Nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from soil to surface water in the rhine and elbe basins

This paper analyses the relations between nutrient emissions from soil to surface water and nutrient surplus at the soil surface that have been derived from independent water quality and emission data for numerous sub-basins in the Rhine and Elbe basins. For nitrogen (N) we found a positive relation between the long term average N surplus at the soil surface and N emissions from soil to surface water. The ratio between N emissions from soil to surface water and N surplus at the soil surface appeared to be larger for regions with consolidated rocks than for regions with unconsolidated rocks. However, no direct relation between the phosphorus (P) emissions from soil to surface water and the long term average P surplus at the soil surface was found. The results also show that changes in the N and P balance at the soil surface are not immediately reflected by changes in N and P emissions to the surface water, at least not within five years.