Fink Alcamo_et_al_accepted_version_05_12_2017 for SRO.pdf (1.18 MB)
Phosphorus loadings to the world's largest lakes: sources and trends
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 20:37 authored by Gabriel Fink, Joseph AlcamoJoseph Alcamo, Martina Flörke, Klara RederEutrophication is a major water quality issue in lakes worldwide and is principally caused by the loadings of phosphorus from catchment areas. It follows that to develop strategies to mitigate eutrophication, we must have a good understanding of the amount, sources, and trends of phosphorus pollution. This paper provides the first consistent and harmonious estimates of current phosphorus loadings to the world's largest 100 lakes, along with the sources of these loadings and their trends. These estimates provide a perspective on the extent of lake eutrophication worldwide, as well as potential input to the evaluation and management of eutrophication in these lakes. We take a modeling approach and apply the WorldQual model for these estimates. The advantage of this approach is that it allows us to fill in large gaps in observational data. From the analysis, we find that about 66 of the 100 lakes are located in developing countries and their catchments have a much larger average phosphorus yield than the lake catchments in developed countries (11.1 versus 0.7 kg TP km-2 year-1). Second, the main source of phosphorus to the examined lakes is inorganic fertilizer (47% of total). Third, between 2005–2010 and 1990–1994, phosphorus pollution increased at 50 out of 100 lakes. Sixty percent of lakes with increasing pollution are in developing countries. P pollution changed primarily due to changing P fertilizer use. In conclusion, we show that the risk of P-stimulated eutrophication is higher in developing countries.
Funding
Seventh Programme; European Union; FP7/2007-2013
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Global Biogeochemical CyclesISSN
0886-6236Publisher
WileyExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
32Page range
617-634Department affiliated with
- Geography Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Sussex Sustainability Research Programme Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-02-14First Open Access (FOA) Date
2021-01-18First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2021-01-18Usage metrics
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