Human impact on the historical change of CO ₂ degassing flux in River Changjiang

Abstract

The impact of water quality changes in River Changjiang (formally known as the Yangtze River) on dissolved CO ₂ and silicate concentrations and seasonal carbon flux in the past several decades (1960s–2000) was evaluated, based on monitoring data from hydrographic gauge. It was found that dissolved CO ₂ and silicate in Changjiang decreased dramatically during this decades, as opposed to a marked increase in nutrient ( e.g. NO ₃ ^-) concentrations. Our analyses revealed that dissolved CO ₂ in Changjiang was over-saturated with the atmosphere CO ₂, and its concentration had showed a declining trend since the 1960s, despite that fluvial DIC flux had maintained stable. Analysis results also suggested that the decrease in dissolved CO ₂ concentration was attributed to changes on the riverine trophic level and river damming activities in the Changjiang drainage basin. Due to the economic innovation ( e.g. agriculture and industry development) across the Changjiang watershed, fertilizers application and river regulations have significantly altered the original state of the river. Its ecosystem and hydrological condition have been evolving toward the "lacustrine/reservoir" autotrophic type prevailing with plankton. Accordingly, average CO ₂ diffusing flux to the atmosphere from the river had been reduced by three-fourth from the 1960s to 1990s, with the flux value being down to 14.2 mol.m ^-2.yr ^-1 in the 1990s. For a rough estimate, approximately 15.3 Mt of carbon was degassed annually into the atmosphere from the entire Changjiang drainage basin in the 1990s.