Seasonal Variation and Sources of Dissolved Nutrients in the Yellow River, China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Sampling and Methods
2.1. The Yellow River Basin
Province | Proportion (%) [14] | Nitrogenous Fertilizer [30,31,32] | Phosphorus Fertilizer [30,31,32] | Compound Fertilizer [30,31,32] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | ||
Qinghai | 22.8 | 3.3 | 3.13 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 1.55 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 1.85 | 1.8 |
Sichuan | 3.5 | 118.5 | 117.47 | 120.2 | 42.3 | 41.87 | 42.9 | 37.8 | 37.46 | 39.3 |
Gansu | 36.1 | 34.5 | 34.13 | 35.2 | 16.3 | 14.32 | 14.8 | 15.3 | 17.1 | 18.4 |
Ningxia | 71.9 | 14.5 | 13.96 | 14.3 | 3.0 | 3.27 | 3.3 | 7.0 | 7.42 | 9.1 |
Neimenggu | 10.7 | 45.9 | 50.45 | 54.2 | 14.5 | 15.61 | 18.3 | 17.9 | 21.43 | 24.9 |
Shanxi | 62.2 | 40.8 | 39.79 | 40.5 | 19.3 | 18.62 | 18.9 | 23.2 | 24.96 | 26.9 |
Shaanxi | 68.3 | 71.4 | 77.77 | 77.5 | 16.2 | 15.76 | 16.1 | 29.8 | 40.24 | 34.1 |
Henan | 25.6 | 220.5 | 215.81 | 221.3 | 106.2 | 103.79 | 102.4 | 98.7 | 104.98 | 121.9 |
Shandong | 15.1 | 189.7 | 182.03 | 185.3 | 54.6 | 54.49 | 57.7 | 149.4 | 154.82 | 164.1 |
2.2. Sampling and Methods
2.3. Calculation of Nutrient Inputs from the Yellow River Basin
2.3.1. Atmospheric Deposition
2.3.2. Input from Fertilizer Loss
2.3.3. Nutrient Input from Soil Leaching
2.3.4. Wastewater Nutrient Inputs
2.4. Nutrient Fluxes at Lijin
3. Results
3.1. Discharge and Suspended Sediment
3.2. Seasonal Variation of Nutrients
4. Discussion
4.1. Factors Influencing Nutrient Concentrations
Source | DIN | DIP | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | |
Atmospheric deposition | 2.44–32.9 | 3.34–45.1 | 2.54–34.3 | 0.017–0.072 | 0.024–0.103 | 0.016–0.70 |
Fertilizer | 3.28–24.6 | 3.36–25.2 | 3.44–25.8 | 0.11–2.57 | 0.12–2.79 | 0.13–2.88 |
Soil leaching | 1.07–2.01 | 4.06–7.61 | 3.06–5.74 | 0.059–0.08 | 0.22–0.30 | 0.17–0.23 |
Waste water | 3.30–24.8 | 3.31–24.9 | 3.41–25.6 | 0.35–3.72 | 0.35–3.73 | 0.36–3.84 |
Year | Nutrient | NO2−-N | NO3−-N | NH4+-N | DIN | PO43−-P | SiO32−-Si |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | Flux (mol·a−1) | 7.75 × 106 | 1.04 × 109 | 3.62 × 107 | 1.09 × 109 | 2.03 × 106 | 6.47 × 108 |
Flux (t·a−1) | 1.08 × 102 | 1.46 × 104 | 5.07 × 102 | 1.52 × 104 | 0.63 × 102 | 1.81 × 104 | |
2003 a | Flux (mol·a−1) | 1.07 × 107 | 5.71 × 109 | 1.08 × 108 | 5.83 × 109 | 5.34 × 106 | 2.66 × 109 |
Flux (t·a−1) | 1.50 × 102 | 7.99 × 104 | 1.52 × 103 | 8.16 × 104 | 1.66 × 102 | 7.45 × 104 | |
2004 | Flux (mol·a−1) | 3.84 × 107 | 5.69 × 109 | 6.95 × 107 | 5.80 × 109 | 5.00 × 106 | 2.69 × 109 |
Flux (t·a−1) | 5.37 × 102 | 7.97 × 104 | 9.73 × 102 | 8.12 × 104 | 1.55 × 102 | 7.54 × 104 |
4.2. Nutrient Fluxes at Lijin
4.3. Nutrient Limitation and Seasonal Variability in the Yellow River
4.4. Comparison of the Nutrient Status of the Yellow River with Other Major World Rivers
River | NO3− | PO43− | SiO32− | N/P | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Amazon | 10 | 0.7 | 115 | 14 | [66] |
Mississippi River | 114 | 7.7 | 127 | 15 | [10] |
Loire | 184 | 2.55 | 163 | 72 | [52] |
Rhone River | 74.5 | 4.2 | 81.2 | 17.7 | [67] |
Seine | 429 | 32.3 | 183 | 13 | [12] |
Po | 150 | 4.6 | 120 | 32 | [65] |
Morlaix | 397 | 3.90 | 138 | 101 | [2] |
Ob | 56 | 2.3 | 164 | 24 | [68] |
Yenisey | 26 | 0.4 | 107 | 65 | [68] |
Yukon | 2.43 | 0.05 | 82 | 69 | [69] |
Changjiang | 70.3 | 0.83 | 102 | 84 | [53] |
Zhujiang | 62 | 0.75 | 150 | 46 | [18] |
Yalujiang | 309.8 | 0.04 | 168.4 | 7745 | [18] |
