Aquatic macrophyte fluctuations since the 1900s in the third largest Chinese freshwater lake (Lake Taihu): Evidences, drivers and management implications

• Historical, macrofossil, and pollen records of aquatic plants were compared. Paleolimnological can track temporal changes vegetation. Hydrology nutrients shaped the past macrophyte composition succession. Century-scale on suggest lake management decisions. Diverse communities represent an essential component healthy shallow ecosystems, information in macrophytes abundance is crucial for restoration initiatives management. However, long-term dynamics are poorly understood most subtropical freshwater lakes. This study used surveys from 1960 to 2014 alongside plant macrofossil remains deposited sediment reconstruct, community change over two centuries southeastern bay Lake Taihu, China. Plant macrofossils efficiently captured main historical recorded species, including four unrecorded submerged taxa ( Vallisneria spinulosa , Zannichellia palustris Nitella sp., Chara sp.) by monitoring surveys. Aquatic failed reflect species bay, but provided additional with no few seeds, especially floating-leaved free-floating (e.g., Nymphoides Azolla ). We conducted a constrained incremental sum squares cluster analysis multiple factor (MFA) core identified three major century, shift Potamogeton malaianus (pre-1960), natans P. malaianus, maackianus, charophyte (1960–1998), followed proliferation pollutant-resistant Ceratophyllum demersum Myriophyllum spicatum as well (post-1998). MFA also clearly elucidated relationships between shifts various environmental stressors (i.e., cladocerans, particle size spectra geochemical data). The results confirmed our hypothesis, which stated that hydrological alterations increased nutrient inputs, driven increasing anthropogenic pressures likely drivers alteration succession bay. Our provides unique perspective pre-disturbance Eastern thereby offering useful not only managers Yangtze region, global decision-making eutrophication large