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Review

Recent Progress in Diatom Research in the Yangtze River Basin

by
Hui Liu
,
Xiangqun Wu
and
Xu Chen
*
Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Ecology and Environmental Change, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430078, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Limnol. Rev. 2025, 25(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/limnolrev25010002
Submission received: 21 October 2024 / Revised: 5 February 2025 / Accepted: 7 February 2025 / Published: 10 February 2025
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Abstract

:
Diatoms have been widely used for aquatic environment assessment. However, the progress of diatom research is uneven in different regions of the world. This study gathered both Chinese and English articles on diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin in order to explore recent progress in this field. Using the Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), and Wanfang databases, we gathered 419 articles (1995–2024) on diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin. There is a substantial increase in the number of articles since 2000. Since the mid-1990s, a total of 63 new diatom species have been identified in this region. Based on limnological investigations of lakes in the Yangtze River Basin, diatom-based conductivity and total phosphorus (TP) transfer functions have been developed for quantitative reconstruction of past conductivity and TP in the water column. The results revealed a recent shift in thematic focus from eutrophication to biodiversity dynamics, the ecosystem regime shift, and ecohydrological change. Although diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin has achieved fruitful outputs, further studies are urgently needed to explore diatom biodiversity and the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems in this rapidly-developing region. The results can improve our understanding of diatom research progress and hence provide important clues for further studies.

1. Introduction

As an important primary producer in aquatic ecosystems [1], diatoms are useful bioindicators for aquatic environment changes. Due to their narrow niches, well-developed taxonomy system, easy identification, and good preservation in sediments, diatoms have been widely used in limnological and paleolimnological studies [2,3]. For example, diatoms have been shown to be useful bioindicators for water quality in European countries [4]. In addition, sedimentary diatoms have been used for the quantitative reconstruction of past changes in lake acidity and nutrient concentrations, providing key information on reference conditions that can be used to assess both the extent of pollution and the extent of recovery [5]. Therefore, diatom research has important implications for the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems [6].
European and American diatomists contributed to more than 70% of all the published articles on diatom research, suggestive of European and North American dominance in this field [7]. In particular, the European diatom taxonomy books entitled ‘Diatoms of Europe (Volumes 1 to 9)’ reflect the advanced stage of current diatom taxonomy research. Meanwhile, the Diatoms of North America project provides accurate information on diatom diversity, identification, autoecology, and geographic distribution (https://www.diatoms.org) (accessed on 12 October 2024). In addition, the book entitled ‘The diatoms: applications for the environmental and earth sciences (2nd edition)’ summarizes the major subdisciplines of applied diatom research, and explains the fundamental theory and techniques of practical application in the environmental and earth sciences [6]. These pioneering studies lay the foundation for diatom research across the globe. Under such a scenario, diatom research from other regions outside of Europe and North America displays a marked increase in the output [7]. For example, a total of 1128 diatom taxa have been described in China from 1848 to 2019 [8], especially in some biodiversity hotspots such as the Yangtze River basin.
From west to east, the Yangtze River flows through the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, the Sichuan Basin, and the Yangtze floodplain, with a total area of 1.8 × 106 km2. Correspondingly, the average annual temperature ranges from −5.6–3.8 °C in the headwater region to 16 °C in the estuary, and the average annual precipitation increases from 260–780 mm to ~1200 mm [9,10,11]. In the upper Yangtze reaches, glaciation and geological tectonics during the Quaternary have created a large number of lakes. In the middle Yangtze reaches, abundant shallow riverine lakes are born as a result of lateral erosion and meander cut-offs of the Yangtze River [12].
Geomorphological processes of the Yangtze River contribute substantially to evolutionary diversification in aquatic biodiversity, including fishes [13] and diatoms [8]. For example, Li and Liu described 687 diatom species belonging to 75 genera in the Hengduan Mountains, the upper Yangtze River reaches [14]. Li and others described 385 diatom species belonging to 73 genera in 9 plateau lakes of Yunnan Province [15]. Tan and Liu identified 152 diatom species belonging to 51 genera in the Han River, the largest tributary of the Yangtze River [16].
In addition to the progress in taxonomic studies, recent years have witnessed plentiful research in the application of diatoms in limnological and paleolimnological studies. For example, the diatom-based total phosphorus (TP) transfer functions have been developed in lakes of the Yangtze floodplain [17] and Yunnan Province [18]. In comparison with other diatom-based TP transfer functions, the transfer function developed for the Yangtze floodplain lakes has better performance [19]. Based on the diatom-TP transfer function, Qin and others reconstructed past water TP in 15 lakes of the Yangtze floodplain and identified 3 trend types of decrease, increase, and fluctuate [20]. In order to advance diatom research, we gathered recent articles on diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin and explored the trends in diatom research outputs during the last three decades. In addition, we aimed to explore new findings of diatom research and to provide important clues for further studies.

