A Review on the Driving Mechanism of the Spring Algal Bloom in Lakes Using Freezing and Thawing Processes

Spring algal blooms in mid–high-latitude lakes are facing serious challenges such as earlier outbreaks, longer duration, and increasing frequency under the dual pressure of climate warming and human activities, which threaten the health of freshwater ecosystems and water security. At present, the freeze-thaw processes is the key to distinguishing spring algal blooms in mid- to high-latitude lakes from low-latitude lakes. Based on the visualization and an analysis of the literature in the WOS database during 2007–2023, we clarified the driving mechanism of the freeze-thaw process (freeze-thaw, freeze-up, and thawing) on spring algal bloom in lakes by describing the evolution of the freeze-thaw processes on the nutrient migration and transformation, water temperature, lake transparency and dissolved oxygen, and physiological characteristics of algae between shallow lakes and deep lakes. We found that the complex phosphorus transformation process during the frozen period can better explain the spring-algal-bloom phenomenon compared to nitrogen. The dominant species of lake algae also undergo transformation during the freeze-thaw process. On this basis, the response mechanism of spring algal blooms in lakes to future climate change has been sorted out. The general framework of “principles analysis, model construction, simulation and prediction, assessment and management” and the prevention strategy for dealing with spring algal bloom in lakes have been proposed, for which we would like to provide scientific support and reference for the comprehensive prevention and control of spring algal bloom in lakes under the freezing and thawing processes.