Nitrogen Contamination in the Yellow River Basin of China

Abstract

Nitrogen contamination is one of the most serious problems in the Yellow River of China. This study was conducted to analyze monitoring data on nitrogen contamination for the Yellow River basin in the years 1980, 1990, 1997, and 1999. Several significant results have arisen from the study. First, in conjunction with an increase in economic indexes from the Yellow River's upper basin to its lower basin, the nitrogen concentration in the tributaries also showed an increasing trend from the upper to the lower basin, which, in turn, led to an increase in the nitrogen concentration of the mainstream from the upper to the lower reaches. Second, nitrogen in the river water in the mainstream and the tributaries of the Yellow River was attributed mainly to point sources. In spite of the fact that the ratio of point to nonpoint sources decreased from 2.7 in 1990 to 1.8 in 1997 for total inorganic nitrogen in river water at the Tongguan Station in the lower basin, point sources increased more than nonpoint sources. Third, the ammonium nitrogen and total inorganic nitrogen content of the river water increased significantly in the mainstream and the tributaries during the 1980-1999 period, a change caused by an increase in wastewater discharge and nitrogenous fertilizer application in the Yellow River catchment.

Modeling and forecasting riverine dissolved inorganic nitrogen export using anthropogenic nitrogen inputs, hydroclimate, and land-use change

“…Since the 1980s, Chinese rivers, such as the Yangzi River, Yellow River and Zhujiang River, have experienced a significant increase in N concentration and flux associated with rapid economic development, human population expansion, and urbanization (Duan et al, 2000;Xia et al, 2002;Liu et al, 2003;Li et al, 2007;Shen and Liu, 2009). Due to the lack of long-term river N monitoring records, historical N trend analyses have been limited to these major rivers, while little information is available for smaller rivers, which may experience appreciably different N source-sink dynamics.…”

Response of coastal marine eco-environment to river fluxes into the sea: A case study of the Huanghe (Yellow) River mouth and adjacent waters

“…Historically, the river discharged an average of 574×10 8 m 3 of water and 10.0 ×10 8 t of sediment annually, corresponding approximately 50%-60% of the freshwater and more than 90% of the sediment received by the Bohai Sea (Cheng and Zhao, 1985). The amount and nature of the river outflows drastically changed in the past half century due mainly to the increasing river regulation (SPSTC, 1991;Xia et al, 2002) and these changes may have significantly influenced the local estuarine and coastal environment. Our knowledge of the nature, and extent of these impacts is still scant.…”

Social–ecological challenges in the Yellow River basin (China): a review

“…release of various pollutants like oil, detergents, heavy metals, nitrogen and phosphate from fertilizer (Xia et al 2002;Hui et al 2009). …”