Ammonia distribution and ecological risk assessment in nine fresh lakes in China

With the development of industry and economy, ammonia nitrogen pollutions in surface water are of great concern worldwide. This study investigated the historical contents of total ammonia nitrogen (TAN) and unionized ammonia molecules (NH₃) in nine fresh lakes in China during 2014-2022. Three different classification methods (flood season, season, and geographical distribution) were used to analyze the concentration variation of TAN and NH₃. The concentration of TAN first decreased and then increased in the flood season, showing a lower concentration in summer and a higher concentration in winter. The variation trend of NH₃ was in an opposite way with TAN. Correlation analysis between ammonia and 10 water quality parameters and 4 pollution emission and treatment parameters showed that the correlation coefficient between TAN and total phosphorus (total nitrogen) was 0.44 (0.43), respectively. The correlation coefficients between average annual TAN concentration and total emissions (waste water treatment input) were 0.35 (0.53), respectively. Combined with ecotoxicity data from a series of aquatic species, the ecological risks of TAN and NH₃ in lakes were evaluated using hazard quotient and joint probability curve methods. From 2014 to 2022, the probability of 5% species affected in the acute ecological risk of TAN and NH₃ is lower than 0.01, but for the chronic ecological risk of TAN and NH₃, the probabilities of 5% species affected are 0.003-0.030 and 0.04-0.14, respectively. The chronic ecological risks were higher than the acute ecological risks, and high risks in plateau lakes like Dianchi Lake should be paid more attention to.