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Essay on Case Study Lake Dianchi

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Agricultural Non-point Source Water Pollution Caused Eutrophication of Dianchi Lake in China and Possible Solutions

Abstract: Eutrophication is a big problem around the world and especially in China where laws and regulations are not followed in rural areas. This is the case in Kunming, Yunnan, China at Lake Dianchi where eutrophication is the highest in the country. This case study will set up to study the effects of phosphate in the lake, the quantity of phosphate, and the possible source of the phosphate. From there the effects of plant and animal life will be discussed as well as the availability of water to be used for agriculture and potability of the water. Solutions will then be considered that can change the lake …show more content…

This pollution has had a negative effect on the plant and aquatic life of the lake. The amount of phytoplankton has increased, “although the number of species has decreased. The number of individuals per liter of water increased from a few thousand in the 1950s, to around a hundred million in the 1980s, up to several billion in the 1990s.”[4] This is in direct relation to the amount of phosphorus in the water which promotes algae and plankton life to exist. The same trend that was shown with phytoplankton can be seen by zooplankton in that the number of species decreased while the amount of them increased. The amount of zooplankton increased from around 2,000 to around 23,000, from 1950 to 1980, respectively. [4] The loss of indigenous fish life has been seen over the same time frame but another factor might have played a bigger role than the lake eutrofication, this factor is that the lake was introduced with a number of exotic species that have become dominate over the indigenous ones. The problem of phosphorus eutrofication has also hindered the use of lake water to be used as potable water. There is a major problem within the area of Lake Dianchi because most of the surrounding areas use this water for agriculture and domestic purposes. The phosphorus levels have gotten so high that basic filters can’t purify the water to safe levels.

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