Abstract
Despite various water protection measures, good water quality and reduction of nutrient loads seem very distant goals, largely due to limited knowledge of processes occurring in river valleys. Our study aimed at establishing the role of small floodplain reservoirs in the eutrophication processes, in the face of recent climate changes. The content of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds was determined in sediments and water of small floodplain reservoirs, (the Vistula River Valley, Poland) using spectrophotometric and Kjeldahl’s method. Nutrient loads in sediments were linked to the texture and total organic carbon content. Seasonal changes in water quality were strictly connected to changing weather conditions, flood and drought. The concentrations of PO43− and NO3− were found to rise after summer flooding. Increases in NH4+, total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) were correlated with the surface water area reduction in the reservoirs, which during the year of the study was on average 62%. Therefore, small floodplain reservoirs could be considered simultaneously as sinks and sources of nutrients. On the one hand, they accumulate P and N compounds carried by the river during the flood. On the other hand, climate change cause that small floodplain reservoirs may be responsible for enhanced biomass production.
Highlights
Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are important components of aquatic ecosystems
Our research shows a strong and highly dynamic relationship between the river and the floodplain water bodies
Small floodplain reservoirs could play a role of sinks and sources of nutrients at the same time, depending on river water regime
Summary
Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are important components of aquatic ecosystems. They are closely linked to the carbon cycle, determining the primary production and the mineralization of organic matter in water. The causes of eutrophication are primarily anthropogenic—processes of industrialization, urbanization and, to a considerable extent, intensification in agriculture. Other sources of anthropogenic inputs of nutrients to riverine systems are municipal and industrial wastewater, runoff from urban areas, increased atmospheric deposition of NOx due to burning of fossil fuels, agricultural fertilizers, increased soil leachate and erosion due to tillage [9,10,11,12]
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