2. Materials and Methods

A systematic survey of diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin was conducted on the Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) and Wanfang databases, and the query was a string of keywords = (“diatom” AND “lake” AND “Yangtze River or changjiang”). Since there were very few publications on the research topic before 1995, this study mainly focused on the timespan from 1995 to 2024. After exporting the data, we screened and sorted the articles and related references on diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin into the dataset for further analysis.
The R package ‘bibliometrix’ [21] was used to extract key information from the articles, such as the keywords, publication date, author, journal, and affiliations.

3. Results

A total of 419 articles were retrieved. In terms of study sites, most studies mainly focus on the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, while diatoms have been less investigated in the headwater regions, including the Hengduan Mountains, the Sichuan Basin, and the Three Gorges Region (Figure 1). All the articles were classified into three research topics, including limnology, taxonomy, and paleolimnology. The locations of the three research topics are labeled using pink, black, and blue filled triangles in Figure 1, respectively. Between 1995 and 2024, limnological and paleolimnological studies were more abundant than taxonomic studies.
There were 253 Chinese articles and 166 English articles, with increasing trends from 1995 to 2024 (Figure 2). Chinese and English articles displayed an annual increase rate of 5.08% and 13.43%, respectively (Table 1). Less than 10% of all the articles were contributed by international cooperation (Table 1).
Among the top 20 authors, most authors were from the diatom paleoecology group led by Prof. Xiangdong Yang from the Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the diatom taxonomy group led by Prof. Quanxi Wang from Shanghai Normal University (Figure S1). Key researchers, including Prof. John Anderson from Loughborough University and Prof. Patrick Kociolek from the University of Colorado, have been at the forefront of international collaborations (Figure S1).
Most Chinese articles were published in the Journal of Lake Science, Resources and Environment in the Yangtze Basin, Journal of Hydroecology, and Yangtze River (Figure 3). The annual number of articles in the top two journals displayed an increasing trend. According to the number of English articles, the top five journals were Phytotaxa, Ecological indicators, Fottea, Journal of Paleolimnology, and Science of the Total Environment (Figure 4).
Eutrophication was the major research topic in diatom research before 2015, but the number of related articles on eutrophication decreased thereafter (Figure 5). The articles on the topics of community structure, diversity, paleolimnology, and taxonomy increased gradually. In particular, diatom taxonomy has become the most popular topic during recent years (Figure 5).
The authors of 253 Chinese articles came from 239 institutions, among which the top three institutions were Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) (55 papers, accounting for 23.0% of Chinese articles), Institute of Hydrobiology, CAS (47 papers, 19.7%), and Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS) (39 papers, 16.3%) (Table S1). The authors of 166 English articles came from 175 institutions, among which the top three institutions were Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS (54 papers, accounting for 30.9% of English articles), University of Colorado Boulder (35 papers, 20.0%), and Shanghai Normal University (15 papers, 8.6%) (Table S2).

