A Model of the Biogeochemical Cycles of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Baltic

A model is described that aims at predicting surface water quality from N- and P-inputs on a European scale. The model combines a GIS-based approach to estimate loads, geohydrological data to define model structure and statistical techniques to estimate parameter values. The model starts with an inventory of sources of N and P: agriculture, wastewater and (for N) atmospheric deposition. Nitrogen flows are assumed to follow both surface- and groundwater flows, while for phosphorus only surface water flow is taken into account. A calibration of loss terms of N and P (assumed to be constants for the whole of Europe) by comparing total inputs to measured loads shows good agreement between observations and calculated river discharges. For the coastal seas of Europe concentrations are calculated by assuming conservative behaviour of N and P. Freshwater quality problems occur in western Europe with its intensive agriculture and high population density and locally in southern Europe where dilution is low due to low water discharge. In the marine environment the main problem areas are the Baltic and Black seas, with much lower impacts in the North and Adriatic Sea; in other coastal waters human impacts are essentially negligible.

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Liebig’s Law and Haber’s Tragedy

Dead Zones ◽

10.1093/oso/9780197520376.003.0007 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 89-105

Author(s):

David L. Kirchman

Keyword(s):

Gulf Of Mexico ◽

Chesapeake Bay ◽

19Th Century ◽

Algal Growth ◽

Oxygen Depletion ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Limiting Nutrient ◽

Von Liebig ◽

The Baltic ◽

Fritz Haber

The fertilizers commonly used by gardeners have many ingredients, but the biggest two are nitrogen and phosphorus, either of which can limit plant and algal growth. The idea that only one nutrient limits growth is encapsulated by Liebig’s Law of the Minimum, named after Justus von Liebig, a 19th-century German chemist. Liebig is also called the “father of fertilizer” because of his work on formulating and promulgating commercial fertilizers. However, he wasn’t the first to discover the Law, and he was wrong about the most important ingredient of fertilizers. This chapter outlines the arguments among limnologists, oceanographers, and geochemists about whether nitrogen or phosphorus sets the rate of algal growth and thus production of the organic material that drives oxygen depletion. The chapter discusses that the limiting nutrient varies with the type of aquatic habitat. In dead zones like the Gulf of Mexico, parts of the Baltic Sea, and Chesapeake Bay, bioassay experiments have shown that nitrogen is usually limiting. The nitrogen necessary for fertilizer and ammunitions comes from the Haber-Bosch process. The chapter reviews the life of one of the two German inventors, Fritz Haber, and how it was full of contradictions if not tragedy.

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Seaweed resources of Poland

Botanica Marina ◽

10.1515/bot-2019-0058 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 73-84

Author(s):

Izabela Michalak

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Food Additives ◽

Feed Additives ◽

Raw Material ◽

Central European Country ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Green Macroalgae ◽

Central European ◽

The Baltic ◽

Beach Cast

AbstractPoland, a Central European country with a Baltic Sea coastline of 634 km, has no tradition of nearshore cultivation of seaweeds or utilization of this biomass. The Baltic is known for its eutrophication. Numerous attempts are being made to combat this phenomenon as well as to find applications for the beach-cast and free-floating macroalgae, which are a nuisance in many areas. Seaweed harvesting can mitigate eutrophication by the reduction of nutrients – especially nitrogen and phosphorus – in water. Collected biomass can be utilised in agriculture as biofertilisers and used as a valuable raw material for the manufacture of high-value macroalgal products, such as biostimulants of plant growth, feed additives, components of cosmetics, food additives or biogas as a form of renewable energy. The Baltic abounds in green macroalgae (Ulva sp. and Cladophora sp.) with brown (Ectocarpus sp., Pilayella sp., Fucus vesiculosus) and red algae (Vertebrata sp., Ceramium sp., Furcellaria sp.) occurring in much smaller quantities. These seaweeds are also of great interest as bioindicators of environmental pollution. The seaweeds in the southern Baltic Sea still represent an unexploited biomass and can be a huge source of innovation. New approaches towards macroalgal utilisation are in demand.

