Internal eutrophication: How it works and what to do about it—a review

In the 1980s and 1990s, it became increasingly clear that changes in external nutrient loads alone could not entirely explain the severe eutrophication of surface waters in the Netherlands. Nowadays, 'internal eutrophication' has become a widely accepted term in Dutch water management practice to describe the eutrophication of an ecosystem without additional external input of nutrients (N, P, K). This review surveys the principal mechanisms involved in this process. It also discusses possible remedies to combat internal eutrophication.     

九龙江流域经济发展与河流水质时空关联分析

以闽西南地区的九龙江流域为例,综合采用数理统计、GIS技术和环境库兹涅茨曲线（EKC）方法,对该流域1981—2009年经济发展与河流水质变化进行时空关联分析。结果表明,九龙江流域呈现＂第1产业缓增,第2、3产业产值增加较快＂的总体经济格局,农业污染突出;农业种植面积呈现先增加后减少趋势,流域氮、磷肥平均施用强度呈线性增加趋势;氮、磷肥平均折纯施用量之比从1981年的4∶1下降到2009年的2∶1,引起水化学改变并增加水华发生风险;各县（市、区）污染源结构存在明显差异,河流水质变化和沿程分布与流域社会经济布局有很好的空间相关性;北溪流域畜禽养殖业的过快发展、西溪流域以经济作物为主的农业种植结构和高强度施肥、低效率利用是导致河流水质从20世纪90年代开始富营养化的主要原因;EKC曲线尚未出现明显拐点,若农业污染不能得到有效控制,流域水环境将持续恶化;九龙江水质演变规律是流域社会经济布局、污染源排放强度和方式发生变化的综合作用结果。     

Controls over foliar N:P ratios in tropical rain forests

Correlations between foliar nutrient concentrations and soil nutrient availability have been found in multiple ecosystems. These relationships have led to the use of foliar nutrients as an index of nutrient status and to the prediction of broadscale patterns in ecosystem processes. More recently, a growing interest in ecological stoichiometry has fueled multiple analyses of foliar nitrogen:phosphorus (N:P) ratios within and across ecosystems. These studies have observed that N:P values are generally elevated in tropical forests when compared to higher latitude ecosystems, adding weight to a common belief that tropical forests are generally N rich and P poor. However, while these broad generalizations may have merit, their simplicity masks the enormous environmental heterogeneity that exists within the tropics; such variation includes large ranges in soil fertility and climate, as well as the highest plant species diversity of any biome. Here we present original data on foliar N and P concentrations from 150 mature canopy tree species in Costa Rica and Brazil, and combine those data with a comprehensive new literature synthesis to explore the major sources of variation in foliar N:P values within the tropics. We found no relationship between N:P ratios and either latitude or mean annual precipitation within the tropics alone. There is, however, evidence of seasonal controls; in our Costa Rica sites, foliar N:P values differed by 25% between wet and dry seasons. The N:P ratios do vary with soil P availability and/or soil order, but there is substantial overlap across coarse divisions in soil type, and perhaps the most striking feature of the data set is variation at the species level. Taken as a whole, our results imply that the dominant influence on foliar N:P ratios in the tropics is species variability and that, unlike marine systems and perhaps many other terrestrial biomes, the N:P stoichiometry of tropical forests is not well constrained. Thus any use of N:P ratios in the tropics to infer larger-scale ecosystem processes must comprehensively account for the diversity of any given site and recognize the broad range in nutrient requirements, even at the local scale.     

Dynamic stoichiometric response to food quality fluctuations in the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina

With respect to nutrients, plants are rather non-homoeostatic while most metazoans have much more confined ranges of nutrient ratios. It was recently highlighted that the homoeostatic ability of microzooplankters lies in between these two extremes. Nevertheless, we know very little on the dynamics of stoichiometric changes. Hence, we investigated how the stoichiometry of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina is affected (1) during a starvation period and (2) when fed nutrient deplete Rhodomonas salina after having been pre-conditioned on nutrient replete algae and vice versa. We observed that the dinoflagellate was able to maintain its N:P ratio constant over 78 h of starvation. We inferred that under starvation, nitrogen-limited O. marina mainly used fat as energy source while nitrogen-rich individuals also used proteins as fuel in cellular respiration. Further, we showed that O. marina presents resistance to nutrient limitation, with stronger regulation against P-limitation than against N-limitation. This resilience in microzooplankton stoichiometry following food quality stress would have great implications for both top-down (nutrient remineralisation) and bottom-up controls (quality as food).     

