Phosphorus Cycling in Sediments of Deep and Large Reservoirs: Environmental Effects and Interface Processes

Jue Wang, Jijun Gao, Qiwen Wang, Laisheng Liu (), Huaidong Zhou, Shengjie Li, Hongcheng Shi and Siwei Wang
Additional contact information
Jue Wang: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China
Jijun Gao: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China
Qiwen Wang: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China
Laisheng Liu: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China
Huaidong Zhou: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China
Shengjie Li: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China
Hongcheng Shi: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China
Siwei Wang: State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, Beijing 100038, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 16, 1-23

Abstract: Although the sediment–water interface of deep and large reservoirs is recognized as a dominant source of internal phosphorus (P) loading, the quantitative hierarchy of environmental drivers and their interaction thresholds remains poorly resolved. Here, we integrate 512 studies to provide the first process-based synthesis that partitions P release fluxes among temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, salinity, sediment properties, and microbial activity across canyon, valley, and plain-type reservoirs. By deriving standardized effect sizes from 61 data-rich papers, we show that (i) a 1 °C rise in bottom-water temperature increases soluble reactive P (SRP) flux by 12.4% (95% CI: 10.8–14.0%), with sensitivity 28% lower in Alpine oligotrophic systems and 20% higher in warm monomictic basins; (ii) a single-unit pH shift—whether acid or alkaline—stimulates P release through distinct desorption pathways,; and (iii) each 1 mg L −1 drop in dissolved oxygen amplifies release by 31% (25–37%). Critically, we demonstrate that these drivers rarely act independently: multi-factor laboratory and in situ analyses reveal that simultaneous hypoxia and warming can triple the release rate predicted from single-factor models. We further identify that >75% of measurements originate from dam-proximal zones, creating spatial blind spots that currently limit global P-load forecasts to ±50% uncertainty. To close this gap, we advocate coupled metagenomic–geochemical observatories that link gene expression (phoD, ppk, pqqC) to real-time SRP fluxes. The review advances beyond the existing literature by (1) establishing the first quantitative, globally transferable framework for temperature-, DO-, and pH-based management levers; (2) exposing the overlooked role of regional climate in modulating temperature sensitivity; and (3) providing a research agenda that reduces forecasting uncertainty to <20% within two years.

Keywords: deep reservoirs; phosphorus cycling; environmental effects; sediment; migration; transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7551/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7551/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7551-:d:1729393

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().