YR | 291 | 0.29 | 140 | 1003 | This study |
World river average | 7.14 | 0.32 | — | 10.3 | [3] |
5. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Meybeck, M. Global analysis of river systems: From Earth system controls to Anthropocene syndromes. Philos. Trans. Royal Soc. B 2003, 358, 1935–1955. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Wafar, M.V.M.; le Corre, P.; Birrien, J.L. Transport of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in a Brittany River, France. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 1989, 29, 489–500. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Meybeck, M. Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transport by world rivers. Am. J. Sci. 1982, 282, 401–450. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tréguer, P.; Nelson, D.M.; van Bennekom, A.J.; Demaster, D.J.; Leynaert, A.; Quéguiner, B. The silica balance in the world ocean: A re-estimate. Science 1995, 268, 375–379. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- House, W.A.; Leach, D.; Warwick, M.S.; Whitton, B.A.; Pattinsonc, S.N.; Rylandb, G.; Pinderb, A.; Ingramb, J.; Lishmand, J.P.; Smith, S.M.; et al. Nutrient transport in the Humber rivers. Sci. Total Environ. 1997, 194/195, 303–320. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Benitez-Nelson, C.R. The biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus in marine systems. Earth Sci. Rev. 2000, 51, 109–135. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Nixon, S.W. Coastal eutrophication: A definition, social cause and future concerns. Ophelia 1995, 41, 199–220. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Admiraal, W.; Breugem, P.; Jacobs, D.M.L.H.A.; de Ruyer van Steveninck, E.D. Fixation of dissolved silicate and sedimentation of biogenic silicate in the lower river Rhine during diatom blooms. Biogeochemistry 1990, 9, 175–185. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Turner, R.E.; Rabalais, N.N. Coastal eutrophication near the Mississippi River delta. Nature 1994, 368, 619–621. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Rabalais, N.N.; Wiseman, W.J.; Turner, R.E.; Gupta, B.K.; Dortch, Q. Nutrient changes in the Mississippi River and the system responses on the adjacent continental shelf. Estuaries 1996, 19, 386–407. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Humborg, C.; Ittekkot, V.; Cociasu, A.; Bodungen, B.V. Effect of Danube river dam on Black Sea biogeochemistry and ecosystem structure. Nature 1997, 386, 385–388. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, J.; Zhang, Z.F.; Liu, S.M.; Wu, Y.; Xiong, H.; Chen, H.T. Human impacts on the large world rivers: Would the Changjiang (Yangtze River) be an illustration? Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 1999, 13, 1099–1105. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Humborg, C.; Conley, D.J.; Rahm, L.; Wulff, F.; Cociasu, A.; Ittekkot, V. Silicon retention in river basins: Far-reaching effects on biogeochemistry and aquatic food webs in coastal marine environments. AMBIO J. Hum. Environ. 2000, 29, 45–50. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chen, J.S.; He, D.W.; Zhang, N.; Cui, S.B. Characteristics of and human influence on nitrogen contamination in Yellow River system, China. Environ. Monitor. Assess. 2004, 93, 125–138. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yu, Z.G.; Mi, T.Z.; Yao, Q.Z.; Xie, B.D.; Zhang, J. Nutrients concentration and changes in decade-scale in the central Bohai Sea. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 2001, 20, 65–75. [Google Scholar]
