scholarly journals Emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus into rivers from agricultural land – selected controversial issues/ Ładunki azotu i fosforu wprowadzane do rzek z terenów rolniczych – wybrane dyskusyjne problemy

2014 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Ilnicki
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Nutrient Retention ◽  
Drainage Basins ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Professional Literature ◽  
Nutrient Sources ◽  
Systems Model ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
Nutrient Emissions

Abstract The research methodology for determining the sources of nutrients responsible for the eutrophication of rivers and seas, as well as the extent of their load in particular drainage basins, has for many years been at the centre of vigorous discussion. In the Oder and Vistula river basin, apart from the calculation of monthly and annual loads of nitrogen and phosphorus, based on the discharge and chemical monitoring data of waters, the MONERIS (Modeling Nutrient Emissions in River Systems) model has also been applied in determining nutrient sources. This article, on the basis of a comprehensive review of the professional literature, shall cast a critical eye over six issues that have been at the centre of past robust discussion: 1) determining the balance of N and P in agriculture, 2) the effects of a significant improvement in sewage treatment, 3) impact of technology on agriculture, 4) determination of nutrient retention in drainage basins, 5) impact of tile drainage practices on the leaching of nutrients, 6) as well as the accuracy of calculations made according to the MONERIS model. It would appear that for practical purposes it is sufficient to determine given loads of N and P from the drainage basins of particular rivers, as well as to adjust the above mentioned model, or indeed - resign from the unproven methodology of determining nutrient sources in rivers.

The influence of landscape spatial arrangement on nitrogen and phosphorus export in agricultural catchments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rémi Dupas ◽  
Antoine Casquin ◽  
Sen Gu ◽  
Gérard Gruau ◽  
Patrick Durand
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Spatial Configuration ◽  
Landscape Composition ◽  
Landscape Configuration ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Nutrient Sources ◽  
Rural Landscapes ◽  
Flow Accumulation

<p>Nitrogen and Phosphorus losses from rural landscapes can cause eutrophication of inland and coastal waters. Here, we assessed the influence of the spatial configuration of nutrient sources on nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>) and total phosphorus (TP) exports at the catchment scale. We analyzed NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> and TP in 19 headwater catchments (1 -14 km²) fortnightly during 17 months. The study catchments had similar soil type, climate, and farming systems but differed in their landscape composition (% agricultural land-use) and spatial configuration (field distance to streams & intersection with flow accumulation zones). We propose a landscape configuration index (LCI) that describes the spatial configuration of nutrient sources with regards to their hydrological distance to streams and flow accumulation zones. The LCI has two parameters that we calibrated to maximize rank correlation with median concentrations of TP and NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>. Results showed that NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup> exports were correlated with %agricultural land-use whereas TP exports were better explained by the spatial configuration of agricultural fields. For a given landscape composition, landscape spatial configuration was highly heterogeneous at small scales (<10 km<sup>2</sup>) but became homogeneous at larger scales (>50 km<sup>2</sup>). This could explain why relationships between landscape composition and water quality parameters influenced by landscape spatial configuration break down below a certain size threshold.</p>

Statistical modelling of riverine nutrient sources and retention in the Lake Peipsi drainage basin

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 309-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Vassiljev ◽  
P. Stålnacke
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Drainage Basin ◽  
Statistical Modelling ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Simultaneous Estimation ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Lake Peipsi ◽  
Nutrient Sources

Implementation of the Water Framework Directive calls for methodologies and tools to quantify nutrient losses from diffuse sources at a river basin district scale. Here, we examine the possibility of using a statistical model for source apportionment and retention of nutrients in a large transboundary drainage basin (44,000 km2). The model approach uses non-linear regression for simultaneous estimation of e.g. source strength, i.e. export coefficients to surface waters, for the different specified land-use or soil categories and retention coefficients for pollutants in a drainage basin. The model was tested on data from 26 water quality stations with corresponding sub-basin data, i.e., land cover, point sources and atmospheric deposition, from the Estonian part of the Lake Peipsi drainage basin. The model showed that it was statistically possible to derive reliable export coefficients (i.e. unit-area loads) for nitrogen on agricultural land and forests. Moreover, it was shown with simple empirical functions that lake retention was approximately 30-35% for both nitrogen and phosphorus and that the riverine retention was low for both nitrogen and phosphorus (approx. 10%). Results show that the MESAW model is a simple and powerful tool for simultaneous estimation of sources and retention of nutrient loads in a river basin.

