Diel changes in aquatic biogeochemistry of a pristine stream receiving untreated urban sewage at Brazilian rainforest

Santos, Débora Alves; Paula, Francisco Carlos Fernandes De

doi:10.1007/s11356-019-04386-w

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…A water body is easily stratified in a warm, deep, calm estuary, but not in a fast-flowing, shallow, upstream river. The degree of autotrophy or heterotrophy and the resulting DO concentration and pCO 2 in the water are also controlled by these physical factors (Cotovicz Jr et al 2015;Guenther et al 2017;Santos and De Paula, 2019). Because nutrient-enriched wastewater is quickly flushed downstream in the latter case, eutrophication and subsequent algal blooms or hypoxia usually become apparent in the former case, where the residence time of water is sufficient (Perez et al 2011;Romo et al 2013;John et al 2020).…”

Section: Urbanizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of tropical land-use change on downstream riverine and estuarine water properties and biogeochemical cycles: a review

2021

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Tropical primary forests have been disappearing quickly to make use of the land for commercial purposes. Land-use change has an impact on downstream aquatic processes, but those impacts have mainly been studied in temperate climate regions. The present article reviews the impacts of various tropical land-use changes caused by human activities on downstream riverine and estuarine water properties and biogeochemical cycles, focusing especially on the behaviors of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Logging of tropical primary forests, subsequent establishment of pasture lands, and occasional wildfire or intentional burning have decreased terrestrial N fixation and increased the discharge of P combined with soils, which has lowered the N:P ratio of dissolved inorganic nutrients in the adjacent stream waters and downstream rivers. Agricultural fertilizers and aquacultural practices basically cause nutrient enrichment in downstream riverine and estuarine waters, changing the N:P ratio depending on the source. Finally, urbanization causes eutrophication in many tropical estuaries, where a halocline forms easily because of a warm temperature throughout the year and the water at the bottom of the estuary tends to become hypoxic or anoxic. Overall, the impact of land-use change on aquatic processes may be more serious in tropical regions than in temperate or cold climate regions because of (1) a higher biomass and nutrient stock in original tropical forests; (2) higher precipitation, more frequent episodic flooding, and warmer temperatures in tropical regions; and (3) certain practices that are rapidly expanding in tropical regions such as land-based aquaculture. Various land-use changes are causing downstream nutrient enrichment or disturbance of the nutrient balance at tropical land-sea interfaces, and the overall N:P ratios in the aquatic ecosystem seem to be declining. Nonetheless, if proper management is conducted and the discharge of nutrients and soils ceases, tropical aquatic systems may have the potential to recover faster than those in other climate regions because of their abundant precipitation and warm temperature. Long-term monitoring and more attention to elemental stoichiometry are important areas for future research.

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Section: Urbanizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of tropical land-use change on downstream riverine and estuarine water properties and biogeochemical cycles: a review

2021

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“…If not properly treated, municipal and industrial wastewater can elevate concentrations of nutrients and contaminants and affect the water quality of receiving rivers and streams (Carey & Migliaccio, 2009). These conditions are aggravated in urban areas with combined sanitary and stormwater sewers, where CSOs to nearby waterways take place during heavy rainfall events, releasing large volumes of untreated wastewater (Santos & De Paula, 2019). Therefore, a primary requirement for reducing urban stream syndrome is the management of wastewater effluent and CSOs (Srinivas et al., 2018; Walsh et al., 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐Term Trends Show Improvements in Water Quality in the Chicago Metropolitan Region With Investment in Wastewater Infrastructure, Deep Tunnels, and Reservoirs

Pluth

Brose

Gallagher

et al. 2021

Water Resources Research

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The ecological degradation of streams draining urban land, known as the urban stream syndrome, is characterized by elevated nutrients and contaminants, increased hydrologic flashiness, and altered biotic assemblages. This study demonstrated an improvement in chemical characteristics by evaluating water quality trends from 1975 to 2012 and from 2013 to 2018 in the Chicago, Calumet, and Des Plaines River Systems in Cook County, Illinois. Data from 41 monitoring locations were compiled and 11 water quality parameters were analyzed for long‐term monotonic trends and differences in water quality parameters between select time periods to investigate the outcomes from improvements in water reclamation plant (WRP) and tunnel and reservoir infrastructure carried out by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago. From 1975 to 2012, significant decreasing trends in concentrations were demonstrated at most sampling locations for total organic carbon (TOC), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), ammonium nitrogen (NH4+), total suspended solids (TSS), fecal coliform (FC), and sulfate. Significant increasing trends were demonstrated for dissolved oxygen (DO) and chloride concentrations and temperature. Total phosphorus (TP) concentrations increased downstream of the Stickney, Kirie, and Calumet WRPs from 1975 to 2012, but decreased downstream of the Kirie WRP and had no trends downstream of the Stickney and Calumet WRPs from 2013 to 2018. Improvements in TKN, NH4+, TOC, TSS, FC, TP, and DO concentrations over four decades demonstrated the benefits of expanding secondary wastewater treatment and implementing the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan System, instream and side‐stream elevated pool aeration stations, and effluent disinfection.