- Duan, S.W.; Zhang, S. The variations of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the monitoring stations of the three major rivers in China. Sci. Geogr. Sin. 1999, 19, 411–416. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Wang, H.J.; Yang, Z.S.; Saito, Y.; Liu, J.P.; Sun, X.X. Interannual and seasonal variation of the Huanghe (Yellow River) water discharge over the past 50 years: Connections to impacts from ENSO events and dams. Glob. Planet. Chang. 2006, 50, 212–225. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yao, Q.Z.; Yu, Z.G.; Wang, T.; Chen, H.T.; Mi, T.Z. Effect of the first water—Sediment regulation on the variations of dissolved inorganic nutrients’ concentrations and fluxes in the lower main channel of the Yellow River. Environ. Sci. 2009, 30, 3534–3540. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Zhang, J. Nutrient elements in large Chinese estuaries. Cont. Shelf Res. 1996, 16, 1023–1045. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- He, H.; Yu, Z.; Yao, Q.; Chen, H.; Mi, T. The hydrological regime and particulate size control phosphorus form in the suspended solid fraction in the dammed Huanghe (Yellow River). Hydrobiologia 2010, 638, 203–211. [Google Scholar]
- Li, M.; Xu, K.; Watanabe, M.; Chen, Z. Long-term variation in dissolved silicate, nitrogen, and phosphorus flux from the Yangtze River into the East China Sea and impacts on estuarine ecosystem. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 2007, 71, 3–12. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yellow River Conservancy Commission. Yellow River Water Resource Bulletin 2002–2004. Available online: http://www.yellowriver.gov.cn/other/hhgb/ (accessed on 1 March 2015).
- Yellow River Conservancy Commission. Review of Yellow River Basin; Henan People’s Press: Henan, China, 1998. (in Chinese)
- Zhang, J.; Huang, W.W.; Liu, M.G.; Zhou, Q. Drainage basin weathering and major element transport of two large Chinese rivers (Huanghe and Changjiang). J. Geophys. Res. 1990, 95, 13277–13288. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xi, J.Z. Water Resources of Yellow River; Yellow River Water Conservancy Press: Zhengzhou, China, 1996. (in Chinese)
- Dai, Y.L.; Wen, T.M. The soil and water conservation, ecology and environmental construction on the Loess Plateau. Inf. Work Soil Water Convers. 2000, 2, 32–34. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Yang, Z.; Cheng, Y.; Wang, H. The Geology of China; Clarendon Press: Oxford, UK, 1986. [Google Scholar]
- Huang, W.W.; Zhang, J; Zhou, Z.H. Particulate element inventory of the Huanghe (Yellow River): A large, high turbidity river. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 1992, 56, 3669–3680. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chen, J.S.; Li, Y.H.; Le, J.X.; Wang, D.C. Physical and chemical erosions of rivers in China. Chin. Sci. Bull. 1984, 29, 932–936. [Google Scholar]
- National Bureau of Statistics of China. China Statistical Yearbook 2003; China Statistics Press: Beijing, China, 2003. (in Chinese)
- National Bureau of Statistics of China. China Statistical Yearbook 2004; China Statistics Press: Beijing, China, 2004. (in Chinese)
- National Bureau of Statistics of China. China Statistical Yearbook 2005; China Statistics Press: Beijing, China, 2005. (in Chinese)
