mean
Due to the high complexity of aquatic ecosystem and the relative error was 2.98 %. Those results indicate that
limited understandings to the detailed mechanism, the nitro- model outputs for DO were acceptable.
gen cycle is simplified in EcoTaihu model (Fig. 4). The cycle (2) TP
related with self-purification capacity is shown in Eq. (1) The annual average relative errors of TP of all sites
where MN is self-purification capacity of nitrogen, Fnh2sub is were 51 % (Fig. 7). Sixteen measuring points’ relative
the ammonia nitrogen absorbed by aquatic plants, Fn32sub is errors were below 50 %, accounting for 53 % of the total.
the nitrate absorbed by aquatic plants, Fden2sed is the sedimen- The predicted value at Gonghu, Xvhu, Wuguishan,
tation of the detritus nitrogen, Fn2fish is the sum of aquatic Dagongshan, Xvkou, and Manshan was relatively high;
nitrogen and algae nitrogen uptake by fish, Fn2air is nitrogen other sites’ value was in agreement with the observation.
loss by denitrification, and Fnsub2fish is the aquatic plant nitro- (3) TN
gen absorbed by fish. Because the nitrogen absorbed by fish The annual average relative errors of TN of all sites
includes the aquatic plant nitrogen which has been considered were 37 % (Fig. 8). There were 19 sites in which their
by Fnh2sub and Fnh2sub, the overlapping parts should be average relative errors were below 40 %, accounting for
subtracted. 63 % of the total. The sites that the average relative error
surpassed 50 % were Miaogang, Mouth of Qianggang,
Pingtaishan, Xiaowanli, Daqian, and Dongtaihu, mainly
M N ¼ F nh2sub þ F n32sub þ F den2sed þ F n2fish þ F n2air − F nsub2fish
distributed in the south lake. The predicted value tenden-
ð1Þ cy was in agreement with the actual values generally.
Environ Sci Pollut Res

Fig. 4 Nitrogen cycle in

EcoTaihu model
sun
irradiation
atmospheric bulk
deposition algae removal
Nitrogen water
gas bodies

algae zooplankton
nitrogen nitrogen

river outflow
fish
nitrogen
nitrate nitrogen

detritus
nitrite nitrogen
nitrogen water intake

aquatic
ammonia plant
nitrogen nitrogen

river inflow

exchangeable
sediment nitrogen

Fig. 5 Phosphorus cycle in

EcoTaihu model atmospheric phosphorus
sun
irradiation deposition

water bodies

zooplankton
algae
phosphorus
phosphorus
algae remova l

river outflow
fish
phosphorus

detritus
phosphorus
orthophosphate
water intake
plant
phosphorus
river inflow

sediment exchangeable
sediment soluble phosphorus
phosphorus
 Environ Sci Pollut Res

Table 1 Model parameters

Symbol (unit) Description Value Note

BZFmin(mg l−1) Minimum concentration zooplankton fish can prey on 0.1 Calibration
Deathal(day−1) Death rate of phytoplankton 0.1 Calibration
Deathfish(day−1) Death rate of fish 0.003 Calibration
Deathzoo(day−1) Death rate of zooplankton 0.04 Calibration


