title: Changes in nutrient ratios and phytoplankton community structure caused by hydropower development in the Maotiao River, China.
abstract: Reservoirs created for hydropower production have become an important feature impacting a river. Understanding the effects of river impoundment on the downstream environment is critical to decision-making for water resource protection. The changes caused by impoundment are changes in water quality and the resulting effect on the phytoplankton community structure. The impacts caused by a series of reservoirs along a river are still not well understood. In this study, we conducted an investigation of five reservoirs along the Maotiao River, China. We found that a series of impoundments plays a role in decreasing the phytoplankton biomass in downstream reservoirs. Within the studied area, nitrogen is not a limiting factor for phytoplankton growth. The ratio of silicon to phosphorus (Si:P) can become a major factor in the regulation of phytoplankton community structure. The Si:P ratio increased from upstream to downstream reservoirs, causing a concurrent increase in the percentage of Bacillariophyta, particularly during the winter. In addition, our results indicate that the creation of dams eliminates Si limitation downstream.
authors.affiliation: School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, 200444, People's Republic of China, fswang@shu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Fushun
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Baoli
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Cong-Qiang
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D011211:Electric Power Supplies; D010839:Phytoplankton / Q000145:classification / Q000378:metabolism*; D045483:Rivers