4. Discussion

4.1. Diatom Taxonomic Studies in the Yangtze River Basin

In the 1970s, Prof. Dexiang Jin, the founder of diatom taxonomy in China, firstly proposed the Chinese diatom classification system. In this system, Centricae consisted of 3 orders (Coscinodiscales, Biddulphiales, Rhizosoleniales), 8 families (Coscinodiscaceae, Eupodiscaceae, Actinodiscaceae, Asterolampraceae, Biddulphiaceae, Chaetoceraceae, Rutilariaceae, Rhizosoleniaceae), and 3 subfamilies (Melosiroideaei, Skeletonemoideae, Coscinodisoideae), and Pennatae consisted of 4 orders (Naviculales, Diatomales, Phaeodactylales, Surirellales) and 12 families (Naviculaceae, Cymbellaceae, Gomphonemaceae, Auriculaceae, Diatomaceae, Cocconeiaceae, Achnanthaceae, Eunotiaceae, Phaeodactylaceae, Epithemiaceae, Nitzschiaceae, Surirellaceae) [22]. In 1982, Lin and Hu firstly reported 44 diatom species in the mainstream of the Yangtze River [23]. Thereafter, Chinese diatom taxonomists have identified 63 new species belonging to 32 genera in the Yangtze Basin (Table S3).
Presently, most new diatom species were found after 2012 and belonged to three genera, including Achnanthidium, Gomphonema, and Cymbella. For example, 12 new species of Achnanthidium have been identified, including Achnanthidium lacustre Yu, You, and Kociolek, Achnanthidium sublanceolatum Yu, You, and Kociolek, Achnanthidium taipingense Yu, You, and Kociolek, Achnanthidium anhuense Yu, You, and Wang, Achnanthidium qingxiense You, Yu, and Wang Achnanthidium rostropyrenaicum Jüttner and Cox, Achnanthidium longissimum Yu, You, and Kociolek, Achnanthidium jiuzhaiense Yu, You, and Wang, Achnanthidium epilithicum Yu, You, and Wang, Achnanthidium limosum Yu, You, and Wang, Achnanthidium subtilissimum Yu, You, and Wang, and Achnanthidium kangdingnese Yu, You, and Wang. Nine new species of Gomphonema have been identified, including Gomphonema yaominae Li, Gomphonema qii Yu, You, Kociolek, and Wang, Gomphonema poyangense Yu, You, Kociolek, and Wang, Gomphonema longganense You, Yu, Kociolek, and Wang, Gomphonema shanghaiense Zhang and Kociolek, Gomphonema bigutianchnense Li, Gomphonema bicepiforme Zhang and Kociolek, Gomphonema jianghanense Li, Gong, Xie, and Shen, and Gomphonema minutiforme Bertalot and Reichardt (Figure 6a). In terms of study sites, three hotspot regions include Sichuan Province (13 new species), Hunan Province (10 new species), and Yunnan Province (7 new species) (Figure 6b). Li and others described 13 new diatom species belonging to 5 genera in 9 plateau lakes of Yunnan Province [15], including Aulacoseira dianchiensis Yang, Stoermer, and Kociolek [24], Gomphosinica lugunsis Liu, Kociolek, You, and Fan [25], and Navicula yunnanensis Li and Metzeltin [26].

4.2. Limnological Investigation

Modern investigations of diatoms and environmental factors in the water column of lakes and rivers can improve our understanding of the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems.