- Feng, Z.Z.; Wang, X.K.; Feng, Z.W.; Liu, H.Y.; Li, Y.L. Influence of autumn irrigation on soil N leaching loss of different farm lands in Hetao irrigation district, China. Acta Ecol. Sin. 2003, 23, 2027–2032. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Song, Y.R. The Study on Atmospheric Wet Deposition in Qingdao. Master’s Thesis, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China, 2006. [Google Scholar]
- Bennet, E.M.; Carpenter, S.R.; Caraco, N.F. Human impact on erodable phosphorus and eutrophication: A global perspective. BioScience 2001, 51, 227–234. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Huang, Q.H.; Shen, H.T.; Liu, X.C.; Fu, R.B. Human impact on the nitrate flux to the Changjiang estuary. Resour. Environ. Yangtze Basin 2001, 10, 564–569. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Cheng, H.G.; Yue, Y.; Yang, S.T.; Hao, F.H.; Yang, Z.F. An estimation and evaluation of non-point source (NPS) pollution in the Yellow River Basin. Acta Sci. Circumst. 2006, 26, 384–391. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Zhang, X.C.; Shao, M.G. Soil nitrogen and organic matter losses under water erosion. Chin. J. Appl. Ecol. 2000, 11, 231–234. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- China chemical industry yearbook editing committee. China Chemical Industry Yearbook; China National Chemical Information Center: Beijing, China, 1999. (in Chinese) [Google Scholar]
- Wang, Y.M.; Ren, L.J.; Huo, T.Y.; Chen, M.J. Chemical fertilizer outflow and its influence on water environmental pollution in Shandong province. J. Ludong Univ. 2009, 25, 263–266. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Chen, J.W. The Yellow River Regulation and the Application of Water Resource (Comprehensive Volume); Yellow River Conservancy Press: Zhengzhou, China, 1998. (in Chinese)
- Chen, H.; Zhang, S. Nitrogen and phosphorus movement from loess tillage under modeling the rainfall-runofff erosion processes. Sci. Geogr. Sin. 1991, 11, 142–147. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Peng, L.; Wang, J.Z.; Lu, Z.F. Studies on the dry-farming soil nutrient movement in profile and erosion on sloping field in loess plateau. Acta Agric. Boreali Occident. Sin. 1994, 3, 62–66. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Zhang, D.; Tang, L.; Chen, Y.; Zhu, Y.; Yang, Y.; Zhu, Z. Discharge rule and char acter of nitrogen and phosphorus in household wastewater from suburb typical region in Dianchi Lake catchment. J. Agro-Environ. Sci. 2007, 26, 2245–2250. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Yu, T.; Meng, W.; Edwin, O.; Li, Z.; Chen, J. Long-term variations and causal factors in nitrogen and phosphorus transport in the Yellow River, China. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 2010, 86, 345–351. [Google Scholar]
- Benjamin, L.P.; Nina, F.C.; Mihael, L.P. Human influence on river nitrogen. Nature 1991, 350, 386–387. [Google Scholar]
- Gregory, M.; David, M.; Gertner, Z.G. Nitrate flux in the Mississippi River. Nature 2001, 414, 166–167. [Google Scholar]
- Williams, J. Understanding the Overuse of Chemical Fertilizer in China: A Synthesis of Historic Trends, Recent Studies, and Field Experiences, 2005. Available online: http://forestry.msu.edu/china/new%20folder/jo_fertilizer.pdf (accessed on 5 June 2013).
- Yellow River Water Resources Conservation Commission. Yellow River Water Resources Bulletin 2012. Available online: http://www.yellowriver.gov.cn/other/hhgb/2010/index.html (accessed on 1 May 2015).
- Yellow River Water Resources Conservation Commission. Yellow River Water Resources Bulletin 2010. Available online: http://www.yellowriver.gov.cn/other/hhgb/2010/index.html (accessed on 1 March 2015).