DOminN2 mg l−1 The minimum dissolved oxygen concentration when nitrite 1.5 Calibration
nitrogen can be oxidized to nitrite nitrogen
DOminNH(mgl−1) The minimum dissolved oxygen concentration when ammonia 2 Calibration
nitrogen can be oxidized to nitrite nitrogen
ESB(cm2 S−1) Submerged plant expansion coefficient 1000 Calibration
Fishf(day−1) Fish rate 0.008 Calibration
Floatal(cms−1) Phytoplankton upper floating speed in case of no wind 0.003 Calibration
Galmax(day−1) Maximum growth rate of phytoplankton 1.15 Measured
−1
Grazbd−czoo(day ) Grazing rate of zooplankton on detritus 0.4 Calibration
Grazsb−fish(day−1) Velocity of fish prey on submerged plant 0.1 Calibration
Grazzoo−fish(day−1) Velocity of fish prey on zooplankton 0.14 Observation
Gsbmax(day−1) Maximum growth rate of submerged plants 0.39 Calibration
Ial(wm−2) Half saturation of phytoplankton for light 300 Measured
Ialopt(wm−2) Optimum light for phytoplankton growth 500 Calibration
KBDmin(mg l−1) Minimum concentration of detritus grazed by zooplankton 0.1 Calibration
KBPmin(mg l−1) Minimum concentration of phytoplankton grazed by zooplankton 0.1 Calibration
KBPzoo(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of phytoplankton grazed by zooplankton 2 Calibration
KBZfish(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of zooplankton preyed on byfish 1.8 Calibration
KBZfishmin(mg l−1) Minimum concentration zooplankton fish can prey on 0.1 Calibration
SedPeTsi Constant for the influence of temperature on exchangeable phosphorus mineralization 1.13 Hu and Qin (2002)
KIS(m2w−1) Coefficient of light influence on submerged plant growth 0.0015 Calibration
KN2DO(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of dissolved oxygen for oxidation of nitrite nitrogen 3.0 Calibration
KN3al(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of nitrate nitrogen absorbed by phytoplankton 0.2 Calibration
KN3SB(mg l−1) Half saturation of submerged plants for nitrate nitrogen 0.2 Calibration
KNDO1(mg l−1) Minimum concentration of detritus can mineralize 0.02 Calibration
KNDOS(mg l−1) Half saturation of dissolved oxygen for mineralization of detritus 0.8 Calibration
KNHal(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of ammonia nitrogen absorbed by phytoplankton 0.2 Calibration
KNHDO(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of dissolved oxygen for oxidation of ammonia nitrogen 4.0 Calibration
KNHSB(mgl−1) Half saturation of submerged plants for ammonia nitrogen 0.2 Calibration
KPOal(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of phosphorus absorbed by phytoplankton 0.006 Calibration
KPOSB(mg l−1) Half saturation of submerged plants for phosphorus 0.005 Calibration
KSBfish(mg l−1) Half saturation constant of submerged plant preyed on by fish 0.05 Calibration
KTal(oC−1) Coefficient of temperature influence on phytoplankton growth 0.135 Calibration
KTSB(oC−1) Coefficient of temperature influence on submerged plant growth 0.0023 Calibration
Nalmax(Ng/d.w.g) Maximum ratio of nitrogen to biomass in phytoplankton 0.16 Jorgensen et al. (1991)
Nalmin(Ng/d.w.g) Minimum ratio of nitrogen to biomass in phytoplankton 0.04 Jorgensen et al. (1991)
NSBmax(gg−1) Maximum ratio of nitrogen to biomass in submerged plant 0.02 Observation
NSBmin(gg−1) Minimum ratio of nitrogen to biomass in submerged plant 0.003 Observation
Palmax(Ng/d.w.g) Maximum ratio of phosphorus to biomass in phytoplankton 0.015 Jorgensen et al. (1991)
Palmin(Ng/d.w.g) Minimum ratio of phosphorus to biomass in phytoplankton 0.002 Jorgensen et al. (1991)
PSBmax(gg−1) Maximum ratio of phosphorus to biomass in submerged plan 0.004 Observation
PSBmin(g g−1) Minimum ratio of phosphorus to biomass in submerged plant 0.0014 Observation
Rzoofish(mg mg−1) Food coefficient of fish prey on zooplankton 0.14 Observation
RSBfish(mgmg−1) Food coefficient of fish prey on submerged plant 0.1 Calibration
SedPWDO Influence coefficient of dissolved oxygen on releasing of soluble phosphorus in pore water 0.5 Calibration
Environ Sci Pollut Res

Table 1 (continued)

Symbol (unit) Description Value Note

SedNRel(day−1) Releasing velocity of ammonia nitrogen from sediments 0.0007 Calibration

