It is of great significance to investigate the spatio-temporal variation in nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients as a mechanism for controlling the sudden increase of algae in eutrophic water. Based on the geostatistical analysis, we studied the sources and occurring forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in different areas of Lake Taihu-a large shallow and eutrophic lake in China. We also examined the spatial distribution of the type of nutrient restriction and its reason by monitoring the sites seasonally from August 2014 to May 2015. The results showed that:① The concentrations of soluble nitrogen and phosphorus were higher in the winter than in other seasons, and they gradually decreased spatially from the northwest to southeast. The concentrations of particulate nitrogen, phosphorus, and chlorophyll a were highest in the summer, and the high-concentration regions in the winter and other seasons were located in the southern and northwestern parts of the lake, respectively. ② The composition of nitrogen and phosphorus in algae-and macrophyte-dominated regions changed substantially with the seasonal change. The algae-dominated regions were dominated by nitrate nitrogen and organic phosphorus in the winter and particulate nitrogen and phosphorus during the other seasons. However, the macrophyte-dominated region was dominated by particulate nitrogen and phosphorus in the winter and ammonia, organic nitrogen, and phosphorus during the other seasons. ③ The ratios of total nitrogen to total phosphorus in the algae-dominated region were greater than 16:1 in the autumn and winter but less than 16:1 in the summer and spring. Meanwhile, the ratios of total nitrogen to total phosphorus in the macrophyte-dominated region increased from less than 16:1 in the autumn and winter to more than 16:1 in the summer and spring. In the algae-dominated region, the spatial variation in the dissolved total nitrogen to total phosphorus ratio was consistent with the ratio of total nitrogen to total phosphorus. In the macrophyte-dominated region, the dissolved total nitrogen to total phosphorus ratio increased from less than 16:1 in the autumn to more than 16:1 in the summer, winter, and spring. The temporal and spatial variation in the ratio of particulate nitrogen to phosphorus was not significant (P>0.05), and this ratio was less than and greater than 16 in algae-and macrophyte-dominated regions, respectively.
Keywords: composition; dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus; geostatistics; particulate nitrogen and phosphorus; the temporal and spatial variation.