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Future socioeconomic conditions may have a larger impact than climate change on nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea

AMBIO ◽

10.1007/s13280-019-01243-5 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (11) ◽

pp. 1325-1336 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Alena Bartosova ◽

René Capell ◽

Jørgen E. Olesen ◽

Mohamed Jabloun ◽

Jens Christian Refsgaard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

Dynamic Modelling ◽

Climate Change Scenarios ◽

Nutrient Loads ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Socioeconomic Drivers ◽

The Baltic ◽

The Impact

Abstract The Baltic Sea is suffering from eutrophication caused by nutrient discharges from land to sea, and these loads might change in a changing climate. We show that the impact from climate change by mid-century is probably less than the direct impact of changing socioeconomic factors such as land use, agricultural practices, atmospheric deposition, and wastewater emissions. We compare results from dynamic modelling of nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea under projections of climate change and scenarios for shared socioeconomic pathways. Average nutrient loads are projected to increase by 8% and 14% for nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively, in response to climate change scenarios. In contrast, changes in the socioeconomic drivers can lead to a decrease of 13% and 6% or an increase of 11% and 9% in nitrogen and phosphorus loads, respectively, depending on the pathway. This indicates that policy decisions still play a major role in climate adaptation and in managing eutrophication in the Baltic Sea region.

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Productive and Environmental Consequences of Sixteen Years of Unbalanced Fertilization with Nitrogen and Phosphorus—Trials in Poland with Oilseed Rape, Wheat, Maize and Barley

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy10111747 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1747

Author(s):

Agnieszka Rutkowska ◽

Piotr Skowron

Keyword(s):

Oilseed Rape ◽

Field Experiments ◽

Spring Barley ◽

Crop Productivity ◽

Winter Oilseed Rape ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Soil P ◽

Environmental Consequences ◽

P Fertilizer ◽

The Baltic

Two factorial field experiments were carried out between 2003 and 2018 in the Experimental Stations in Eastern and Western Poland using four crop rotations with winter oilseed rape, winter wheat, maize and spring barley. The initial value of phosphorus (P) in Grabów soil was 69.8 mg P·kg−1 soil and in Baborówko soil it was 111.3 mg P·kg−1 soil (Egner-Riehm Double-Lactate DL). P fertilizer was added annually at 39 kg P·ha−1 under winter oilseed rape, 35 kg P·ha−1 under maize and 31 kg P·ha−1 under wheat and barley using superphosphate and nitrogen (N), which was added at five levels (30–250 kg N·ha−1) per year as ammonium nitrate in addition to controls with no added fertilizer. Through the several years of the experiment, P fertilizer had no effect on crop N use efficiency (NUE) nor crop productivity. There was significant soil P mining particularly in the high-N fertilizer trials causing a reduction in the content of available soil P by up to 35%. This work recommends that, based on soil P analysis, P fertilizer should not be added to high-P soils. This practice may continue uninterrupted for several years (16 in this case) until the excess soil P has been reduced. This mechanism of removal of “legacy” P from soil has major implications in reducing runoff P into the Baltic Sea drainage area and other water bodies.

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Temporal Trends in Phosphorus Concentrations and Losses from Agricultural Monitoring Sites in Latvia

Environmental and Climate Technologies ◽

10.2478/rtuect-2021-0016 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 233-242

Author(s):

Ieva Siksnane ◽

Ainis Lagzdins

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Water Discharge ◽

Temporal Trends ◽

Agricultural Runoff ◽

Trend Test ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Study Sites ◽

The Baltic ◽

Statistical Trends

Abstract The Baltic Sea is the youngest sea on our planet, the environment of the sea is considered to be unique and fragile. It is affected by various human activities resulting in the impairment of water quality. Riverine nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) loads are among the major causes of eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. This study examines temporal trends in water discharge, total phosphorus (TP) and orthophosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P) concentrations and losses from three agricultural runoff monitoring sites in Latvia including Berze, Mellupite, and Vienziemite. The annual datasets of TP and PO4-P concentrations and losses were tested for statistical trends using a nonparametric test - the Mann-Kendall trend test. The timeframe of this study was from 1995 until 2018. The results show a large variety of annual mean concentrations and losses of TP and PO4-P in the study period. No statistically significant trend was detected for TP losses. Meanwhile, statistically significant downward trends were observed for TP concentrations in four out of six study sites and in two study sites for PO4-P concentrations.