Talmax(oC) Maximum temperature of phytoplankton growth 35 Observation
Talopt(oC) Optimum temperature of phytoplankton growth 27.5 Measured
TSBmin(oC) The minimum temperature submerged plant can growth 5.0 Observation
TSBopt(oC) Optimum temperature for submerged plants growth 25.0 Observation
VN220(day−1) Maximum oxidation rate of nitrite nitrogen at 20 °C 0.8 Calibration
VNH20(day−1) Maximum oxidation rate of ammonia nitrogen at 20 °C 0.5 Calibration
VN3al(day−1) Maximum uptake velocity of phytoplankton for nitrate nitrogen 0.08 Calibration
VNHal(day−1) Maximum uptake velocity of phytoplankton for ammonia nitrogen 0.05 Calibration
VN3SB(day−1) Absorbing rate of submerged plant for nitrate nitrogen 0.07 Calibration
VNHSB(day−1) Absorbing rate of submerged plant for ammonia nitrogen 0.3 Calibration
VPOal(day−1) Maximum uptake velocity of phytoplankton for phosphorus 0.02 Jorgensen et al. (1991)
SedPeM(day−1) Velocity of exchangeable phosphorus mineralization at temperature 20 °C 0.0013 Calibration
Wsinkal(cms−1) Phytoplankton upper sinking speed 0.0001 Calibration
θTN2 Coefficient of temperature influence on nitrite oxidation 1.08 Jorgensen et al. (1991)
θTNH Coefficient of temperature influence on ammonia oxidation 1.15 Jorgensen et al. (1991)

(4) Algae biomass
The annual average relative errors of algae biomass of
all sites were 97 % (Fig. 9). Twenty measuring points’
relative errors were below 100 %, accounting for 67 % of
the total. The predicted values at Dagongshan,
Hengshan, Shadungang, Pingtaishan, and Manshan were
higher than the observed values, while Dapu and
Zhushanhu were relatively low.
The simulated spatial distributions of algae biomass
were compared to the observations in Fig. 10. As the
nutrient concentration of the west zone was relatively
higher than the other parts, the algae bloom more likely

Fig. 6 Location of the measuring

sites
 Environ Sci Pollut Res

14.5 14
14.0
Xiaowanli 13.5 Yuyecun 12 Longtou 13 Gonghu
13.0
12
12.5 12
12.0
11.5
10 11
11.0
10 10.5
10

mg/L
10.0
9.5
8 9
9.0
8.5
8
8.0 8

7.5
7.0 6 7
6.5
6 6.0 6
5.5
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

13 14 14
Miaogang Mouth of Qianggang 13 Huxinnan Xvhu
12 13
12
12
12
11

10 11
11
10
mg/L

10 10
8
9
9
9

8 6
8
8

7
7
4
7

6 6
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

14 13

12
0HL\XDQ Lvjiangkou Zhushanhu
+HQJVKDQ 12
12

10
12 11
10

mg/L
10
8
mg/L

10
6 9

6
8
4
8
7
4
2

6
6 0 2
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

13 13 14
Dapu Fudong Jiaoshan 13 Tuoshan
12 13
12
12
11 12
11
10 11
11
10

mg/L
9
10 10
mg/L

9
8
9 9
7 8
8
8
6
7
7
7
5
6 6
4 6
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

14 14.0 14 14
13.5
Sanhaobiao 13.0 Wuguishan Dagongshan Shadungang
12.5 12
12
12.0 12
11.5
11.0
10
10 10.5
mg/L

10.0 10
9.5
8
9.0
8
8.5
8.0 8
7.5 6

6 7.0
6.5
6.0 6 4
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

13 13

13 13 Jiapu Xintang
Pingtaishan No.14 light beacon 12
12
11
12 12

11 10
11
11 9
10
10 8
mg/L

10
7
9
9
9 6

8 5
8
8
4
7 7
3
7

6 6 2
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

13

Xiaomeikou 13 Daqian 13 Xishan 12 Xukou

12

12 12
11
11
11 11
10

10 10 10
mg/L

9 9
8 9

7 8 8

8
6 7 7

5 6 6 7
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

14 14 month month
Manshan Dongtaihu
13
12

12
10
11 observed data
mg/L

10
8 calculated data

9 6

8
4

7
2
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

month month

Fig. 7 Dissolved oxygen calibration results

Environ Sci Pollut Res

0.22
0.26
Xiaowanli 0.20
Yuyecun 0.7 Longtou Gonghu
0.20
0.24
0.18
0.6 0.18
0.22
0.16
0.20 0.16

