Short-Term Response Mechanisms of Water Quantity and Quality of Daihai Lake Under Temperature-Driven Changes

Authors

• Hao Zhang, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
• Xiaohong Shi, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Chinna
• Xianhua Li, Inner Mongolia Society for Environmental Science, Hohhot, China
• Junping Lu, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
• Ruizhong Gao, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
• Xixi Wang, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
• Shuhao Zhang, Wuliangsuhai Wetland Ecological Meteorological Field Scientific Experimental Base of China Meteorological Administration
• Longmei Xie, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China
• Yu Liu, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, China

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115006

Publication Title

Ecological Indicators

Volume

188

Pages

115006

Abstract

Temperature-driven mechanisms involving complex feedback and lag that affect the evolution of hydrological processes and ecological functions in cold- and arid-region lakes represent a core scientific issue in current hydrology and lake ecology research. In this study, based on month-scale temperature and environmental factor data from Daihai Lake in Inner Mongolia from January to December 2023, statistical methods (redundancy analysis, Tukey's test analysis, correlation analysis, structural equation modeling), time series analysis methods (dynamic time warping), and machine learning methods (random forest) were combined. A hierarchical and phased response framework was constructed that encompassed driver identification, path tracing, lag characterization, and contribution quantification. The framework was used to explore the short-term response mechanisms of environmental factors to temperature, analyze the response degrees of different environmental factors to temperature changes, and investigate the driving mechanism of temperature fluctuations on lake environmental factors. The results showed that the temperature (T), lake area (Z), wind speed (WS), and precipitation (P) explained 31.35%, 23.38%, 15.35%, and 22.09% of the variations in the water environmental factors, respectively (p < 0.05), with temperature being the primary driver of Daihai's water environment changes.

Rights

© 2026 The Authors

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.

Data Availability

Article states: "The authors do not have permission to share data."

ORCID

0000-0003-3455-3124 (Wang)

Original Publication Citation

Zhang, H., Shi, X., Li, X., Lu, J., Gao, R., Wang, X., Zhang, S., Xie, L., & Liu, Y. (2026). Short-term response mechanisms of water quantity and quality in Daihai Lake under temperature-driven changes. Ecological Indicators, 188, Article 115006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115006

Repository Citation

Zhang, Hao; Shi, Xiaohong; Li, Xianhua; Lu, Junping; Gao, Ruizhong; Wang, Xixi; Zhang, Shuhao; Xie, Longmei; and Liu, Yu, "Short-Term Response Mechanisms of Water Quantity and Quality of Daihai Lake Under Temperature-Driven Changes" (2026). Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications. 162.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/cee_fac_pubs/162