Shift of phytoplankton assemblages in a temperate lake located on the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project

There remains no consensus on the effects of changes in the environment factors under the action of water diversions on phytoplankton communities. Herein the changing rules applying to phytoplankton communities subject to water diversion were unveiled based on long-term (2011–2021) time-series observations on Luoma Lake, located on the eastern route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. We found that nitrogen decreased and then increased, while phosphorus increased after operation of the water transfer project. Algal density and diversity were not affected by water diversion, while the duration of high algal density was shorter after water diversion. Phytoplankton composition had dramatic differences before and after water transfer. The phytoplankton communities exhibited greater fragility when they first experienced a human-mediated disturbance, and then they gradually adapted to more interferences and acquired stronger stability. We furthermore found the niche of Cyanobacteria narrowed while that of Euglenozoa widened under the pressure of water diversion. In addition to WT and DO, the main environmental factor before water diversion was NH4–N, whereas the effect of NO3–N and TN on phytoplankton communities increased after water diversion. These findings fill the knowledge gap as to the consequence of water diversion on water environments and phytoplankton communities. [Display omitted] •Algal density was unchanged, while high algal duration reduced with water transfer.•Community structure changed and compactness weakened after water diversion.•The niche of blue algae decreased, while Euglenozoa increased after water transfer.•The community stability decreased after water transfer, but recovered since 2019.