Lacustrine environment responses to human activities in the past 300 years in Longgan Lake catchment,southeast China

The chronology of a gravity core sediment from Longgan Lake center was defined by²¹⁰Pb, combining with historic events recorded by document and sediment. The relationship between vegetation, soil erosion and lake nutrient state was discussed based on pollen, magnetic parameters, diatoms, phosphorus and pigments. The results show that the lake has undergone twice obvious transformations from oligotrophic to mesotrophic condition. Two eutrophications occurring at about 1768AD and the beginning of the 20th century respectively were related to external nutrient loading increase resulting from the enhanced human activities in the lake catchment. It is probable that strength of human actions in historic periods was influenced more or less by climatic changes. The lake eutrophication presented a more serious tendency because of the wide use of chemical fertilizer, reclamation of wetland and wetland vegetation destruction around the lake in the last 40 years.