0.14 0.5
0.18 0.14

0.16 0.12 0.12

mg/L
0.4
0.14 0.10
0.10
0.12
0.3 0.08
0.10 0.08
0.06
0.08 0.06 0.2
0.04
0.06
0.04 0.02
0.04 0.1

0.02 0.00
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

0.075
Miaogang 0.070 Mouth of Qianggang 0.18 Huxinnan Xvhu
0.10
0.065
0.16
0.060
0.10
0.055
0.14
0.050
0.045 0.12
0.040
mg/L

0.035 0.10 0.05

0.05 0.030
0.08
0.025
0.020
0.06
0.015
0.010 0.04
0.005
0.00 0.000 0.02 0.00
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

0.16
Meiyuan 0.30 Lvjiangkou Zhushanhu
Hengshan
0.14
0.6
0.3
0.25
0.12

0.10 0.20
0.4
mg/L

0.08 0.2
0.15
0.06

0.2 0.10
0.04

0.1
0.02
0.05

0.00 0.0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

0.16 0.20
Dapu Fudong Jiaoshan Tuoshan
0.35
0.14
0.15
0.30
0.12 0.15

0.25
0.10
mg/L

0.10
0.20
0.08 0.10

0.15
0.06

0.05
0.10 0.04
0.05

0.05 0.02
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

0.30 0.14 0.18

Sanhaobiao 0.11 Wuguishan 0.13 Dagongshan Shadungang

0.16
0.25 0.12
0.10
0.11 0.14
0.09
0.10
0.20 0.12
0.09
0.08
mg/L

0.08 0.10
0.15 0.07
0.07
0.08
0.06
0.06
0.10
0.05 0.06
0.05
0.04
0.04
0.05 0.03
0.04
0.02 0.02
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

0.11 0.20 0.15

Pingtaishan No.14 light beacon Jiapu Xintang
0.10 0.18

0.09 0.16

0.10 0.08 0.14

0.10
0.07
0.12
mg/L

0.06
0.10

0.05
0.08

0.05 0.04
0.06 0.05

0.03
0.04
0.02
0.02
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

0.16 0.20
Xiaomeikou 0.18 Daqian Xishan Xukou
0.100
0.14
0.16

0.12 0.15
0.14

0.075
0.10 0.12
mg/L

0.10 0.10
0.08

0.08 0.050
0.06
0.06
0.05
0.04
0.04 0.025

0.02 0.02
0.00
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

0.08 month month

0.150 Manshan Dongtaihu
0.07

0.125
0.06

0.05
0.100
observed data
calculated data
mg/L

0.04
0.075

0.03

0.050
0.02

0.01
0.025

0.00
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

month month

Fig. 8 Total phosphorus calibration results

 Environ Sci Pollut Res

12 7.5 6
7.0 12
Longtou Gonghu
Xiaowanli 6.5 Yuyecun
10 5
6.0
5.5 10
8
5.0 4
4.5 8
6 4.0

mg/L
3
3.5
3.0 6
4
2.5 2
2.0 4
2
1.5
1
1.0
0 0.5 2

0.0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

4.2 3.5
Mouth of Qianggang 3.5
Xvhu
4.0 Miaogang 5 Huxinnan
3.8
3.0 3.0
3.6
3.4
3.2 4
2.5 2.5
3.0
2.8
2.6 2.0 2.0
2.4 3
mg/L

2.2
2.0 1.5 1.5
1.8
2
1.6
1.4 1.0 1.0
1.2
1.0 1
0.8 0.5 0.5
0.6
0.4
0.0 0 0.0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

4.0
Hengshan 18
Meiyuan Lvjiangkou 11
Zhushanhu
16 10 10

14 9

8
12 8

7
10
6
mg/L

6
2.0 8

5
6 4
4
4
3
2
2
2
0
0 1
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

9 Dapu Fudong 8
Jiaoshan Tuoshan
6 6

8 7
5
5
6
7
4
4
5
6
mg/L

3
4
5 3

2 3
4 2
2
1
3
1
1
2 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

10 5.0

Dagongshan Shadungang
6DQKDRELDR 4.5 :XJXLVKDQ 4
8
4.0
4
3.5
6 3
3.0
mg/L

2.5
4 2
2
2.0

1.5
2
1
1.0

0 0.5 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

4.0 4.0 5.0

Pingtaishan No.14 light beacon Jiapu Xintang
5
4.5
3.5 3.5

4.0
3.0 4
3.0
3.5
2.5
2.5 3.0
3
mg/L

2.0
2.0 2.5

2
1.5 2.0
1.5
1.5
1.0
1
1.0
1.0
0.5
0.5 0 0.5
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