长江口及邻近海域富营养化趋势分析及与环境因子关系

依据2007-2009年春、夏季在长江口及邻近海域（包括长江口、杭州湾和舟山渔场）的调查监测资料,采用富营养指数法、潜在性富营养化法和有机污染指数法对该海域的富营养化状况、时空分布特征及与环境因子的关系进行了分析评价。富营养指数法计算结果表明：富营养化覆盖比例很高,达到70%以上;在春季,该海域的富营养化程度呈现上升趋势,所占比例从2007年的77.0%上升到2009年的89.8%,在夏季最低达到89.3%,最高到100.0%。3年来,富营养化在春、夏2季基本上处于逐年增加趋势,富营养化趋势越来越明显。在春季富营养指数平面分布呈由近岸向远海逐渐递减的趋势,梯度分布明显,其中,杭州湾富营养化情况较严重;夏季其平面分布与春季类似,但长江口和杭州湾两个水域的富营养指数的等值线都比较密集,夏季的富营养化情况较为严重。潜在性富营养化法计算结果表明：该海域富营养级主要集中在III级（富营养）和V P级（磷中等限制潜在性富营养）;春、夏2季时,长江口V P级所占比例均从0.0%增加到66.7%,受磷限制性富营养化程度越来越高。另外,营养盐结构显示,N/P比值从9.1到50.9,营养盐比例明显不平衡,势必影响浮游生物的生长。有机污染指数法计算结果表明：该海域有机污染指数主要处于5级（重污染）,水质污染严重;长江口春、夏2季5级的比例均从50.0%分别上升到83.3%和100.0%,杭州湾分别从60.0%和80.0%均上升到100.0%;舟山渔场分别从22.2%和66.7上升到66.7%和77.7%,说明受污染程度逐年上升。另外,3年来春、夏2季长江口有机污染指数达5级的占50%以上,杭州湾60%以上,舟山渔场20%以上,杭州湾受污染情况最为严重,其次是长江口,舟山渔场最小。在春、夏2季有机污染平面分布表现为污染程度从西向东、从北向南逐渐降低?     

N:P stoichiometry and transparent exopolymeric particles buffer ecological impacts of nutrients in the Ganga River: a mesocosm study

We investigated the possible drivers of the N:P stoichiometric shift and its relationship with micro-algal production of transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP) along a 35?km gradient of the Ganga River. The objective was to evaluate if the trade-off between N:P stoichiometry and production of TEP helps in maintaining water quality of the river. Mesocosm experiments were conducted to examine N:P-TEP linkages and its role in turbidity removal. In situ measurements did not show Si to be a limiting nutrient (N:Si?Aulacosira granulata and Fragilaria intermedia. Settling efficiency, turbidity removal and sedimentation of TEP, biogenic silica (BSi) and biomass all increased with decreasing N:P ratio proportionately to the amount of TEP produced in the mesocosm. The study demonstrates that trade-off between N:P stoichiometry and the production of TEP generates feedback to buffer the ecological impacts of nutrient pollution.     

Nitrogen versus phosphorus limitation in a subtropical coastal embayment (Moreton Bay; Australia): Implications for management

An approach combining nutrient budgets, dynamic modelling, and field observations of phytoplankton and nitrogen (N₂)-fixing Lyngbya majuscula following changes in wastewater N loads, was used to demonstrate that Moreton Bay is potentially phosphorus (P) limited. Modelling and nutrient budgeting shows that benthic N-fixation loads are high, allowing the system to overcome any potential N-limitation. Phytoplankton biomass has shown little change from 1991 to 2006 in the sections of Moreton Bay most impacted by wastewater effluents, despite a large reduction in wastewater N loads from 2000 to 2002. This is consistent with modelling that also showed no reduction in primary productivity associated with reduced N loads. Most importantly, there have been rapid increases in the occurrence of N-fixing L. majuscula in Moreton Bay as wastewater P loads have increased relative to wastewater N loads. This is also consistent with modelling. This work supports the premise that there may be fundamental differences in nutrient limitation of primary production between subtropical and temperate coastal systems due to differences in the importance of internal nitrogen sources and sinks (N-fixation and denitrification). These differences need to be recognised for optimum management of coastal systems.     

