Nutrient Balance Assessment in the Mekong Basin: Nitrogen and Phosphorus Dynamics in a Catchment Scale

Ina Liljeström, Matti Kummu and Olli Varis

International Journal of Water Resources Development, 2012, vol. 28, issue 2, 373-391

Abstract: Tropical regions are typically rather poorly covered by nutrient enrichment information, despite th eir soaring population, urbanization, industrialization, and intensifying agriculture. We provide an overview of nutrient fluxes and their temporal and spatial patterns in the Mekong River for 1985–2005. Total inorganic nitrogen fluxes increased significantly, while phosphorus fluxes increased less steeply. The majority of fluxes originated from agricultural and from forest and shrubland areas. Although the Mekong is not yet facing severe water quality problems, the concurrent rapid development can be expected to accelerate nutrient enrichment. There is thus an urgent need to improve water quality monitoring and pollution control measures, and to give water quality issues more weight at the policy level.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1080/07900627.2012.668649

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