6
Xiaomeikou Daqian Xishan 2.6
Xukou
3.0
2.4
4 5
2.2
2.5
2.0
4 1.8
3 2.0
1.6
mg/L

3 1.4
1.5
1.2
2
1.0
2
1.0 0.8

0.6
1 1 0.5 0.4

0.2

0 0.0 0.0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

2.5 month month

4.5 Manshan Dongtaihu
4.0
2.0

3.5

3.0 1.5 observed data

calculated data
mg/L

2.5

2.0 1.0

1.5

0.5
1.0

0.5
0.0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

month month

Fig. 9 Total nitrogen calibration results

Environ Sci Pollut Res

90 1200
70 Xiaowanli Yuyecun Longtou 80 Gonghu
80
1000 70
60 70
60
60 800
50
50
50
40 600

mg/L
40
40

30 400 30
30

20 20 20
200

10 10
10
0
0 0
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

22 180
Miaogang 20 Mouth of Qianggang Huxinnan 25 Xvhu
20 160
18
18 140
16
20
16 120
14
14
12 100
15
mg/L

12
10 80

10
8 60 10
8 6
40
6 4 5
20
4 2
0
2 0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

70
Lvjiangkou 140 Zhushanhu
80 Hengshan 800 Meiyuan
60
120

60 600 50
100

40 80
mg/L

40 400

30 60

20 200 40
20

20
10
0 0
0
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

160
140
Dapu 70 Fudong Jiaoshan 90 Tuoshan
140
80
120
60
120
70
100
50
100 60
80
40 80 50
mg/L

60
60 40
30

40 30
40
20
20
20 20
10
10
0 0
0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

100 60 60
Sanhaobiao Wuguishan 50 Dagongshan 55
Shadungang
50 50
80

40 45
40
40
60
30 35
mg/L

30
30
40
20 25
20
20

20
10 10 15

10

0 0 0 5
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

45 50 70
Pingtaishan No.14 light beacon Jiapu 400 Xintang
40
60
350
40
35
50 300

30
30 250
40
25
mg/L

200

20 30
20 150

15 20 100

10
10 50
10

5 0
0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

120 45
Xiaomeikou Daqian 26 Xishan 26 Xukou
40
24 24
100
35 22
22
20
80 30 20
18
18
25
16
60 16
14
mg/L

20
14
12
40 15
12 10
10 10 8
20 8 6
5
6 4
0
0 4 2

-5 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

45 30 month month
Manshan Dongtaihu
40
25
35

30 20
observed data
25
calculated data
mg/L

15
20

15 10

10
5
5

0 0
2 4 6 8 10 12 2 4 6 8 10 12

month month

Fig 10 Algae biomass calibration results

 Environ Sci Pollut Res

Table 2 Computation scenario of model simulation Table 4 Model simulation results of nitrogen of Lake Taihu and its
subzones
Case I Case II Case III Unit
(2006) (2008) (2010) Subzone Area Case I Case II CaseIII
(km2) (ton) (ton) (ton)
Atmospheric deposition 8300 8700 9800 ton
(dry and wet) Gonghu bay 171 2641.6 2811.0 2786.2
River inflow 73.8 98.5 118.8 108 m3 Meiliang bay 125 1803.6 1926.0 1896.8
River outflow 73.1 98.6 110.1 108 m3 Zhushan Bay 69 1601.8 1709.5 1680.0
Water quality (TN) 0.06–0.54 0.04–0.56 0.03–0.52 mg/L West Lake Zone 250 5397.2 5758.1 5664.6
of river inflow
Southwest Lake Zone 367 5738.3 6117.1 6033.8
Water quality (TP) 2.25–13.40 1.33–12.20 1.12–10.63 mg/L
of river inflow East Taihu Bay 201 2226.2 2334.7 2338.5
Algae removal 0 8.99 8.99 ton East Lake Zone 163 1617.5 1708.4 1702.7
Central Zone 972 13,880.6 14,801.2 14,604.4
Lake Taihu 2318 34,907 37,166 36,707

