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Changes in Nutrient Loading in an Agricultural Watershed and Its Effects on Water Quality and Stream Biota

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Abstract

Non-point-sources of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are recognized as major causes of eutrophication of surface waters. Adoption of policies to reduce pollution in the former German Democratic Republic following re-unification of Germany in 1990 provided an opportunity to examine how taking agricultural land out of production affected nutrient loads and aquatic biota in a small rural watershed. Between 1994 and 1996, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) loads in a first-order agricultural stream decreased by >90% while instream concentrations decreased by 89% for DIN and 40% for SRP. This reduction in nutrients coincided with a decrease in precipitation (from 760 to 440 mm between 1994 and 1996) and an increase in the area of land set aside from agricultural production (from 0.3% in 1990 to a maximum of 8% in 1994). The biomass of primary producers (episammic algae) showed no clear response to this decrease in nutrient concentrations. However, benthic invertebrate composition shifted from a chironomid–amphipod to an oligochaete–gastropod dominated community in response to the decrease in DIN and changes in episammic algal abundance and sediment organic carbon concentrations. Results from our 4-year study showed reductions in soil nutrient losses combined with less precipitation resulted in less P and N in a rural stream and a change in benthic invertebrate community composition and abundance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Water Research Institute, 867 Lakeshore Road, PO Box 5050, Burlington, ON, L7R 4A6, Canada

    P. A. Chambers

  2. Department of Soil Sciences, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig-Halle, Research Station Falkenberg, 39615, Dorfstrasse 55, Falkenberg, Germany

    R. Meissner, H. Rupp & J. Seeger

  3. National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Blvd., Saskatoon, SK, S7N 3H5, Canada

    F. J. Wrona & R. B. Brua

  4. Department for Inland Water Research, UFZ Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig-Halle, Brückstrasse 3a, 39114, Magdeburg, Germany

    H. Guhr

  5. Department of Biology, National Water Research Institute and Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, 10 Bailey Drive, PO Box 45111, Fredericton, NB, E3B 6E1, Canada

    J. M. Culp

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  1. P. A. Chambers
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Chambers, P.A., Meissner, R., Wrona, F.J. et al. Changes in Nutrient Loading in an Agricultural Watershed and Its Effects on Water Quality and Stream Biota. Hydrobiologia 556, 399–415 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-005-1202-5

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