Nitrate and Phosphorus Transport in a Galician River (NW Iberian Peninsula): Insights From Fourteen Years of Monitoring

Abstract

The long-term development of water quality metrics is critical to estimate the status of water resources and successful catchment management. This study looks at the temporal evolution of nitrate and phosphorus loads and concentrations in a stream draining rural catchment in Galicia (NW Iberian Peninsula) during 14 hydrological years. The concentrations of both nutrients are relatively low because of the rural nature of the research catchment and low-intensity agriculture. However, catchment nutrient reference levels were widely exceeded. The hydrology controls nutrient fluxes as flow is the main driver of nutrient transfer. For both nutrients there were no consistent trends in nutrient fluxes. The analysed nutrients, however, have been seen to behave differently. As a result, N seems to be decreasing, mainly due to decreased transit in the autumn and spring. Phosphorus, which is primarily transported as particulate matter, exhibits an increase in winter linked to a greater flow and sediment transfer.