Phosphate limitation in estuarine and coastal waters of China

Abstract Mesocosm experiments conducted off the southern coast of mainland China, indicate that phytoplankton growth is limited by phosphorus, rather than nitrogen. In April, when natural seawater was enclosed in mesocosms, phosphorus always reached undetectable concentrations several days before inorganic nitrogen. This was not surprising since the initial N: P (by atoms) in the seawater at the start of the experiment was ≈ 80:1, indicating about a five-fold excess nitrogen over phosphorus. Bioassay experiments also indicated P-limited phytoplankton growth for seawater in Xiamen Bay. Several other estuaries along the coast of China have N: P ratios ranging from 30 to > 80:1. The large rivers of China have high nutrient loads with nitrogen in great excess over phosphorus (e.g., N: P up to 150:1). As a consequence of these large riverine inputs, vast areas along the coast of China are P-limited for primary production.

[1]  W. Boynton,et al.  Nutrient Enrichment Studies in a Coastal Plain Estuary: Phytoplankton Growth in Large-Scale, Continuous Cultures , 1986 .

[2]  Robert C. Beardsley,et al.  Discharge of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) into the East China Sea , 1985 .

[3]  J. Edmond,et al.  Chemical dynamics of the Changjiang estuary , 1985 .

[4]  W. Boynton,et al.  A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NUTRIENTS AND OTHER FACTORS INFLUENCING ESTUARINE PHYTOPLANKTON PRODUCTION , 1982 .

[5]  V. B. Myers,et al.  Phosphorus and Nitrogen Limited Phytoplankton Productivity in Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Coastal Estuaries , 1981 .

[6]  M. Meybeck.  Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus transport by world rivers , 1982 .

[7]  H. Utermöhl.  Zur Vervollkommnung der quantitativen Phytoplankton-Methodik , 1958 .

[8]  J. C. Goldman.  Identification of nitrogen as a growth-limiting nutrient in wastewaters and coastal marine waters through continuous culture algal assays , 1976 .

[9]  Eutrophication in the Peel-Harvey Estuarine System, Western Australia , 1981 .

[10]  Y. Azov,et al.  Seasonal patterns of phytoplankton productivity and abundance in nearshore oligotrophic waters of the Levant Basin (Mediterranean) , 1986 .

[11]  Yang Zuo-sheng,et al.  Transport and deposition of river sediment in the Changjiang estuary and adjacent continental shelf , 1985 .

[12]  T. Parsons,et al.  A practical handbook of seawater analysis , 1968 .

[13]  Chen Xiaolin,et al.  The Effects of Crude Oil and Corexit 9527 on Marine Phytoplankton in an Experimental Enclosure , 1986 .

[14]  Y. Olsen,et al.  Nutrient Status of Phytoplankton Blooms in Norwegian Waters and Algal Strategies for Nutrient Competition , 1986 .

[15]  S. V. Smith.  Phosphorus versus nitrogen limitation in the marine environment1 , 1984 .

[16]  D. Schindler.  Evolution of phosphorus limitation in lakes. , 1977, Science.

[17]  B. Berland,et al.  Azote ou phosphore ? Considérations sur le paradoxe nutritionnel de la mer méditerranée , 1980 .

[18]  D. Vaulot,et al.  Standing stock and production of phytoplankton in the estuary of the Chang-jiang (Yangste River) and the adjacent East China Sea , 1988 .

[19]  J. Strickland.  A practical hand-book of seawater analysis , 1972 .

[20]  J. L. Taft,et al.  Phosphorus dynamics in some coastal plain estuaries , 1976 .

[21]  E. Paasche,et al.  Phosphorus and nitrogen limitation of phytoplankton in the inner Oslofjord (Norway) , 1988 .

[22]  M. Kossut,et al.  In situ cell depletion of some marine algae enclosed in dialysis sacks and their use for the determination of nutrient-limiting growth in Ligurian coastal waters (Mediterranean sea) , 1981 .

[23]  R. Cook,et al.  The Major Biogeochemical Cycles and Their Interactions. , 1983 .

[24]  J. Ryther,et al.  Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Eutrophication in the Coastal Marine Environment , 1971, Science.