Nutrient emissions from diffuse and point sources into the River Danube and its main tributaries for the period of 1998–2000 – results and problems

2005 ◽  
Vol 51 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 283-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Schreiber ◽  
H. Behrendt ◽  
L.T. Constantinescu ◽  
I. Cvitanic ◽  
D. Drumea ◽  
...  

Nutrient emissions by point and diffuse sources were estimated for 388 sub-catchments of the Danube river basin for the period 1998–2000 by means of the Model MONERIS. For nitrogen total emissions of 684 kt/a N were estimated for the Danube basin. 80% of these emissions were caused by diffuse sources (mainly groundwater, urban areas and tile drainage). For phosphorus the emission was 57 kt/a P, with a contribution of diffuse sources to this sum of 58%. The comparison of calculated and observed loads shows that the mean deviation for the investigated sub-catchments of the Danube river basin is 20% for dissolved inorganic nitrogen and 34% for phosphorus. The spatial resolution of the emission calculations allows the identification of regional hot spots and the derivation of specific regional measures to reduce the emissions into the Danube and consequently into the Western Black Sea.

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zsolt Jolánkai ◽  
Máté Krisztián Kardos ◽  
Adrienne Clement

The contamination of waters with nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus originating from various diffuse and point sources, has become a worldwide issue in recent decades. Due to the complexity of the processes involved, watershed models are gaining an increasing role in their analysis. The goal set by the EU Water Framework Directive (to reach “good status” of all water bodies) requires spatially detailed information on the fate of contaminants. In this study, the watershed nutrient model MONERIS was applied to the Hungarian part of the Danube River Basin. The spatial resolution was 1078 water bodies (mean area of 86 km2); two subsequent 4 year periods (2009–2012 and 2013–2016) were modeled. Various elements/parameters of the model were adjusted and tested against surface and subsurface water quality measurements conducted all over the country, namely (i) the water balance equations (surface and subsurface runoff), (ii) the nitrogen retention parameters of the subsurface pathways (excluding tile drainage), (iii) the shallow groundwater phosphorus concentrations, and (iv) the surface water retention parameters. The study revealed that (i) digital-filter-based separation of surface and subsurface runoff yielded different values of these components, but this change did not influence nutrient loads significantly; (ii) shallow groundwater phosphorus concentrations in the sandy soils of Hungary differ from those of the MONERIS default values; (iii) a significant change of the phosphorus in-stream retention parameters was needed to approach measured in-stream phosphorus load values. Local emissions and pathways were analyzed and compared with previous model results.


1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 135-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. Rodda

The Programme has the objective of providing a regional approach to environmental management in the Danube River Basin where there is great pressure from a diverse range of human activities. Serious pollution problems exist from urban populations, from industry, and from intensive agricultural practices. Although the water quality of the main Danube river is probably better than the Rhine because of its greater flow, the same is not the case in the tributaries where there the problems are more serious. A factor which makes a compelling case for a regional approach is the deterioration of the Black Sea into which the main Danube river discharges significant loads of nutrients and a range of non-degradable contaminants. The application of limited financial resources will require fine judgement about the high priority pollution sources that will lead to cost-effective improvements. This action, and other technical assistance, also requires a considerable effort to strengthen the organisations having responsibility for environmental management, and to develop effective public participation. The paper emphasises the water pollution problems in the river basin.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Perosa ◽  
Marion Gelhaus ◽  
Veronika Zwirglmaier ◽  
Leonardo F. Arias-Rodriguez ◽  
Aude Zingraff-Hamed ◽  
...  

<p>Countries located in the Danube River Basin (DRB) are in danger of being affected by major catastrophic floods along the Danube and its tributaries. Floodplain restoration measures are among win-win nature-based solutions (NBS) for flood risk reduction but practitioners see their limitations in comparison to technical measures, when looking at their effectiveness and profitability. Within the framework of the EU Interreg Danube Floodplain project, this presentation shows the benefits of floodplain restoration in terms of monetized ecosystem services (ES). Our work focused on multiple ES groups for four study areas in the Danube catchment, located in Czech Republic, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia. This was done with the help of stakeholder engagement, hydrodynamic models results, and the Toolkit for Ecosystem Service Site-Based Assessment (TESSA). Moreover, the approach was complemented with alternative methodologies (e.g. surveys on social media). Results show positive annual combined benefits of floodplain restoration measures, suggesting the helpfulness of evaluating these NBS through ES assessment. The work done will help increasing the knowledge on floodplain and their ES, and on how to rapidly evaluate them. Moreover, it will bring decision-makers further evidence in favor of floodplain restoration measures to be implemented for a general benefit of the communities.</p>


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