Modelling of point and diffuse pollution: application of the Moneris model in the Ipojuca river basin, Pernambuco State, Brazil

2013 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 357-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Maciel de Lima Barros ◽  
Maria do Carmo Sobral ◽  
Günter Gunkel
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Diffuse Pollution ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
Intermittent Flow ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Nutrient Sources ◽  
Nutrient Emissions ◽  
Point And Diffuse Sources

Emissions of pollutants and nutrients are causing several problems in aquatic ecosystems, and in general an excess of nutrients, specifically nitrogen and phosphorus, is responsible for the eutrophication process in water bodies. In most developed countries, more attention is given to diffuse pollution because problems with point pollution have already been solved. In many non-developed countries basic data for point and diffuse pollution are not available. The focus of the presented studies is to quantify nutrient emissions from point and diffuse sources in the Ipojuca river basin, Pernambuco State, Brazil, using the Moneris model (Modelling Nutrient Emissions in River Systems). This model has been developed in Germany and has already been implemented in more than 600 river basins. The model is mainly based on river flow, water quality and geographical information system data. According to the Moneris model results, untreated domestic sewage is the major source of nutrients in the Ipojuca river basin. The Moneris model has shown itself to be a useful tool that allows the identification and quantification of point and diffuse nutrient sources, thus enabling the adoption of measures to reduce them. The Moneris model, conducted for the first time in a tropical river basin with intermittent flow, can be used as a reference for implementation in other watersheds.

High rate and compact single sludge pre-denitrification process for retrofit

1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyshi Emori ◽  
Hiroki Nakamura ◽  
Tatsuo Sumino ◽  
Tadashi Takeshima ◽  
Katsuzo Motegi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Activated Sludge ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Activated Sludge Process ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Conventional Activated Sludge ◽  
Treatment Techniques ◽  
Conventional Activated Sludge Process ◽  
Denitrification Process

For the sewage treatment plants near rivers and closed water bodies in urbanized areas in Japan and European countries, there is a growing demand for introduction of advanced treatment processes for nitrogen and phosphorus from the viewpoints of water quality conservation and environmental protection. In order to remove nitrogen by the conventional biological treatment techniques, it is necessary to make a substantial expansion of the facility as compared with the conventional activated sludge process. In such urbanized districts, it is difficult to secure a site and much capital is required to expand the existing treatment plant. To solve these problems, a compact single sludge pre-denitrification process using immobilized nitrifiers was developed. Dosing the pellets, which are suitable for nitrifiers growth and physically durable, into the nitrification tank of single sludge pre-denitrification process made it possible to perform simultaneous removal of BOD and nitrogen in a retention time equal to that in the conventional activated sludge process even at the low water temperature of about 10 °C. The 3,000 m3/d full-scale conventional activated sludge plant was retrofitted and has been successfully operated.

Nitrogen and phosphorus in the Vistula River, Poland -- changes from source to mouth

1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 177-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Sundblad ◽  
Andrzej Tonderski ◽  
Jacek Rulewski
Keyword(s):  
Central Region ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Nutrient Loss ◽  
Phosphorus Concentration ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Concentration Data ◽  
Diffuse Sources ◽  
Vistula River ◽  
South Central

Nitrogen and phosphorus concentration data representing samples collected once a month for nine months at 13 locations along the Vistula River are considered in a preliminary discussion of the sources of the nutrients transported to the Baltic Sea. Concentrations in relation to flow data indicated substantial differences between subbasins. Based on those differences, on the area-specific nutrient loss for a six-month period and on the wastewater discharge in each subbasin, four regions could be recognized in the river basin: i) the southern region with a large impact of point sources, ii) the south central region, where diffuse sources seemed to be of major importance, iii) the north central region with a combined effect of point and diffuse sources, and retention in two reservoirs, iv) the northern region where point sources seemed to be the dominating source, at least for phosphorus. Our results illustrate the importance of differences in phosphorus retention between the basins. Long-term retention along the course of the river, particularly in the two reservoirs, must be estimated to allow proper source apportionment in the Vistula basin. Concentration decreases in the Wloclawek Reservoir varied between 44 and 68% for P, and 11 to 37% for N, in the months with significant retention. In some months, however, concentrations increased, indicating a release of nutrients.

scholarly journals Evidence of Phosphate Mining and Agriculture Influence on Concentrations, Forms, and Ratios of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in a Florida River

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1064
Author(s):  
Shuiwang Duan ◽  
Kamaljit Banger ◽  
Gurpal S. Toor
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Water Discharge ◽  
Mining Area ◽  
Specific Conductance ◽  
Organic N ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Total N ◽  
Phosphate Mining ◽  
Molar Ratios

