Modeling Nutrients, Cryptosporidium and Plastics from Land Activities into Rivers in the World and China: Causes, Hotspots and Strategies

Summary

Rivers are contaminated by multiple pollutants worldwide as a result of urbanization and intensive agricultural production. Examples of water pollution are related to nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus), pathogens (Cryptosporidium), and plastics. However, water pollution assessment is not well studied from multi-pollutant perspectives, which may hinder the understanding of the causes and hotspots of multiple pollutants. Agriculture is a diffuse source of water pollution. However, the contribution of plastic pollution from agriculture is not clear yet. The contribution of livestock species to water pollution associated with multiple pollutants is not well studied. Moreover, future water pollution assessments considering multi-pollutant perspectives under global change are lacking in China. There is a limited understanding of the strategies that are effective in reducing multiple pollutants in Chinese rivers under global changes. Thus, this thesis aims to assess river pollution hotspots associated with multiple pollutants and their causes worldwide and in China and to explore the potential for reducing river pollution in the future with a focus on China.