Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Periphyton Chlorophyll a Related to Pulp and Paper Mill Discharges in Four US Receiving Streams

Nutrients in pulp and paper mill effluent (PPME) have been implicated in increased periphyton chlorophyll a (chl a) downstream of discharges. These findings are largely based on short-term studies conducted in artificial stream channels or mesocosms and often in oligotrophic systems, and it is uncle...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Integrated environmental assessment and management 2009-04, Vol.5 (2), p.259-269
Main Authors: Flinders, Camille A, Minshall, G. Wayne, Hall, Timothy J, Rodgers, John H
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacteria - drug effects
Bacteria - metabolism
Chlorophyll
Chlorophyll - chemistry
Chlorophyll - metabolism
Chlorophyll a
Creeks
Creeks & streams
Downstream
Ecosystem
Effluents
Environmental Monitoring
Freshwater
Industrial Waste - adverse effects
Industrial Waste - analysis
Industrial wastewater
Leaves
Long-term
Nitrogen
Nutrients
Plants - drug effects
Plants - metabolism
Pulp & paper industry
Pulp & paper mills
Receiving waters
Rivers
Seasons
Special Series
Standing crops
Streams
United States
Upstream
Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods
Water Movements
Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
Water quality
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Summary:Nutrients in pulp and paper mill effluent (PPME) have been implicated in increased periphyton chlorophyll a (chl a) downstream of discharges. These findings are largely based on short-term studies conducted in artificial stream channels or mesocosms and often in oligotrophic systems, and it is unclear if long-term chl a patterns in higher-nutrient systems would show similar response. We conducted a long-term study of 4 receiving waters (Codorus Creek, Pennsylvania; the Leaf River, Mississippi; and the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, Oregon) in which periphyton samples and associated data on water quality (nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, pH, color, and conductivity) and 2 physical habitat variables (depth and current velocity) were collected over an 8-y period from multiple sites upstream and downstream of PPME discharges. Study streams represented different ecoregions, warm- and coldwater systems, gradients of in-stream effluent concentration (
ISSN:1551-3777
1551-3793
DOI:10.1897/IEAM_2008-055.1