appeared at that part. The spatial simulation result

Discussion
showed the distribution generally.
Relationship between the size of water body
and self-purification ability
Application of EcoTaihu model on self-purification capacity
Self-purification capacity of nitrogen in years 2006, 2008, and
of Lake Taihu
2010 is 34,907, 37,166, and 36,707 ton, respectively, and self-
purification capacity of phosphorus in years 2006, 2008, and
The calibrated model was applied to investigate the self-
2010 is 1483, 1775, and 1749 ton, respectively. According to
purification capacity by using the suitable timescale in
TBA, the storage capacity of Lake Taihu in years 2006, 2008, and
Lake Taihu. The representative flow discharge, wind
2010 is 0.45×1010, 0.48×1010, and 0.47×1010 m3, respectively.
magnitude, and direction were taken into account when
A positive relationship was found between the self-purification
setting up the scenarios. According to the water balance
capacity and storage capacity which shows that storage capacity
statistics of Lake Taihu from 2002 to 2010, the maxi-
is an important factor of self-purification process.
mum, minimum, and average river inflow occurred in
Self-purification capacity and unit area self-purification
years 2010, 2006, and 2008, respectively. The corre-
capacity of nutrients in years 2006, 2008, and 2010 of eight
sponding inflow values are 1.18×1010, 0.74×1010, and
zones are shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The figures show that the
0.99 × 1010 m3 respectively. Hence, three computation
larger the surface area of the zone, the higher the self-
scenarios were selected. Case 1 used the observed dis-
purification capacity. The figures also show that the heavily
charge of the rivers and wind scenarios of 2006. Case 2
polluted zones such as Zhushan Bay and West Lake Zone
used the data of 2008. Cases 3 used the data of 2010
have much higher nutrient removal rate per unit area than
(Table 2). Self-purification capacity simulation result of
relative clean zones such as East Taihu Bay and East Lake
nitrogen of Lake Taihu and its subzones is shown in
Zone. One reason is that high nutrient level, usually mean high
Tables 3 and 4, and the result of phosphorus is shown
concentration of algae and the algae detritus sedimentation, is
in Tables 5 and 6.
the main route of self-purification; the other lies in that the
water quality of East Taihu Bay and East Lake zone is very
good, and low nutrient levels lead to low nutrients removal
rate.
Table 3 Model simulation results of nitrogen of Lake Taihu

Case I (ton) Case II (ton) Case III (ton)

Table 5 Model simulation results of phosphorus
Fnh2sub 667 636 682
Case I (ton) Case II (ton) CaseIII (ton)
Fn32sub 59 57 62
Fden2sed 31,935 34,106 33,517 Fpo2sub 155 149 158
Fn2fish 2039 2136 2234 Fdep2sed 1208 1503 1467
Fn2air 357 382 365 Fp2fish 141 147 149
Fnsub2fish 150 151 153 Fpsub2fish 21
Environ Sci Pollut Res

Table 6 Model simulation

results of phosphorus of Lake Subzone Area (km2) Case I (ton) Case II (ton) Case III (ton)
Taihu and its subzones
Gonghu bay 171 134.6 155.1 154.4
Meiliang bay 125 65.9 81.1 79.3
Zhushan Bay 69 98.9 122.9 120.0
West Lake Zone 250 229.7 284.1 277.7
Southwest Lake Zone 367 214.9 262.4 257.1
East Taihu Bay 201 95.9 105.9 106.7
East Lake Zone 163 100.7 111.4 112.2
Central Zone 972 542.3 652.0 641.7
Lake Taihu 2318 1483 1775 1749

Relative role of the biological purification function in the range of 31,935 to 34,106 ton and phosphorus is 1208 to
1253 ton. The source of detritus is algae death, zooplankton
The main self-purification process of Lake Taihu is sedimen- death and excretion, fish death, and excretion and river input
tation of detritus. The annual sedimentation rate of nitrogen is in which algae death is the main source. However, status of

