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Received: 8 January 2009 / Revised: 6 July 2009 / Accepted: 11 August 2009 / Published online: 3 June 2010
Abstract Eutrophication is now a ubiquitous water quality impairment in China. The first step toward restoration of eutrophicated water bodies is a marked reduction of nutrient loadings in their drainage basins. However, the combination of a number of physical and socio-economic factors is now producing compounded increases in nutrient loads while the nutrient assimilation capacities of natural systems are decreasing. Meanwhile, most of the lakes in densely populated part of China are shallow and very susceptible to anthropogenic alteration. Therefore, in spite of ascending efforts in eutrophication control upward trends of algal blooms in both fresh and coastal waters have been observed for the past two decades. Huge knowledge gap exists in our understanding of the sources and pathways of nutrient losses to aquatic ecosystems. Successful water quality restoration of China's eutrophic waters relies not only on more resource input but also more emphasis on basic, integrated, and management-oriented research.
Keywords Eutrophication * Nutrient loads * Water quality management * China
INTRODUCTION
China is extremely short of natural resources, given its enormous population. It ranks sixth in the world in terms of total water resources, but is almost the lowest in terms of per capita water resource availability (Niu and Harris 1996). Chronic water stress in parts of Northeast China and in almost all of Northwest China is a widely recognized crisis. With the rapid growth of its population and a rising standard of living, water consumption will increase and China is surely expected to face more severe water shortage problems in the future. Water scarcity in the country is now further exacerbated by pollution of its surface and ground waters. China's rapid economic development over the past three decades has exerted a significant toll on its natural endowments, particularly water resources. As a result of increased pollutant emission, rampant water pollution threatens to undermine China's growth prospects (Liu and Diamond 2005; Oyang and Wang 2000).
As in many parts of the world, eutrophication is one of the most pervasive water quality problems in China. Other water quality problems may be confined in some specific areas. Eutrophication, however, is now a ubiquitous water quality...