4.2.1. Diatom-Based Transfer Functions

Based on the investigation of diatoms in the surface sediments and water quality of 45 lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Yang and others established a training set consisting of 86 diatom species and 23 environmental factors [17]. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) showed that TP (ranging from 30 to 550 μg/L) was the most important environmental factor, accounting for 16.9% of the total variance in diatom assemblages. Accordingly, a diatom-based TP transfer function was developed using the inverse deshrinking Weighted Average (WA) model [17].
Similarly, Chen and others found that Cocconeis placentula Ehrenberg, Amphora veneta Kützing, Cyclostephanos dubius (Hustedt) Round, and Cyclostephanos invisitatus (Hohn and Hellerman) Theriot, Stoermer, and Håkanasson were dominant species in eutrophic lakes of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, whereas species from Achnanthes and Navicula generally flourished in oligotrophic or mesotrophic lakes [18]. The sole effect of TP explained 4.54% of the total variance in diatom assemblages. Accordingly, a diatom-based TP transfer function was developed in these plateau lakes. Interestingly, the TP optimum of certain species in the Yangtze floodplain lakes was different from that in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau lakes. For example, the TP optimum of Aulacoseira granulata (Ehrenberg) Simonsen is about 70 μg/L in the Yangtze floodplain lakes [17], but more than 100 μg/L in lakes of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau [18]. The difference might result from different catchment settings and lake morphometry. For example, the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the Indian monsoon region and the Yangtze floodplain in the East Asian monsoon region have different patterns of temperature and rainfall variability, probably influencing diatom composition through altering catchment and in-lake processes, such as bedrock weathering intensity, soil erosion, and hydrological dynamics.
In the headwater region of the Yangtze River, there are numerous saline lakes due to low rainfall and high evaporation. Achnanthidium minutissimum (Kützing) Czarnecki, Amphora libyca Ehrenberg, Caloneis bacillum (Grunow) Cleve, Cymbella subaequalis Grunow, Fragilaria brevistriata Grunow, Fragilaria capucina Desmazières, Fragilaria pinnata Ehrenberg, Fragilaria ulna (Nitzsch) Lange-Bertalot, Navicula pupula Kützing, Nitzschia angustata (Smith) Grunow, and Nitzschia palea Hustedt were abundant in Ca-Mg-CO3 lakes [27]. Na-SO4-Cl lakes were featured by Amphora commutata Grunow, Anomoeoneis sphaerophora Pfitzer, Cocconeis pediculus Ehrenberg, Cocconeis placentula var. euglypta (Ehrenberg) Cleve, Cyclotella caspia Grunow, and Cymbella pusilla Grunow. CCA showed that conductivity was the most important environmental factor, explaining 10.8% of the total variance in diatom assemblages. Weighted Averaging and WA Partial Least Square (WA-PLS) regression and calibration models were used to establish a diatom-based conductivity transfer function [27]. Wang and others further improved the diatom–conductivity transfer function based on an updated database consisting of 90 lakes [28]. The quantitative reconstruction of conductivity in the Namco and Chenco Lakes showed that the conductivity of both the Namco and Chenco Lakes displayed a fluctuant upward trend, probably resulting from the combined effect of lake area shrinkage and warming-induced glacial meltwater inputs. At the yearly–decadal timescales, conductivity variability mainly responded to glacial meltwater input, while warming-induced evaporation was the major driving factor at the interdecadal timescale. In addition, Wang and others found that the spatial and temporal sensitivity of the lake diatom network’s topology in China was linked to the intensity of human activities, as indicated by network parameters (e.g., skewness) within the diatom assemblage structure [29]. Skewness shifted from positive to negative values with enhanced human disturbances, while it became positive in the restored lakes [29].

4.2.2. Periphytic or Benthic Diatoms in Lakes

Epiphytic diatoms can be classified into epilithic (living on stones), epiphytic (attached to plants), epipsammie (associated with sand grains), and epipelic (related to the mud) species [1]. Li found 178 benthic species belonging to 26 genera in the littoral zone of Dongting Lake [30]. Gomphonema parvulum (Kützing) Kützing was the dominant species all year round, and other dominant species included Melosira varians Agardh and Nitzschia dissipata (Kützing) Rabenhorst in spring, Cymbella affinis Kützing and Navicula recens (Lange-Bertalot) Lange-Bertalot in summer, C. affinis in autumn, and Amphora montana Krasske in winter [30]. In the East Lake of Wuhan City, Achnanthes was the dominant genus in summer, while Melosira varians Agardh flourished in other seasons [31]. In Poyang Lake, the dominant benthic diatom species included Fragilaria intermedia (Grunow) Grunow, Synedra acus Kützing, Navicula exigua Dujardin, Pinnularia gibba (Ehrenberg) Ehrenberg, and Surirella robusta Ehrenberg [32].
Longgan Lake is a macrophyte-dominated lake in the middle Yangtze reaches, and diatom assemblages were featured by benthic species from the genera of Achnanthes, Cocconeis, Fragilaria, Navicula, Nitzschia, and Gyrosigma, with the frequent occurrence of planktonic species such as A. granulata, Cyclotella atomus Hustedt, and Cyclotella meneghiniana Kützing. The frequent occurrence of eutrophic species including C. dubius in recent sediments can be indicative of eutrophication in this lake [33]. Besides nutrients, the water temperature imposed a significant effect on seasonal changes in benthic diatom assemblages [34].

