C and N Transport Flux and Associated Changes of Water Quality Parameters from a Multiscale Subtropical Watershed in the Poyang Lake Area

Abstract

In this study, a connected waterflow watershed system in the Poyang Lake area was selected as the study site, which ranged from the primary tributary to the lake area (Xiangxi River Jiazhu River Ganjiang River Poyang Lake). The aims of the study were to monitor different forms of C and N and evaluate the transport flux of C and N, and then, the transport mechanisms of C and N and the variation characteristics of water quality parameters in Poyang Lake were discussed, with the intent of providing a scientific basis for the comprehensive management of watershed health within the Poyang Lake Basin ecosystem. The main results were as follows. ① The concentrations of C and N in the Poyang Lake watershed exhibited significant seasonal changes, wherein the TIC, TOC, and TC concentrations in the Poyang Lake Basin were higher in the wet season than those in the dry season, and the NO3--N and DTN concentrations were higher in the dry season than those in the wet season. The main reason for the increase of TC in the wet season was the increase of TIC. Most of the TN in the wet season was transported by non-dissolved forms of N, while the TN in the dry period mostly was transported by DTN, and the DTN was mostly in the form of NO3--N. ② The C and N transport fluxes in the Poyang Lake watershed also showed significant seasonal variation. The C transport flux of Xiangxi River was lower during the wet season than that during the dry season, and the C transport flux of Jiazhu River and Ganjiang River was higher during the wet season than that during the dry season. The various forms of N transport flux in Xiangxi River, Jiazhu River, and Ganjiang River watershed were higher in the wet season than those in the dry season. There was a very significant positive correlation between the flux and runoff at the 99% confidence level. ③ The COND, TDS, and pH in the Poyang Lake watershed were lower during the wet season than those during the dry season, while the ORP in the wet season was higher than that in the dry season.