Seasonal Characterisation and Trends Study of Nutrient Concentrations in Surface Water from Catchments with Intensive Livestock Farming

Abstract

Seasonal Characterisation and Trends Study of Nutrient Concentrations in Surface Water from Catchments with Intensive Livestock Farming Temporal changes in observed nitrogen and phosphorus losses to surface water were studied in 3 agricultural catchments in order to evaluate the achievement of water protection targets in Latvia. The aim of this study is to investigate the water quality measures in high density livestock farming catchments. Long-term monitoring data (years 1996-2008) of water quality used in the analysis show a high annual and monthly variability of nutrients. The results demonstrate little or no reduction of nutrient concentrations in surface water. The results suggest that water protection measures for agricultural production need to be further intensified.