Spatial and Temporal Trends of Recent Dissolved Phosphorus Concentrations in Lake Tana and its Four Main Tributaries

Rapid population growth and agricultural intensification have been directly associated with land degradation and with visible deterioration in water quality in the Ethiopian lakes. Assessing the extent and origin of pollution is cumbersome because of the lack of measurements for water quality parame...

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Published in:Land degradation & development 2017-07, Vol.28 (5), p.1742-1751
Main Authors: Alemu, Muluken L., Geset, Muhabe, Mosa, Hassan M., Zemale, Fasikaw A., Moges, Mamaru A., Giri, Shree K., Tillahun, Seifu A., Melesse, Assefa M., Ayana, Essayas K., Steenhuis, Tammo S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural land
East Africa
eutrophication
Floating plants
Gaging
Headwaters
highlands
Intensive farming
Lakes
Land degradation
Land use
Monsoons
nonpoint
Phosphorus
pollution
Population growth
River mouth
Rivers
Tributaries
Water hyacinths
Water pollution
Water quality
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Summary:Rapid population growth and agricultural intensification have been directly associated with land degradation and with visible deterioration in water quality in the Ethiopian lakes. Assessing the extent and origin of pollution is cumbersome because of the lack of measurements for water quality parameters. This paper reports on the dissolved phosphorus (DP) concentrations in Lake Tana and its tributaries during 3 years from 2010 to 2012 and the four rainy months in 2014. Concentrations in the headwaters, at the gaging station, at the river mouth, near shore (littoral), and in the open lake (pelagic) were measured for the four major rivers. DP concentration in the rivers was on the average 0·32 mg l−1, and DP in the lake was much lower with an average concentration of 0·10 mg l−1. Temporally, DP concentrations were greater in the rainy phase of the monsoon than in the dry phase from November through March. Moreover, an upward trend in DP concentrations is coinciding with the area expansion of water hyacinths in the lake. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:1085-3278
1099-145X
DOI:10.1002/ldr.2705