Nutrient budgets for large Chinese estuaries

Chinese rivers deliver about 5–10% of global freshwater input and 15–20% of the global continental sediment to the world ocean. We report the riverine fluxes and concentrations of major nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and silicon) in the rivers of the contiguous landmass of China and Korea in the northeast Asia. The rivers are generally enriched with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and depleted in dissolved inorganic phosphate (PO43−) with very high DIN: PO43− concentration ratios. DIN, phosphorus, and silicon levels and loads in rivers are mainly affected by agriculture activities and urbanization, anthropogenic activities and adsorption on particulates, and rock types, climate and physical denudation intensity, respectively. Nutrient transports by rivers in the summer are 3–4 times higher than those in the winter with the exception of NH4+. The flux of NH4+ is rather constant throughout the year due to the anthropogenic sources such as the sewer discharge. As nutrient composition has changed in the rivers, ecosystems in estuaries and coastal sea have also changed in recent decades. Among the changes, a shift of limiting nutrients from phosphorus to nitrogen for phytoplankton production with urbanization is noticeable and in some areas silicon becomes the limiting nutrient for diatom productivity. A simple steady-state mass-balance box model was employed to assess nutrient budgets in the estuaries. The major Chinese estuaries export <15% of nitrogen, <6% of phosphorus required for phytoplankton production and ~4% of silicon required for diatom growth in the Chinese Seas (Bohai, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea). This suggests that land-derived nutrients are largely confined to the immediate estuaries, and ecosystem in the coastal sea beyond the estuaries is mainly supported by other nutrient sources such as regeneration, open ocean and atmospheric deposition.

Nutrient budgets for large Chinese estuaries and embayment

Nutrient concentrations among the Chinese rivers and bays vary 10–75 fold depending on nutrient elements. The silicic acid levels in South China rivers are higher than those from North China rivers and the yields of dissolved silicate increased from the north to the south of China, indicating the effect of climate on weathering. The nutrient levels in Chinese rivers are higher than those from the large and less-disturbed world rivers such as Amazon and Zaire, but comparable to the values for European and North American polluted and eutrophic rivers like the Loire and Po. This may be ascribed to both of extensive leaching and influences from agricultural and domestic activities over the drainage basins of Chinese rivers. DIN:PO3−4 ratios in most of Chinese rivers and bays are higher (up to 2800) than the other rivers in the world. The atomic ratios of DIN to PO43− in the major Chinese rivers and embayment decrease in exponential trend with increase in the atomic ratios of PO43− to Si(OH)4, indicating that primary production in coastal environments changes with the nutrients transport when the urbanization develops to a certain extent, and the potential limited nutrient elements can be changed from phosphorus to nitrogen limitation, which can modify aquatic food webs and then the ocean ecosystem. A simple steady-state mass-balance box model was employed. The output shows that the estuaries and embayment behave as a sink or source of nutrients. For the major Chinese estuaries, both residual and mixing flow transport nutrients off the estuaries, and nutrient transport fluxes in summer is 3–4 fold that in winter except comparable for NH4+. These fluxes are 1.0–1.7 fold that estimated by timing riverine nutrient concentrations and freshwater discharge. For the major Chinese embayment, nutrient elements are transported to China Seas except PO43− and Si(OH)4 in Sanggou Bay and Jiaozhou Bay. Seasonally, nutrients transport fluxes off the bays in the summer are 2.2–7.0 fold that in the winter. In the embayment, the exchange flow dominated the water budgets, resulting in average system salinity approaching the China seas salinity where river discharge is limited. The major Chinese estuaries and embayment transport 1.0–3.1% of nitrogen, 0.2–0.5% of phosphorus and 3% of silicon necessary for phytoplankton growth for the China Seas. This demonstrates regenerated nutrients in water column and sediments and nutrients transport fluxes between the China Seas and open ocean play an important role for phytoplankton growth. Atmospheric deposition may be another important source of nutrients for the China Seas.