Florida has a long history of phosphate-mining, but less is known about how mining affects nutrient exports to coastal waters. Here, we investigated the transport of inorganic and organic forms of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) over 23 sampling events during a wet season (June–September) in primary tributaries and mainstem of Alafia River that drains into the Tampa Bay Estuary. Results showed that a tributary draining the largest phosphate-mining area (South Prong) had less flashy peaks, and nutrients were more evenly exported relative to an adjacent tributary (North Prong), highlighting the effectiveness of the mining reclamation on stream hydrology. Tributaries draining > 10% phosphate-mining area had significantly higher specific conductance (SC), pH, dissolved reactive P (DRP), and total P (TP) than tributaries without phosphate-mining. Further, mean SC, pH, and particulate reactive P were positively correlated with the percent phosphate-mining area. As phosphate-mining occurred in the upper part of the watershed, the SC, pH, DRP, and TP concentrations increased downstream along the mainstem. For example, the upper watershed contributed 91% of TP compared to 59% water discharge to the Alafia River. In contrast to P, the highest concentrations of total N (TN), especially nitrate + nitrite (NOx–N) occurred in agricultural tributaries, where the mean NOx–N was positively correlated with the percent agricultural land. Dissolved organic N was dominant in all streamwaters and showed minor variability across sites. As a result of N depletion and P enrichment, the phosphate-mining tributaries had significantly lower molar ratios of TN:TP and NOx–N:DRP than other tributaries. Bi-weekly monitoring data showed consistent increases in SC and DRP and a decrease in NOx–N at the South Prong tributary (highest phosphate-mining area) throughout the wet season, and different responses of dissolved inorganic nutrients (negative) and particulate nutrients (positive) to water discharge. We conclude that (1) watersheds with active and reclaimed phosphate-mining and agriculture lands are important sources of streamwater P and N, respectively, and (2) elevated P inputs from the phosphate-mining areas altered the N:P ratios in streamwaters of the Alafia River.

The effect of riparian restoration on channel complexity and soil nutrients

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (11) ◽  
pp. 2041 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Patrick Laceby ◽  
Nina E. Saxton ◽  
Kate Smolders ◽  
Justine Kemp ◽  
Stephen J. Faggotter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Nutrients ◽  
Riparian Vegetation ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Nutrient Retention ◽  
River Channel ◽  
Channel Width ◽  
Riparian Restoration ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Elemental Geochemistry ◽  
Channel Complexity

Restoration of riparian vegetation may reduce nutrient and sediment contamination of waterways while potentially enhancing stream channel complexity. Accordingly, the present study used a paired-site approach to investigate the effects of mature regrowth riparian vegetation on river channel morphology and soil nutrients (i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus), comparing four sites of degraded (pasture) and reforested reaches. A revised rapid assessment of riparian condition (RARC) was used to validate the site pairings. Riparian soil nutrient and elemental geochemistry were compared between paired sites, along with two parameters of channel width complexity and two for channel slope complexity. The RARC analysis confirmed the validity of the paired site design. The elemental geochemistry results indicated that underlying geology may affect the paired site analyses. Reaches with mature regrowth vegetation had greater channel width complexity but no difference in their riverbed slope complexity. In addition, degraded reaches had higher soil nutrient (i.e. nitrogen and phosphorus) concentrations, potentially indicative of the greater nutrient retention of pasture grass sites compared with mature regrowth forested reaches with less ground cover. Overall, the present study indicates that restoring mature regrowth riparian vegetation may increase river channel width complexity, although it may require canopy management to optimise the nutrient retention potential necessary to maximise the effect of riparian restoration strategies on freshwater environments.

scholarly journals Graphene-Modulated Removal Performance of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Pollutants in a Sequencing Batch Chlorella Reactor

Materials ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonghan Xia ◽  
Wenlai Xu ◽  
Qinglin Fang ◽  
Zishen Mou ◽  
Zhicheng Pan
Keyword(s):  
Optical Microscopy ◽  
Sewage Treatment ◽  
Ammonia Nitrogen ◽  
Pollutant Removal ◽  
Plate Count ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
Plate Count Method ◽  
The Impact

In this work, the influence of graphene on nitrogen and phosphorus in a batch Chlorella reactor was studied. The impact of graphene on the removal performance of Chlorella was investigated in a home-built sewage treatment system with seven identical sequencing batch Chlorella reactors with graphene contents of 0 mg/L (T1), 0.05 mg/L (T2), 0.1 mg/L (T3), 0.2 mg/L (T4), 0.4 mg/L (T5), 0.8 mg/L (T6) and 10 mg/L (T7). The influence of graphene concentration and reaction time on the pollutant removal performance was studied. The malondialdehyde (MDA) and total superoxide dismutase (SOD) concentrations in each reactor were measured, and optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) characterizations were performed to determine the related mechanism. The results show that after 168 h, the total nitrogen (TN), ammonia nitrogen (AN) and total phosphorus (TP) removal rates of reactors T1–T7 become stable, and the TN, AN and TP removal rates were gradually reduced with increasing graphene concentration. At 96 h, the concentrations of both MDA and SOD in T1–T7 gradually increased as the graphene concentration increased. In optical microscopy and SEM measurements, it was found that graphene was adsorbed on the surface of Chlorella, and entered Chlorella cells, deforming and reducing Chlorella. Through the blood plate count method, we estimated an average Chlorella reduction of 16%. According to the water quality and microscopic experiments, it can be concluded that the addition of graphene causes oxidative damage to microalgae and destruction of the Chlorella cell wall and cell membrane, inhibiting the nitrogen and phosphorus removal in Chlorella reactors. This study provides theoretical and practical support for the safe use of graphene.

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