Why Lake Taihu continues to be plagued with cyanobacterial blooms through 10 years (2007–2017) efforts

With the expansion of urban, industry, and agriculture after World War II, eutrophication firstly emerged as a major water quality threat in small water bodies. As the increasing magnitudes and scales of nutrient pollution and habitat alteration, many of the world’s large lakes exhibit symptoms of eutrophication, e.g., toxic cyanobacterial blooms, deoxygenation, and habitat loss. These symptoms were noted in shallow large lakes such as Okeechobee and Winnebago (USA), Winnipeg (Canada), Peipsi (Estonia), Balaton (Hungry), Chaohu and Taihu (China), Kasumigaura (Japan); in shallow parts of large lakes including Lakes Champlain, Ontario, and Erie (Canada/USA), Huron (USA), Maracaibo (Venezuela), Victoria (Africa); and in segments of immense water bodies such as Tanganyika (Africa) (Table S1 online). These large aquatic ecosystems pose a tremendous challenge from mitigation and restoration perspectives