广西速生桉施肥对林区内水体富营养物质的影响

施肥是种植速生桉(Eucalyptus)主要的营林技术措施之一。广西近几年速生桉发展面积较大,施肥量逐年增加,由于肥料通过其气态、淋洗和径流等途径流失到水体,增加了水体中富营养物质的含量。为了防止或减缓速生桉施肥加快对水体富营养化的目的,探索其有效的解决方法,课题组进行了速生桉的施肥数量、肥料颗粒形态、肥料养分含量、肥料养分配比等因子的田间试验,研究不同的施肥处理对林区内水体富营养物质含量的影响。试验结果表明:肥料养分含量越高、施肥量越大、颗粒化程度越低的处理区域水体总氮、总磷和总钾含量越高;桉树林区内水体的总氮、总磷和总钾含量中各有约40%、70%和50%来自桉树施肥,不合理的施肥可能会导致林区内水库或河流等水体富营养化;桉树施肥技术中施肥量对水体营养物质影响最大,其次分别为肥料养分和肥料颗粒形态。建议在一定范围内,速生桉施肥可提高肥料总养分含量、适当减少其施肥量,可防止或减缓桉树林区内水体富营养化。     

Spatial patterns of macroalgal abundance in relation to eutrophication

Based on a large monitoring data set from Danish coastal waters we tested the hypotheses: (1) The vertical pattern of algal abundance is regulated by exposure in shallow water and by light limitation towards deeper water, resulting in a bell-shaped abundance curve, with peak abundance located deeper at more exposed sites, (2) in deeper water, total algal abundance and abundance of perennial algae decrease along a eutrophication gradient while (3) abundance and relative abundance of opportunists increase. The vertical pattern of algal abundance showed a peak at intermediate water depths which was located deeper in more exposed areas and thus confirmed our first hypothesis. For algae growing from depths of peak abundance and deeper, the study demonstrated that total algal abundance and abundance of perennials and opportunists at given depths decreased significantly along a eutrophication gradient and the relationships had high explanatory power (R ² = 0.53–0.73). These results confirmed our second hypothesis. By contrast, the relative abundance of opportunists responded solely to salinity and was largest in the most brackish areas, in contradiction to hypothesis three. The lack of coupling between eutrophication and relative abundance of opportunists arises because both opportunists and the entire algal community were light limited and their ratio therefore relatively insensitive to changing water clarity. The analyses indicated that algal abundance initially responded slowly to increasing eutrophication but showed a more marked response at TN concentrations of 35–40 μM. However, the existence of possible threshold nutrient levels demands further analyses.     

Wastewater reuse: A sanitation and management strategy for the Mediterranean coastal areas

Wastewater agricultural reuse has two main aspects. It is capable of preventing the discharge of wastewater treatment plant effluents in receiving waters and it is also a way to increase water resources. The controlled agricultural reuse has not been developed until now, either in Languedoc or in Catalonia, but is expected a quick development due to several circumstances: the growing awareness of water resources scarcity, the concern for sanitary hazards in bathing places, the WHO guidelines and the development of tertiary cost‐effective treatment methods. In the coastal areas, the growing demand on water resources is putting heavy pressure on some big water users, as golf courses and landscape irrigations, potential users of reclaimed wastewater.     

密云县密云水库流域坡耕地养分流失特征

于2005年和2006年连续2 a对密云水库流域坡耕地进行水土流失小区试验,并完全按照当地农民习惯进行农事管理.试验结果表明:(1)降雨后坡耕地产生的地表径流量、泥沙量随坡度增大而增加,并与坡度正弦值呈一定的线性关系;(2)坡度对雨后地表径流和泥沙中养分含量影响不明显,但对泥沙养分流失量有明显影响;(3)养分流失以泥沙携带为主要途径,且通过泥沙携带途径流失的养分量占流失养分总量的比例随坡度增加而增加;(4)水库周边区域内坡耕地流失养分的主要来源为施用于坡耕地的化学肥料.(5)调整水库流域内坡耕地的种植结构、对坡耕地实施改造以截留或减少泥沙流失和控制化学肥料投入等措施对于治理流域内农业非点源污染、保护水源地水质显得尤为迫切.     

