Abstract
Inland lakes are one of the important geographical components withing their watersheds, often serving as the sentinels for surrounding environmental changes. This study explores the impact of anthropogenic disturbances on nutrient and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in two representative sites within the inflow river mouth zone of Taihu Lake, a heavily anthropogenically influenced eutrophic lake. Leveraging a comprehensive database encompassing both watershed and lake parameters, including gross domestic product (GDP), wastewater discharge, and pollutant loads from Wuxi and Yixing cities, as well as nutrient and CO2 concentrations in the lake. Our findings reveal the existence of an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) between GDP and industrial wastewater discharge. This suggests that the growth of GDP does not invariably lead to an increase in industrial wastewater discharge in the studied cities. Nutrient concentrations in the two Taihu Lake sites exhibit sensitivity to external changes in the watershed, with an observed EKC relationship between GDP and nutrient concentrations. This underscores that increased environmental awareness and investment in environmental protection have facilitated GDP growth without compromising inland water quality. Additionally, our results indicate significant correlations between CO2 concentrations, GDP, wastewater pollutant loads, and nutrient concentrations within the lake. In summary, this study emphasizes the dual benefits of enhanced environmental protection—reducing both nutrient and CO2 concentrations—a phenomenon with potential relevance to other anthropogenically affected eutrophic lakes.