4.2.3. Riverine Diatoms

Diatoms are sentinels of environmental changes in rivers [35]. Wang and others found that planktonic genera mainly consisted of Asterionella, Stephanodiscus, Melosira, Cyclotella, and Conticribra, while benthic genera were mainly composed of Cymbella, Navicula, and Surirella in the Yangtze River based on 279 samples collected along the mainstream from the headwater region to the estuary [36]. Liu and others found that C. meneghiniana, Stephanodiscus parvus Stoermer and Håkansson, and Navicula subminuscula Manguin were eutrophic species in the Han River [37]. In Shanghai City, the dominant diatom species were different in three types of rivers, i.e., C. placentula and Amphora libyca var. baltica (Brander) Cleve in the restored rivers, N. recens and Navicula germainii Wallace in the moderately polluted rivers, and N. palea and Fallacia pygmaea (Kützing) Stickle and Mann in the heavily polluted rivers [38].
With the implementation of the Yangtze River protection strategy, there is an increasing demand for environmental monitoring and sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems. Diatoms, as a useful bioindicator, have attracted much attention during recent years [7]. In 2021, The Guide on Ecological Health Assessment of rivers and lakes in Zhejiang Province (Trial) [39] listed diatoms as a bioindicator for aquatic environment assessment, promoting the application of diatoms in aquatic environment monitoring. It can be expected that other provinces of China will popularize diatom-based water-quality assessment in the near future.

4.3. Diatom-Based Palaeoecological Studies

4.3.1. Diatom-Inferred Ecohydrological Changes

In the Yangtze floodplain, most lakes had free hydrological connectivity with the Yangtze River before the 1950s, while dam construction reduced river–lake water exchange and turbulent mixing in the water column. In the Chaohu, Taibai, Liangzi, and Cehu Lakes, A. granulata, a heavily-silicified species preferring turbulent water, gradually decreased after the construction of dams, while other lightly-silicified taxa such as the Cyclotella and Cyclostephanos species increased [40,41]. In Taibai Lake, the percentage of A. granulata was positively correlated with sedimentary median grain size (R2 = 0.67), suggesting that enhanced hydrodynamic intensity could promote the growth of A. granulata [42]. In some macrophyte-dominated lakes, synchronous decreases in water-level fluctuation and suspended particles input after damming probably promoted the growth of submerged plants through increasing light penetration, hence creating microhabitats for epiphytic diatoms such as A. minutissimum [43,44].
The quantitative reconstruction of TP in more than 10 lakes showed that TP in the water column increased gradually in most lakes during the last two centuries. However, TP declined in some lakes of the Jianghan Plain, or displayed fluctuant trends in some lakes. Before the 1950s, TP fluctuated around 50 μg/L in most lakes [20]. In Chaohu Lake, the rapid expansion of C. dubius after 1978 coincided with an increase in TP from ~60 μg/L to >100 μg/L [45]. Taibai Lake shifted from a macrophyte-dominated status to an algae-dominated status when TP concentration was above the threshold value of 80–100 μg/L [17]. Similarly, Wang and others [46] found that a TP concentration of 70–120 μg/L was the threshold value for the shift from macrophyte-dominated lakes to algae-dominated lakes, according to the survey of 68 lakes in different trophic levels in the Yangtze floodplain.
In addition, the introduction of exotic fish species can alter the food web structure, and subsequently influence diatom composition. Gong and others found that the introduction of silver and bighead carp and other fish probably resulted in the disappearance of the endemic diatom species Cyclotella rhomboideoelliptica Skuja in Dianchi Lake, Yunnan Province [47]. With the development of mountain tourism, sewage discharge from hotels and restaurants has accelerated environmental degradation in mountain lakes. The bloom of Cyclotella pseudostelligera Hustedt after the 1990s indicated nutrient enrichment in Yunzhong Lake, a headwater lake in southeastern Hubei Province [48].

