Strategies for Phosphorus Management and Greenhouse Gas Reduction via Plant Harvesting in the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Dayu Zhu; Xiaobo Liu; Xingchen Liu; Leixiang Wu; Wei Huang

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2025.120804

Strategies for Phosphorus Management and Greenhouse Gas Reduction via Plant Harvesting in the Water-Level Fluctuation Zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir

Environ Res. 2025 Jan 8:120804. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.120804. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Dayu Zhu¹, Xiaobo Liu², Xingchen Liu², Leixiang Wu³, Wei Huang²

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China; School of Chemistry, Monash University, Clayton, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia.
² State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, China. Electronic address: 15932251729@163.com.

PMID: 39793870
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2025.120804

Abstract

The water-level fluctuation zones (WLFZ) in Three Gorges Reservoir encounter several ecological challenges, particularly potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water eutrophication due to water level variations. Therefore, to address those challenges, our study explores the relationships between soil properties (Phosphorus cycle), plant conditions, microbial community, and GHG emissions. Our findings reveal that aboveground plants are the key link in the WLFZ ecosystem, which has previously been overlooked. Hydrological variations are continuously resetting the soil microbial system, keeping their ecological function in a primary state. Variations in elevation and soil nutrients have a minimal impact on GHG emissions in harvested plant areas. In contrast, in native plant areas, these variations significantly influence both GHG emissions and the phosphorus cycle. A strategic harvesting approach targeting high and low-elevation areas is also proposed, focusing on plants with high phosphorus enrichment coefficients (EC_p > 1) to effectively counter eutrophication and GHG emissions. This selective harvesting in specific elevations could reduce CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O emissions by 27378, 21, and 5 tonnes, respectively, and remove over 228934 tonnes of phosphorus. Our study emphasizes the significance of targeted vegetation management in WLFZ, providing a sustainable pathway to counter water eutrophication and achieve carbon neutrality.

Keywords: Carbon neutrality; Environmental management; Microbial community; Multi-elevation; Phosphorus elimination.