Are nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratios of Chinese lakes actually increasing? (Letter)

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Author(s)
Qin, Boqiang
Zhang, Yunlin
Zhu, Guangwei
Gong, Zhijun
Deng, Jianming
Hamilton, David P
Gao, Guang
Shi, Kun
Zhou, Jian
Shao, Keqiang
Zhu, Mengyuan
Zhou, Yongqiang
Tang, Xiangming
Li, Liang
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2020
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Tong et al. demonstrate an increased mass ratio of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) and decreased TP concentration in many Chinese lakes in association with widespread construction of sewage collection and treatment plants during 2008 to 2017. We argue this conclusion is not true and likely leads to reduced pressure for nutrient loading reduction.Tong et al. demonstrate an increased mass ratio of total nitrogen to total phosphorus (TN:TP) and decreased TP concentration in many Chinese lakes in association with widespread construction of sewage collection and treatment plants during 2008 to 2017. We argue this conclusion is not true and likely leads to reduced pressure for nutrient loading reduction.
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Journal Title
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Volume
117
Issue
35
Copyright Statement
© 2020 National Academy of Sciences. This is the author-manuscript version of this paper. Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher. Please refer to the journal website for access to the definitive, published version.
Subject
Environmental Sciences
Freshwater Ecology