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“…LULC changes in the tropics are driven by logging, pasture/ranching, urbanization, agriculture, and burning of vegetation (Tanaka et al, 2021). Generally, LULC change in the tropics increases nitrates, phosphates (PO − 4 ), ammonium (NH + 4 ), electrical conductivity (including Na + , Mg 2+ , Cl − , K + , Ca 2+ ), chlorophyll-a and suspended solids/turbidity and decreases dissolved oxygen (DO) in downstream rivers and estuaries (Deegan et al, 2011;Riskin et al, 2017;Santos and De Paula, 2019;Tanaka et al, 2021). In some situations, opposite trends have been found.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example river nitrate concentrations were found to decrease in Panama and Brazil where primary forest was converted to pasture (Deegan et al, 2011;Valiela et al, 2013Valiela et al, , 2014. In contrast, some river water characteristics such as pH do not show a consistent trend with LULC change (Ling et al, 2016;Ríos-Villamizar et al, 2017;Santos and De Paula, 2019;Tanaka et al, 2021), and underlying geology may be a more important factor in these cases (Young et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land Use and Land Cover Shape River Water Quality at a Continental Caribbean Land-Ocean Interface

et al. 2022

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Land use and land cover (LULC) can significantly alter river water, which can in turn have important impacts on downstream coastal ecosystems by delivering nutrients that promote marine eutrophication and hypoxia. Well-documented in temperate systems, less is known about the way land cover relates to water quality in low-lying coastal zones in the tropics. Here we evaluate the catchment LULC and the physical and chemical characteristics of six rivers that contribute flow into a seasonally hypoxic tropical bay in Bocas del Toro, Panama. From July 2019 to March 2020, we routinely surveyed eight physical and chemical characteristics (temperature, specific conductivity, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), nitrate and nitrite, ammonium, and phosphate). Our goals were to determine how these physical and chemical characteristics of the rivers reflect the LULC, to compare the water quality of the focal rivers to rivers across Panama, and to discuss the potential impacts of river discharge in the Bay. Overall, we found that the six focal rivers have significantly different river water characteristics that can be linked to catchment LULC and that water quality of rivers 10 s of kilometers apart could differ drastically. Two focal catchments dominated by pristine peat swamp vegetation in San San Pond Sak, showed characteristics typical of blackwater rivers, with low pH, dissolved oxygen, and nutrients. The remaining four catchments were largely mountainous with >50% forest cover. In these rivers, variation in nutrient concentrations were associated with percent urbanization. Comparisons across Panamanian rivers covered in a national survey to our focal rivers shows that saltwater intrusions and low DO of coastal swamp rivers may result in their classification by a standardized water quality index as having slightly contaminated water quality, despite this being their natural state. Examination of deforestation over the last 20 years, show that changes were <10% in the focal catchments, were larger in the small mountainous catchments and suggest that in the past 20 years the physical and chemical characteristics of river water that contributes to Almirante Bay may have shifted slightly in response to these moderate land use changes. (See supplementary information for Spanish-language abstract).

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Diel changes in aquatic biogeochemistry of a pristine stream receiving untreated urban sewage at Brazilian rainforest

Cited by 8 publications

References 40 publications

The impact of tropical land-use change on downstream riverine and estuarine water properties and biogeochemical cycles: a review

The impact of tropical land-use change on downstream riverine and estuarine water properties and biogeochemical cycles: a review

Long‐Term Trends Show Improvements in Water Quality in the Chicago Metropolitan Region With Investment in Wastewater Infrastructure, Deep Tunnels, and Reservoirs

Land Use and Land Cover Shape River Water Quality at a Continental Caribbean Land-Ocean Interface

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