- Published:
Eutrophication of the Dutch Wadden Sea: External nutrient loadings of the Marsdiep and Vliestroom basin
Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen volume 43, pages 501–515 (1989)
Abstract
The increasing P and N content in the two main tidal basins in the western Dutch Wadden Sea, the Marsdiep and the Vliestroom basin, has been reconstructed from the 50s onwards. The area is enriched with nutrients by two sources both originating from the river Rhine, one being the discharge from Lake IJssel and the other the exchange with the coastal zone of the North Sea. Due to a buffering by Lake IJssel for about 15–20 years, the eutrophication of the western Wadden Sea showed a time lag compared with the continuously increasing nutrient concentrations in the river Rhine and the coastal zone of the North Sea. At present, the primary production in part of the area still seems to be nutrient limited in summer, while loadings have already been decreasing in recent years. So far, no severe, negative effects on the ecosystem have been reported. Some remarks are made on the eutrophication in other parts of the Dutch' Wadden Sea in relation to the hydrographic characteristics of these areas.
Literature Cited
Anonymous, 1980. Ontwikkeling van grenswaarden voor doorzicht, chlorophyl, fosfaat en stikstof. Resultaten van de tweede eutrofiëringsenquete. Coördinatiecommissie uitvoering wet verontreiniging oppervlaktewateren, werkgroep VI, 48 pp.
Bennekom, A. J. van, Krijgsman-van Hartingsveld, E., Veer, G. C. M. van der & Voorst, H. F. J. van, 1974. The seasonal cycle of reactive silicate and suspended diatoms in the Dutch Wadden Sea. —Neth. J. Sea Res.8, 359–374.
Beukema, J. J. & Cadée, G. C., 1986. Zoobenthos responses to eutrophication of the Dutch Wadden Sea. — Ophelia26, 55–65.
Cadée, G. C., 1980. Reappraisal of the production and import of organic carbon in the western Wadden Sea. — Neth. J. Sea Res.14, 305–322.
Cadée, G. C., 1986. Increased phytoplankton primary production in the Marsdiep area (western Dutch Wadden Sea). — Neth. J. Sea Res.20, 285–290.
Cadée, G. C. & Hegeman, J., 1974. Primary production of phytoplankton in the Dutch Wadden Sea. —Neth. J. Sea Res.8, 240–259.
Cadée, G. C. & Hegeman, J., 1979. Phytoplankton primary production, chlorophyll and composition in an inlet of the western Wadden Sea (Marsdiep). — Neth. J. Sea Res.13, 224–241.
Cadée, G. C. & Hegeman, J., 1986. Seasonal and annual variation inPhaeocystis pouchetii (Haptophyceae) in the westernmost inlet of the Wadden Sea during the 1973 to 1985 period — Neth. J. Sea Res.20, 29–36.
Duursma, E. K., 1961. Dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus in the sea. — Neth. J. Sea Res.8, 1–148.
Helder, W., 1974. The cycle of dissolved inorganic nitrogen compounds in the Dutch Wadden Sea. —Neth. J. Sea Res.8, 154–173.
Jonge, V. N. de & Postma, H., 1974. Phosphorus compounds in the Dutch Wadden Sea. — Neth. J. Sea Res.8, 139–153.
Kloet, W. A. de, 1971. Het eutrofiëringsproces in het IJsselmeergebied. — Meded. Hydrobiol. Res.5, 23–28.
Kuipers, B. R., 1978. Opname en gebruik van voedsel door de jonge schol (Pleuronectes platessa L.) in een getijdengebied. Thesis Univ. Amsterdam 91 pp.
Postma, H., 1954. Hydrography of the Dutch Wadden Sea. — Archs. néerl. Zool.10, 405–511.
Postma, H., 1966. The cycle of nitrogen in the Wadden Sea and adjacent areas. — Neth. J. Sea Res.3, 186–221.
Postma, H., 1967. Observations on the hydrochemistry of inland waters in the Netherlands. In: Chemical environment in the aquatic habitat. Ed. by H. L. Golterman & R. S. Clymo, North Holland Publ. Comp., Amsterdam, 30–38.
Postma, H., 1985. Eutrophication of Dutch coastal waters. — Neth. J. Zool.35, 348–359.
Postma, H. & Rommets, J. W., 1970. Primary production in the Wadden Sea. — Neth. J. Sea Res.1, 148–190.
Rutgers van der Loeff, M. M., 1980. Time variation in interstitial nutrient concentrations at an exposed subtidal station in the Dutch Wadden Sea. — Neth. J. Sea Res.14, 123–143.
Smit, C. J. & Wolff, W. J., 1983. Birds of the Wadden Sea. In: Ecology of the Wadden Sea. Ed. by W. J. Wolff, Balkema, Rotterdam,2, 6/1–6/308.
Tijssen, S. B. & Bennekom, A. J. van, 1976. Lage zuurstofgehaltes in het water op het Balgzand. —H2O9, 28–31.
Veer, H. W. van der, 1986. Regulation of the population of O-group plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) in the Wadden Sea. Thesis, Rijksuniv, Groningen, 91 pp.
Veer, H. W. van der & Bergman, M. J. N., 1986. Development of tidally related behaviour of a newly settled O-group plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) population in the western Wadden Sea. — Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.31, 121–129.
Veldhuis, M. J. W., Colijn, F., Venekamp, L. A. H. & Villerius, L., 1988. Phytoplankton primary production and biomass in the western Wadden Sea (the Netherlands): a comparison with an ecosystem model. — Neth. J. Sea Res.22, 37–49.
Wilde, P. A. W. J. de & Beukema, J. J., 1984. The role of zoobenthos in the consumption of organic matter in the Dutch Wadden Sea. — Publ. Ser. Neth. Inst. Sea Res.10, 145–158.
Wit, J. A. W. de, Schotel, F. M. & Bekkers, L. E. J., 1982. De waterkwaliteit van de Waddenzee. — RIZA nota82–065, 1–67.
Zimmerman, J. T. F., 1976. Mixing and flushing of tidal embayments in the western Dutch Wadden Sea. Part I. Distribution of salinity and calculation of mixing time scales. — Neth. J. Sea Res.10, 149–191.
Zijlstra, J. J., 1972. On the importance of the Waddensea as a nursery area in relation to the conservation of the southern North Sea fishery resources. — Symp. zool. Soc. London.29, 233–258.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Publication No. 18 of the project “Ecological Research of the North Sea and Wadden Sea” (EON)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
van der Veer, H.W., van Raaphorst, W. & Bergman, M.J.N. Eutrophication of the Dutch Wadden Sea: External nutrient loadings of the Marsdiep and Vliestroom basin. Helgolander Meeresunters 43, 501–515 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365907
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365907