4.3.2. Biodiversity Dynamics

In eight lakes (i.e., Chaohu, Wushan, Shitang, Dianshan, Liangzi, Zhangdu, Honghu, and Longgan Lakes) of the Yangtze floodplain, sedimentary diatom records revealed that species richness, evenness, and dissimilarity experienced different directions and magnitudes of changes in response to lake eutrophication, while nutrient enrichment led to the homogenization of functional groups in the diatom communities of these lakes [3]. Similarly, in eight lakes (i.e., Dongting, Honghu, Futou, Luhu, Shahu, Yanxi, Wanghu, and Poyang Lakes) of the middle Yangtze reaches, Chen and others [49] found that diatom species richness showed an increasing trend in most lakes, probably resulting from the introduction of opportunistic species that can adapt to mesotrophic conditions such as A. minutissimum. The increase in colonial and mesotrophic diatom species may be the major reason for the increase in species richness. Diatom β diversity in most lakes showed declining or insignificant increasing trends, indicating that the immigration rate of new species was slowing down. However, in urban lakes such as the Shahu and Sanliqi Lakes, severe eutrophication and heavy metal pollution have caused diatom diversity loss. Meanwhile, a significant increase in β diversity implied that the rate of species loss is accelerating in urban lakes. In addition, the monitoring records of 67 lakes in eastern China showed that diatom β diversity was significantly correlated with abiotic factors such as geochemical conditions, while the effects of nutrient concentration on the β diversity of the diatom community were limited [50].

4.3.3. Paleoclimate Reconstruction

During the Last Glacial Maximum, the dominance of cold-tolerant small Fragilaria species in Lugu Lake (Yunnan Province) indicated a widespread cooling in southwestern China [51]. These taxa can adapt to cold and low-light conditions beneath the ice in alpine lakes [52]. In Tengchong Qinghai Lake, Yunnan Province, precipitation can alter lake acidity, hence causing the shift in diatom communities [53]. Accordingly, a linear relationship between the percentages of acidophilic diatoms and precipitation was established for a quantitative reconstruction of past precipitation variability [53]. Diatom-inferred precipitation variability identified three drought periods, including the Heinrich Event 1, the Younger Dryas, and the Little Ice Age over the past 18,500 years. The wettest period was observed in the early Holocene (11,300–7500 cal. year BP).
Wang and others reconstructed Holocene temperature changes based on high-resolution sedimentary diatom records from lakes in the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau [54]. A shift in diatom assemblages from Cyclotella to Aulacoseira generally indicated an increasing trend in temperature during the early Holocene. The amplitude of climate warming from the Last Glacial to the Holocene Thermal Maximum was approximately 2.89 °C in Tingming Lake, 4.27 °C in Tiancai Lake, and 7.26 °C in Cuoqia Lake. Diatom-inferred temperature indicated a warm period from 8400 cal. year BP to 4000 cal. year BP in the Tiancai and Cuoqia Lakes.