- Mayer, L.M.; Gloss, S.P. Buffering of silica and phosphorus in a turbid river. Limnol. Oceanogr. 1980, 25, 12–22. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Meybeck, M.; Cauwet, G.; Dessery, S.; Somville, M.; Gouleau, D.; Billen, G. Nutrients (organic C, P, N, Si) in the eutrophic river Loire (France) and its estuary. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 1988, 27, 595–624. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liu, S.M.; Zhang, J.; Chen, H.T.; Wu, Y.; Xiong, H.; Zhang, Z.F. Nutrients in the Changjiang and its tributaries. Biogeochemistry 2003, 62, 1–18. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Meybeck, M. Composition chimique des ruisseaux non pollués de France. Sci. Geol. Bull. 1986, 39, 3–77. (in French). [Google Scholar]
- Garnier, J.; Billen, G.; Hannon, E.; Fonbonne, S.; Videnina, Y.; Soulie, M. Modeling the transfer and retention of nutrients in the drainage network of the Danube River. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 2002, 54, 285–308. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Neal, C.; Neal, M.; Reynolds, B.; Maberly, S.C.; May, L.; Ferrier, R.C. Silicon concentrations in UK surface waters. J. Hydrol. 2005, 304, 75–93. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liu, T.S. Loess in China,, 2nd ed.; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 1985; p. 224. [Google Scholar]
- Justić, D.; Rabalais, N.N.; Turner, R.E.; Dortch, Q. Changes in nutrient structure of river-dominated coastal waters: Stoichiometric nutrient balance and its consequences. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 1995, 40, 339–356. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Justić, D.; Rabalais, N.N.; Turner, R.E. Stoichiometric nutrient balance and origin of coastal eutrophication. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 1995, 30, 41–46. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Redfield, A.C. The biological control of chemical factors in the environment. Am. Sci. 1958, 46, 205–222. [Google Scholar]
- Wang, B.D.; Wang, X.L.; Zhan, R. Nutrient conditions in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 2003, 58, 127–136. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Duan, S.W.; Liang, T.; Zhang, S.; Wang, L.; Zhang, X.; Chen, X. Seasonal changes in nitrogen and phosphorus transport in the lower Changjiang River before construction of the Three Gorges Dam. Estuar. Coast. Shelf Sci. 2008, 79, 239–250. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Gao, S.; Wang, Y.P. Changes in material fluxes from the Changjiang River and their implications on the adjoin continental shelf ecosystem. Cont. Shelf Res. 2008, 28, 1490–1500. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Garnier, J.; Billen, G.; Coste, M. Seasonal succession of diatoms and Chlorophyceae in the drainage network of the Seine River: Observations and modeling. Limnol. Oceanogr. 1995, 40, 750–765. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Degobbis, D.; Gilmartin, M. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and biogenic silicon budgets for the northern Adriatic Sea. Oceanol. Acta 1990, 13, 31–45. [Google Scholar]
- DeMaster, D.J.; Pope, R.H. Nutrient dynamics in Amazon shelf waters: Results from AMASSEDS. Cont. Shelf Res. 1990, 16, 263–289. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Ren, J.L.; Zhang, J. Nutrients, aluminum and major elements in the Rhone River. J. Ocean Univ. China 2002, 32, 993–1000. (in Chinese). [Google Scholar]
- Gordeev, V.V. River input of water, sediment, major ions, nutrients and trace metals from Russian territory to the Arctic Ocean. In The Freshwater Budget of the Arctic Ocean; Lewis, E.L., Johns, E.P., Lemke, P., Eds.; Kluwer: Norwell, MA, USA, 2000. [Google Scholar]
- Guo, L.D.; Zhang, J.Z.; Gueguen, C. Speciation and fluxes of nutrients (N, P, Si) from the upper Yukon River. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 2004, 18. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, J.; Yan, J.; Zhang, Z.F. Nationwide river chemistry trends in China: Huanghe and Changjiang. AMBIO J. Hum. Environ. 1995, 24, 275–279. [Google Scholar]
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Gong, Y.; Yu, Z.; Yao, Q.; Chen, H.; Mi, T.; Tan, J. Seasonal Variation and Sources of Dissolved Nutrients in the Yellow River, China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2015, 12, 9603-9622. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120809603
Gong Y, Yu Z, Yao Q, Chen H, Mi T, Tan J. Seasonal Variation and Sources of Dissolved Nutrients in the Yellow River, China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2015; 12(8):9603-9622. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120809603
Chicago/Turabian StyleGong, Yao, Zhigang Yu, Qingzhen Yao, Hongtao Chen, Tiezhu Mi, and Jiaqiang Tan. 2015. "Seasonal Variation and Sources of Dissolved Nutrients in the Yellow River, China" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 12, no. 8: 9603-9622. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120809603