Fig 11 Nitrogen removal and unit area removal by each subzone of Lake Fig 12 Phosphorus removal and unit area removal by each subzones of
Taihu Lake Taihu

detritus sedimentation is very easy to be disturbed and resus-
pended to the overlying water body which is an important
source of algae blooming.
The second important self-purification process is nutrient
feeding by fish, which accounts for 2039 to 2234 ton nitrogen
and 140 to 150 ton phosphorus removal in water body per
year, and the third is uptake by submerged plant which is 693
to 744 ton nitrogen and 140 to 150 ton phosphorus per year.
It should be noted that the nutrient removal by submerged
plants is less than fish. The reason is that submerged plant is
only located in eastern Taihu and Gonghu bay, while the fish
spread all over Lake Taihu. The second reason is that nitrogen
and phosphorus uptake by submerged plant does not only
come from water body but also from bottom sediment.
Denitrification
The simulation result of nitrogen removal by denitrification
process is only 300 ton per year, which is much less than the
result of 29,700 ton per year by Chen et al. (2012). This is
because denitrification process favors an anaerobic environ-
ment, and Lake Taihu is a shallow lake whose water body is
usually oxygen-enriched, while bottom sediment of the Lake
is anaerobic and where denitrification process could happen.
However, the focus of EcoTaihu model is in water body, and
the reaction at the bottom sediment is not considered. As
Table 3 noted, about 33,000 ton nitrogen was settled at the
bottom sediment per year and where the copious amounts of
nitrogen was released to the air through denitrification pro-
cess. If nitrogen removal by denitrification process is
29,700 ton per year, as Chen’s study stated, then the nitrogen
increase in sediment would be 3000 ton per year, which agrees
with Xue’s study result with 2600 ton per year of nitrogen
increase in sediment of Lake Taihu (Xue et al. 2007).
Conclusion
In this study, a numerical model capable of evaluating the
water purification ability of Lake Taihu was developed and
applied. After verifying reproducibility of the model through
annual simulations of nutrient cycling in the ecosystem, the
water purification functions, comprising seasonal binding by
phytoplankton, macrophyte, zooplankton, as well as fish,
were appraised in terms of annual nutrient stock and flux both
for nitrogen and for phosphorus. The estimated values were
then put together to clarify the water purification characteris-
tics watching their correlation with the size of water body,
although the model could provide acceptable reproduction
nutrients and algae prediction in Lake Taihu. However, there
are still some problems that need further investigation. First of
all, there are many factors resulting in the self-purification
Environ Sci Pollut Res
capacity of lacustrine system. The bulk of these factors is
considered in EcoTaihu model, and plenty of field data are
required to drive the model. In this study, some factors were
simplified in the model. For example, sediment reaction is not
taken into account. The effect of denitrification in sediment
should be researched in future studies. Secondly, some param-
eters in EcoTaihu model are set as a constant in the whole
simulation period. That is unreasonable because some process
such as algal production rate is a dynamic coefficient. To
improve model performance, the dynamic parameter needs
to be investigated to replace the constant. The last part is to
improve the model so that it enables us to simulate the dy-
namics of macrophyte (submerged, emergent, or floating leaf
plants) and the macrobenthos (tubifex worms, midge larvae,
etc.). For these compartments, the present model, while ex-
tended to the dynamics of fish, can only quantify their role of
water purification by prescribing biomass annually as forcing
parameters of the ecosystem. To understand and include their
growth and metabolic processes in the model is our task in the
future. It is also demanded to refine the food web model
concerning fish and shellfish so that it can serve as an effective
management tool for fishery resources and grounds. Efforts
are still being continued to collect the latest information on
standing stocks and physiological parameters for species of
particular importance.
Acknowledgments This work was jointly supported by the research
project “Study on the influence of water level control on submerged
vegetation in a lake and the mechanism” (NSFC41230853), State Major
Project of Water Pollution Control and Management (Grant No.
2014ZX07101-011), and “Accurate evaluation technology of
cyanobacteria bloom stock in the lake”(NIGLAS2012135010). We
would like to thank the Taihu Basin Authority of Ministry of Water
Resources, Shanghai, China, and Taihu Laboratory for Lake Ecosystem
Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for providing monitoring data.
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