5. Conclusions

Diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin has achieved fruitful output, especially in the fields of taxonomy, limnology, and paleolimnology during recent years. Meanwhile, diatom research is still facing numerous challenges at present. On the one hand, the classification system in China is not complete at present, as limnological and paleolimnological studies mainly rely on the European diatom classification system. Given that diatom taxonomic studies can lay the foundation for the application of diatoms in earth and environment science, it is urgent to advance diatom taxonomy research. Although there is an increase in newly identified diatom species, diatom diversity might be underestimated due to less investigation, especially in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. Under such a scenario, there is an urgent necessity to train more diatom taxonomists to complete this mission. On the other hand, the rapid development of the molecular technique-based diatom identification method has provided a novel way to identify diatom species. The combination of traditional microscopic classification and molecular techniques can advance diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin. These strategies are crucial for advancing diatom research, informing the sustainable management of aquatic ecosystems in China, as well as other similar developing countries.

Supplementary Materials

The following supporting information can be downloaded at: https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/limnolrev25010002/s1, Figure S1: The top fifteen authors according to the number of Chinese (a) and English (b) articles on diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin; Table S1: The number of Chinese articles published by the top 15 affiliations; Table S2: The number of English articles published by the top 15 affiliations; Table S3: New recorded diatom species in lakes of the Yangtze River Basin.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, X.C. and H.L.; data curation, H.L. and X.W.; writing—original draft preparation, H.L. and X.W.; writing—review and editing, X.C.; funding acquisition, X.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42171166).

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to three anonymous reviewers and the handling editor for their constructive comments. We thank Zeng Linghan, Xu Shuangyu, Wang Runzhou, and Peng Jia for their helpful comments and suggestions on early versions of the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. Location of the Yangtze River Basin in China (a) and the sampling sites of diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin (b). Each triangle represents a sampling site, where diatoms in sediments and/or water column have been investigated.
Figure 1. Location of the Yangtze River Basin in China (a) and the sampling sites of diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin (b). Each triangle represents a sampling site, where diatoms in sediments and/or water column have been investigated.
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Figure 2. Annual trends in the number of articles on diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin.
Figure 2. Annual trends in the number of articles on diatom research in the Yangtze River Basin.
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Figure 3. The trend of articles published in Chinese journals between 1995 and 2024. The circle size indicates the number of journal articles.
Figure 3. The trend of articles published in Chinese journals between 1995 and 2024. The circle size indicates the number of journal articles.
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Figure 4. The trend of the number of articles published in English journals from 1995 to 2024. The circle size indicates the number of journal articles.
Figure 4. The trend of the number of articles published in English journals from 1995 to 2024. The circle size indicates the number of journal articles.
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Figure 5. The trend of changes in research topics based on 419 articles from 1995 to 2024.
Figure 5. The trend of changes in research topics based on 419 articles from 1995 to 2024.
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Figure 6. The number of new diatom species found in the Yangtze Basin in terms of diatom genera (a) and study sites (b).
Figure 6. The number of new diatom species found in the Yangtze Basin in terms of diatom genera (a) and study sites (b).
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Table 1. Major information on the dataset of Chinese and English articles.
Table 1. Major information on the dataset of Chinese and English articles.
DescriptionChinese ArticlesEnglish Articles
Timespan1995–20241995–2024
Sources (journals, books, etc.)8887
Articles253166
Annual growth rate %5.0813.43
Document average age8.245.82
Average citations per doc7.0957.783
References17,80211,368
Keywords plus798709
Author’s keywords 598537
Authors894554
Co-Authors per doc4.935.59
International co-authorships %2.3727.229
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Liu, H.; Wu, X.; Chen, X. Recent Progress in Diatom Research in the Yangtze River Basin. Limnol. Rev. 2025, 25, 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/limnolrev25010002

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Liu H, Wu X, Chen X. Recent Progress in Diatom Research in the Yangtze River Basin. Limnological Review. 2025; 25(1):2. https://doi.org/10.3390/limnolrev25010002

Chicago/Turabian Style

Liu, Hui, Xiangqun Wu, and Xu Chen. 2025. "Recent Progress in Diatom Research in the Yangtze River Basin" Limnological Review 25, no. 1: 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/limnolrev25010002

APA Style

Liu, H., Wu, X., & Chen, X. (2025). Recent Progress in Diatom Research in the Yangtze River Basin. Limnological Review, 25(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/limnolrev25010002

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