Nitrogen-alkalinity interactions in the highly polluted Scheldt basin (Belgium)

We present results of one year observations in highly heterotrophic and oxygen-depleted rivers of the polluted Scheldt basin. Monthly measurements revealed a high variability for dissolved inorganic carbon and nitrogen, with the following strong parallelism: highest alkalinity and NH 4 + were associated with lowest NO 3 − and oxygen and vice-versa . In river water incubations, nitrification lowered the alkalinity whereas denitrification raised it; in an anoxic, NO 3 − -free incubation an increase of alkalinity was observed, partially due to ammonification. A stoichiometric analysis, taking int... Mehr ...