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The objective of this study was to link hydrodynamic disturbance with sediment resuspension, phosphorus release, and algal growth in Lake Tai, a typical shallow lake located in the south of the Yangtze River Delta in China. With this regard, a sediment-water-algae laboratory experiment was conducted and extrapolated to the real situation in terms of field observations. The results show that the algal growth rate synchronically increased with dissolved total phosphorus (DTP) release rate. The DTP decreased with increase of bottom flow velocity, indicating that the phosphorus release rate was lower than its transfer rate into algal biomass. While all levels of hydrodynamic disturbances could increase sediment resuspension and phosphorus release, a low to moderate disturbance was beneficial, but a strong disturbance was harmful for algal growth. Also, a low to moderate disturbance caused the dissolved alkaline phosphatase activity (DAPA) to increase with time, which provided the enzyme for hydrolyzing a variety of organic phosphorus compounds from bed sediment into algae-needed nutritional DTP. The experiment proved to be an efficient means to understanding eutrophication mechanisms of large shallow lakes such as Lake Tai.

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Establishing nutrient reference condition (baseline environmental condition) of lakes in ecoregion is a critical consideration in the development of scientifically defensible aquatic nutrient criteria. Three methods were applied to determine reference conditions in Yungui Plateau ecoregion lakes with respect to total phosphorus, total nitrogen, planktonic chlorophyll a (chl a) and Secchi depth. First, minimally developed lake/catchment units were identified based on existing geographical database and visual basin survey. Lakes in these catchments were considered minimally disturbed ‘reference lakes’. Second, the frequency distribution of all of the lake data presently available by each variable was plotted, and the lower 25th percentile was selected as the reference condition for each value. Third, median nutrient, chl a and Secchi depth values were determined for the best one‐third of lakes and applied as indicators of reference condition. The result of model prediction and data from historical record were used to test three techniques for determining reference condition. Reference conditions, as determined by these three methods, broadly agreed for all parameters. Overall, the data suggest that multiple methods can be used to determine reference condition, and that in Yungui lakes, reference condition corresponds to oligotrophic–mesotrophic status.

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