Spatiotemporal distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus in alpine lakes in the Sanjiangyuan Region of the Tibetan Plateau

To provide a theoretical basis for alpine source lake protection, ten samples were taken from each lake annually from 2012 to 2015. Each year, the various species of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients were measured. The average contents of nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen in the four lakes are 0.195–0.0 mg/L, 0.038–0.143 mg/L, 0.004–0.168 mg/L, 0.006–0.740 mg/L, and 0.050–0.547 mg/L, respectively. The total phosphorus contents in Eling Lake, Longbao Lake and Sea Star were higher than Class I water quality standards, and the total nitrogen contents in Eling Lake, Sea Star and Zhaling Lake were higher than Class I water quality standards as well. The concentration contour maps of the nitrate nitrogen, ammonia nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, total phosphorus and total nitrogen showed that the indicators of the four lakes in the east, the west, and the center of the lake did not have the same trend. From 2012 to 2015, each of the measured nutrients showed a rising trend year by year. The four lakes are polluted by both endogenous and exogenous pollution, and it is necessary to limit the exogenous pollution and protect the alpine lakes immediately.