Selection of woody species for wastewater enhancement and restoration of riparian woodlands

Growth and nutrient uptake of seven tree species were evaluated with the goal of selecting the species that can be used for wastewater enhancement by dendro-purification, or green tree filtering, and for restoration of riparian woodlands. Trees were grown in pots with an inert mixture of perlite and vermiculite and irrigated with either nutrient solution or treated wastewater We measured the effects of species and irrigation water on biomass and nutrient content of leaves, stems and roots. For most of the species, treated wastewater had a positive effect on final biomass and above ground: below ground ratio compared to that of nutrient solution. However, growth of Cupressus sempervirens and Populus nigra were inhibited by water sodium concentration. Nerium oleander, Tamarix africana and Vitex agnus-castus were the species with the greatest final biomass. Pistacia terebinthus had the highest nitrogen and phosphorus content in leaves, stems and roots, while N. oleander and V. agnus-castus showed the best potassium accumulation. In general, P. terebinthus, N. oleander, T. africana and V. agnus-castus were the best qualified species for purification of wastewater.     

江苏省夏季浮萍种类及其生长水环境调查

对江苏省多个县（市）分布有浮萍的工业区、生活区、农田水体进行调查与采样,观测各地浮萍种类及其生长水体的富营养化状况,探讨水体pH值,铵态氮、硝态氮、总氮、总磷含量与浮萍分布的关系。调查结果表明,浮萍适宜生长在静止的水体中,流动的河流中较为少见;此外,浮萍适宜生长在农田和生活区水体中,工业区附近样本数较少。江苏省夏季浮萍的主要品种为紫萍（Spirodelapolyrrhiza）、青萍（Lemmaminor）、芜萍（Wolffiaarrhiza）和少根紫萍（Spirodelaoligorrhiza）,调查期间未发现稀脉浮萍（Lemmaperpusilla）与品藻（Lemmatrisulca）。紫萍和青萍在所调查的每个采样点均有分布,其生长水体的pH值变化范围（4．5～7．5）较大。浮萍生长水环境的氮、磷养分浓度范围很广,铵态氮、硝态氮、总氮、总磷质量浓度范围分别为0～42、0．2—2．0、0．2～45和0．02～13mg·L-1,尚未发现浮萍分布与水体氮、磷含量之间的必然联系。工业区附近水体中常见紫萍与青萍以共生形式存在,偶尔还伴有芜萍。在利用浮萍去除水中氮、磷营养物质时,应优先考虑利用各地当季优势浮萍品种及不同品种浮萍的共生复合系统,保障浮萍的最大生长量以及对水体氮、磷的最大去除率。     

无磷洗衣粉并非控制水体富营养化的灵丹妙药

很多人认为，使用无磷洗衣粉便能有效解决令人烦恼的“水华”或“赤潮”问题。然而，无论是西方国家长达20年的实践经验，还是我国目前面临的现状显示，无磷洗衣粉对遏制水体富营养化现象作用并不十分明显!究其原因，面源污染和生活污水中的其它磷来源才是构成水体磷负荷的主要来源。因此，在国内外普遍兴建污水处理厂的前提下，是否有必要以洗涤效果不佳、可能会产生新的环境问题的无磷洗衣粉替代传统洗衣粉目前正遭到国外一些有识之士质疑。文章介绍了国外这方面的情况，并总结性地提出了我国在此方面应注意的问题。     

The use of algae to control heavy metals in the environment

Aqueous effluents from a lead mining and milling operation located in southeastern Missouri, USA, caused a degradation of stream quality despite treatment by a large tailings pond. The receiving stream was choked with algal mats which accumulated unexpectedly large amounts of manganese, lead and zinc. A wastewater treatment system was designed to utilize algae and benthic macrophytes to remove metals from the tailings pond effluent. The system has proved successful and water quality in the receiving stream has been improved to drinking water standards.Experiments were conducted to understand more fully the phenomenon of heavy metal accumulation by algae. Radionuclides (²¹⁰Pb,²⁰³Hg,⁶⁵Zn,¹⁰⁹Cd) were used in conjunction with commercially available microculture apparatus to screen several species of algae for heavy metal accumulation. It was found that all species of algae studied concentrated mercury, green algae were more efficient accumulators of cadmium than blue-green algae, one alga (Chlamydomonas) proved best at removing lead from solution and no alga studied removed zinc.     