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Phytoplankton Biogeochemical Cycles

10.1093/oso/9780199233267.003.0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Carol Robinson

Keyword(s):

Inorganic Carbon ◽

North Atlantic Ocean ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Carbon ◽

Deep Ocean ◽

Biogeochemical Cycles ◽

Essential Elements ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

The North ◽

Life On Earth ◽

Fish And Shellfish

This chapter describes how the activity of phytoplankton, bacteria, and Archaea drive the marine biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus, and how climate driven changes in plankton abundance and community composition influence these biogeochemical cycles in the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are essential elements required for all life on Earth. In the marine environment, dissolved inorganic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus are utilized during phytoplankton growth to form organic material, which is respired and remineralized back to inorganic forms by the activity of bacteria, Archaea, and zooplankton. The net result of the photosynthesis, calcification, and respiration of marine plankton is the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, its sequestration to the deep ocean as organic and inorganic carbon, and its availability to fuel all fish and shellfish production.

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Upgrading of Wastewater Treatment Plants for the Reduction of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in Schleswig-Holstein, FRG

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.1990.0231 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 22 (7-8) ◽

pp. 69-76

Author(s):

C. F. Seyfried ◽

E. Dammann

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Trickling Filter ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

The North ◽

The North Sea ◽

Standard Values ◽

The Baltic ◽

Activated Sludge Processes

In order to solve the problems occurring in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, programmes for the reduction of nutrients in wastewater treatment plants were initiated in the Schleswig-Holstein region. In 1988, all wastewater treatment plants with capacities greater than 17 000 population equivalents were upgraded for phosphate reduction, to give effluent concentrations of less than 2 mg P/l. By 1995, standard values of Ntot < 10 mg/l and P < 0.5 mg/l are expected. Designs for the expansion of several wastewater treatment plants are presented in this paper. In particular, the problems which result from seasonal peaks, high phosphorus concentrations, and the combination of trickling filter and activated sludge processes are discussed.

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Biogeochemical Cycles of Nitrogen and Phosphorus

Technologies for the Treatment and Recovery of Nutrients from Industrial Wastewater - Advances in Environmental Engineering and Green Technologies ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-1037-6.ch001 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1-20

Author(s):

Andrea Fra-Vázquez ◽

Daniel Valenzuela-Heredia

Keyword(s):

Human Resource ◽

Human Activity ◽

Crucial Role ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Biogeochemical Cycles ◽

Global Scale ◽

Essential Elements ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

Limiting Nutrients ◽

Significant Attention

The study of biogeochemical cycles is important to understand the circulation of elements through aquatic, aerial and terrestrial ecosystems. Among others, N and P are considered as the limiting nutrients that determine the productivity of organisms. Since human activity is increasing its influence over these cycles at a global scale, it is important to analyze the implications of anthropogenic variations in order to detect the sources and try to prevent or reduce their impact. Moreover, not only the increasing or diminished concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus in nature by human resource exploitations is needed to account today. As metals play a crucial role in the dynamics of these essential elements, their presence in the environment also requires a significant attention.

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The Case for Phosphorus

Dead Zones ◽

10.1093/oso/9780197520376.003.0008 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 106-123

Author(s):

David L. Kirchman

Keyword(s):

Harmful Algal Blooms ◽

Algal Blooms ◽

Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽

Action Plan ◽

Dead Zone ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Nutrient Concentrations ◽

Marine Microorganisms ◽

Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽

The Baltic

As this chapter explains, one approach to evaluate nutrient limitation is to compare nutrient concentrations with the Redfield ratio. Alfred Redfield had no formal background in oceanography, yet he made one of the most fundamental discoveries in the field. He found that the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in marine microorganisms is the same as the ratio of the two elements in nutrients dissolved in the oceans. Because of work with the ratio, the current Hypoxia Action Plan for the Gulf of Mexico mentions phosphorus as well as nitrogen. In the Baltic Sea, it was argued that the focus should be solely on phosphorus to limit toxic cyanobacterial blooms, but other work demonstrates the importance of limiting nitrogen for minimizing eutrophication. Once considered to be a dead lake, Lake Erie improved after the construction of wastewater-treatment plants and the banning of phosphorus-rich detergents, as the chapter shows. But the lake continues to have problems with hypoxia and harmful algal blooms, because of continuing inputs of phosphate and organic nitrogen. The chapter ends by arguing that both nitrogen and phosphorus must be considered in efforts to solve the dead-zone problem.

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