Abstract:Yuehai is the largest wetland in Yinchuan of poor water quality during spring, with a significant contribution from agricultural non-point source pollution. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the distribution characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus in the Yuehai Lake and its eutrophication status, water samples from 28 representative sites in Yuehai Lake and its outflow river were collected during the spring irrigation period of 2021. The distribution characteristics and regularities of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP), as well as different forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in Yuehai Lake were analyzed. The differences in nitrogen and phosphorus concentration between Yuehai Lake and its outflowing river were revealed. The results showed that during the spring irrigation period, the TN concentrations at 78% of the sampling points in Yuehai Lake was lower than the Class III surface water standard, and the TN concentration at 57% of the sampling points belonged to the heavily eutrophic type. During the spring irrigation period, the TP concentration at all sampling points was lower than Class III surface water standard, and the TP concentration at 70% of the sampling points belonged to the heavily eutrophic type. There were differences in the sources and transformation processes of different nitrogen fractions in the water of the Yuehai Lake. Pondus hydrogenii (pH) and total dissolved solids (TDS) affect the concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water, and dissolved oxygen (DO) does not have a significant effect on the nitrogen and phosphorus forms in the water of the Yuehai Lake. The distribution characteristics of nitrogen and phosphorus in the outflow river of the Yuehai and the Yuehai water were different, and the differences in nitrogen concentration and non-orthophosphate phosphorus concentration between the Yuehai Lake and its outflow river were not significant in the direction of river and lake water flow (north-south direction). The nitrogen and phosphorus pollutants in the Yuehai converged into the Yellow River along with the rivers out of the Yuehai Lake, and the nitrogen and non-orthophosphate phosphorus in the Yuehai Lake might impact on the water of the Ningxia section of the Yellow River and increase the risk of pollution of the Yellow River, and the control of the nitrogen and non-orthophosphate phosphorus in the Yuehai Lake should be strengthened. This work provides a reference for continuously and accurately improving the water quality in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River basin.