Transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen from the major rivers to estuaries in China

Abstract

Long-term results of the monthly measurement of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations in three major rivers in China are presented. These data are combined with river discharge data to calculate the DIN loads discharged into the ocean. About 774.90 × 10³, 55.38 × 10³and 144.55 × 10³tons of DIN were transported to their respective estuaries each year by the Changjiang, the Huanghe and the Zhujiang in 1980–1989, mainly in the form of nitrate (> 80 percent). The annual transport of DIN and mean concentration of nitrate in the Changjiang had increased drastically (four-fold) in the last 29 years, especially during the 1980s. Although nitrate concentrations of the Zhujiang and the Huanghe had also increased in the 1980s, their total annual loads of DIN varied mainly with annual runoff volumes, showing no obvious uptrends. Our results also demonstrate that the majority of the DIN load of each river was transported in the high-flow period (70–80 percent). A positive relationship is observed between the annual DIN transport of the Changjiang and the annual application of chemical fertilizers in its catchment. The annual DIN loads of the Huanghe and the Zhujiang were influenced mainly by runoff volume, and also by application of chemical fertilizers.