Analysis of the temporal and spatial evolution of lakes in the Dongting Lake Area in the past 100 years

A significant loop of lake sedimentation state links catchment eco‐surroundings and lake biogenic regime shifts

“…The multi‐state alterations found in the hydrological fluctuations (Yu et al 2018), sediment particles, and river–lake relationships (Lu et al 2018) also supported that Dongting Lake did undergo transitions in the lake sedimentation state. After 1900, especially in 1950, Dongting Lake was subjected to major natural and man‐made disturbances, including flooding, polder, reservoir construction, reforestation, and Jingjiang River bend cutting, which resulted in significant sediment deposited, leading to the rapid shrinkage of its body and altering the lake sedimentation state (Yu et al 2020; Ran et al 2023). The shifts in lake sedimentation state differed in the inner parts of Dongting Lake (Fig.…”

“…5). As a result of substantial disturbances to both watershed eco‐environment and lake sedimentary setting, outliers concentrated predominantly between 1940 and 1980 (Zhou et al 2015; Yu et al 2020). The regular temporal distribution of observed shifts identified by the RSI and F statistics during this period confirmed that these shifts were intrinsically linked to biogeochemical and socio‐ecological processes (Huang et al 2022 b ; Tomasovych et al 2020).…”

“…1). Receiving water and sediment from four rivers in the west and south and the Yangtze River in the north, it became a complex lake with interconnected river–lake systems (Yu et al 2020). It is subject to the subtropical monsoonal humid climate zone, with an average annual temperature of 16.4°C–17.0°C, an average annual rainfall of 1100–1400 mm, and a frost‐free period of 260–280 d, which has distinct dry and wet seasons.…”

“…), have had a significant impact on the ecological environment of Dongting Lake and its upper reaches (Wen and Zeng 2006). Altogether, those resulted in a sharp reduction of the lake area from 5216.3 km 2 in 1896 to 2702.74 km 2 in 2019, and only 587 km 2 during the dry season, yielding a shrinkage rate of 48.19% (Yu et al 2020). At the same time, over 80% of the pollutant load in Dongting Lake is generated by the large amount of water and sediment draining into the inflow rivers, and then nutrient concentrations rise to high levels in the lake and the water quality declines during the past 30 years (Fu et al 2022).…”

“…Dongting Lake in China is a typically and distinctly deposited lake with frequent anthropogenic disturbances, and hydrological fluctuations demonstrated as increased sediment deposits, an extended dry season, and decreased water quality (Li 2013). This lake underwent a dramatic depositional transition resulting from climate variability, land‐use change, and hydrological engineering over the last century (Yu et al 2020). The regime and state shifts were mainly concentrated on hydromorphological processes, sediment siltation/erosion, and river‐floodplain relationships in Dongting Lake (Zhou et al 2015; Lu et al 2018; Yu et al 2018).…”