Transient dynamics of pelagic producer-grazer systems in a gradient of nutrients and mixing depths

Phytoplankton-grazer dynamics are often characterized by long transients relative to the length of the growing season. Using a phytoplankton-grazer model parameterized for Daphnia pulex with either flexible or fixed algal carbon:nutrient stoichiometry, we explored how nutrient and light supply (the latter by varying depth of the mixed water column) affect the transient dynamics of the system starting from low densities. The system goes through an initial oscillation across nearly the entire light-nutrient supply space. With flexible (but not with fixed) algal stoichiometry, duration of the initial algal peak, timing and duration of the subsequent grazer peak, and timing of the algal minimum are consistently accelerated by nutrient enrichment but decelerated by light enrichment (decreasing mixing depth) over the range of intermediate to shallow mixing depths. These contrasting effects of nutrient vs. light enrichment are consequences of their opposing influences on food quality (algal nutrient content): algal productivity and food quality are positively related along a nutrient gradient but inversely related along a light gradient. Light enrichment therefore slows down grazer growth relative to algal growth, decelerating oscillatory dynamics; nutrient enrichment has opposite effects. We manipulated nutrient supply and mixing depth in a field enclosure experiment. The experimental results were qualitatively much more consistent with the flexible than with the fixed stoichiometry model. Nutrient enrichment increased Daphnia peak biomass, decreased algal minimum biomass, decreased the seston C:P ratio, and accelerated transient oscillatory dynamics. Light enrichment (decreasing mixing depth) produced the opposite patterns, except that Daphnia peak biomass increased monotonously with light enrichment, too. Thus, while the model predicts the possibility of the "paradox of energy enrichment" (a decrease in grazer biomass with light enrichment) at high light and low nutrient supply, this phenomenon did not occur in our experiment.     

Light-mediated thresholds in stream-water nutrient composition in a river network

The elemental composition of solutes transported by rivers reflects combined influences of surrounding watersheds and transformations within stream networks, yet comparatively little is known about downstream changes in effects of watershed loading vs. in-channel processes. In the forested watershed of a river under a mediterranean hydrologic regime, we examined the influence of longitudinal changes in environmental conditions on water-column nutrient composition during summer base flow across a network of sites ranging from strongly heterotrophic headwater streams to larger, more autotrophic sites downstream. Small streams (0.1-10 km2 watershed area) had longitudinally similar nutrient concentration and composition with low (approximately 2) dissolved nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) ratios. Abrupt deviations from this pattern were observed in larger streams with watershed areas > 100 km2 where insolation and algal abundance and production rapidly increased. Downstream, phosphorus and silica concentrations decreased by > 50% compared to headwater streams, and dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen increased by approximately 3-6 times. Decreasing dissolved P and increasing dissolved N raised stream-water N:P to 46 at the most downstream sites, suggesting a transition from N limitation in headwaters to potential P limitation in larger channels. We hypothesize that these changes were mediated by increasing algal photosynthesis and N fixation by benthic algal assemblages, which, in response to increasing light availability, strongly altered stream-water nutrient concentration and stoichiometry in larger streams and rivers.     

乙酸钙不动杆菌对富营养化景观水体的净化作用

利用乙酸钙不动杆菌(Acinetobacter calcoaceticus),在室内采用投菌法对富营养化景观水体进行预处理试验研究.通过不同的投菌量ф=0.05×10-3、0.1×10-3、0.2×10-3,对水体进行处理,结果表明,乙酸钙不动杆菌对富营养化水体中的总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)、CODcr,均有一定的去除效果,其中在投菌量为O.1×10-3时处理效果最好.通过进一步的连续投菌净化试验,水体中的TN、TP、CODcr显著降低,处理后,水体中叶绿素a的质量浓度为19.1 mg·m-3,去除率为83.7%,藻类基本得到控制.由此可见,乙酸钙不动杆菌能够有效性地去除水体中的有机物、氮、磷,因此具有净化富营养化水体的作用.     

The Impact of Agriculture On Dissolved Nitrogen and Phosphorus Cycling in Temperate Ecosystems

Although most research has focussed on inorganic nutrient forms of nitrate (NO^-₃) and phosphorus (PO³₄) in runoff and receiving waters, nitrogen loss from agricultural land can also occur in organic and ammonium-nitrogen form; phosphorus losses, although often dominated by particulate transport, may occur in soluble organic and inorganic form. Furthermore, fluxes between different species may take place during transport from the land to the stream and as a result of in-stream, in-river or in-lake transformations. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal variation in all nitrogen species and phosphorus fractions in a drainage basin is therefore essential if the wider environmental significance of elevated nutrient concentrations in natural waters are to be assessed. This paper reviews recent work on N and P losses from agricultural land and presents some results from two intensive agricultural catchments: Slapton, Devon and the river Windrush catchment in the Cotswolds.