Soil Erosion as a Driver of Eutrophication: An Analysis of European Lakes Using Sentinel-2 Satellite Data

Soil erosion by water is a critical factor contributing to eutrophication in water bodies, acting as a significant source of nitrogen and phosphorus from land. Many models predict soil erosion and sediment transport into lakes and rivers, and the connection between soil erosion triggering eutrophication is considered textbook knowledge. However, limited data-based scientific evidence exists on the consequences of soil erosion and sediment fluxes on eutrophication. This study examines the impact of soil erosion on eutrophication, considering other covariates such as slope, elevation, phosphorus, nitrogen, flow accumulation and temperature, by analyzing zones of varying sizes around lakes in six different countries of Europe covering an area of 1596 km²: Austria (81 lakes), France (310), Germany (266), Hungary (73), Poland (465), and the United Kingdom (316). We utilized multispectral Sentinel-2 satellite remote sensing data at 20-m spatial resolution for 2021 and 2022 to estimate the Floating Algae Index (FAI) of lakes. FAI allowed us to quantify bloom occurrence (BO)—the frequency of detected algal blooms—and maximum bloom extent (MBE)—the total area affected by blooms during the study period. The MBEs were then correlated with the aforementioned covariates within zones of 100 m, 200 m, 500 m, and 1 km distance from the lakes using machine learning algorithms to identify the most significant and thus driving factors within these areas. Our results prove quantitatively that soil erosion is indeed a key driver of eutrophication for all the selected European regions except Austria. Water temperature, nutrient input, and slope are additional important drivers of lake eutrophication.