5 research outputs found
Nutrient budgets for European seas: a measure of the effectiveness of nutrient reduction policies
Socio-economic
development
in Europe has exerted increasing
pressure on the marine environment.
Eutrophication,
caused by nutrient
enrichment,
is evident
in regions of all European
seas. Its severity
varies
but has, in places, adversely impacted socio-economic
activities.
This paper aims to evaluate
the
effectiveness
of recently adopted policies
to reduce anthropogenic
nutrient
inputs to European
seas. Nitrogen
and phosphorus
budgets
were constructed
for three different
periods
(prior to severe eutrophication,
during
severe eutrophication
and contemporary)
to capture
changes in the relative
importance
of different
nutrient
sources in four European
seas suffering from eutrophication
(Baltic
Proper, coastal North Sea,
Northern
Adriatic
and North-Western Black Sea Shelf). Policy
success
is evident
for point sources, notably
for P in the Baltic
and North Seas, but reduction
of diffuse
sources has been more problematic