Seasonal differences in water quality of highland lakes and its influencing factors: A case study of Dianchi Lake

Abstract

Water quality is of great significance to human survival and development. It is of good theoretical value to study seasonal water quality variation and driving factors in plateau lakes. This paper studied the variation of water quality parameters in different seasons and their relationship with land use and climate factors in Dianchi Lake, Yunnan Province from 2001 to 2019. The results show that the factors restricting water environment in different seasons are different, but basically close. The water quality parameters of multiple water quality monitoring stations in different seasons showed a decreasing or insignificant trend. In the rainy season, the temperature and precipitation were positively correlated with most water quality parameters, while the driving effect of climate factors was not significant in the dry season. Different land types have different effects on water quality indexes in different seasons. The water quality score was higher in the rainy season than in the dry season. The scores of water quality stations in the south and middle of Dianchi Lake are higher than those in the north. In this study, the relationship between climate, land, and water quality is established, which provides a way for the research of water quality parameters.