<p>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<sup>–1</sup>), 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 &gt;1 mg N L<sup>–1</sup>) 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.</p>

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Coupling nitrogen removal and watershed management to improve global lake water quality

  • Xing Yan,
  • Yongqiu Xia,
  • Xu Zhao,
  • Chaopu Ti,
  • Longlong Xia,
  • Scott X. Chang,
  • Xiaoyuan Yan

摘要

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.