Nutrient Loading Estimates for Lakes

Abstract

The nitrogen and phosphorus loads to a waterbody may be reliably estimated on the basis of the waterbody's watershed land use pattern and the nitrogen and phosphorus export coefficients for each dominant type of land use. Good agreement was found in a comparison between the nitrogen and phosphorus export coefficients developed in this study and the measured amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus transported to 38 U.S. waterbodies. Good agreement was also found between the load estimated by the Vollenweider model relating the mean annual in‐lake and inflow phosphorus concentrations of a waterbody, and the measured amounts of phosphorus that actually entered the 38 waterbodies.