The state of nitrogen in rivers and streams across sub-Saharan Africa.

The nutrient status of rivers and streams is less researched in sub-Saharan Africa than in many other inhabited regions of the world. Given the expected population growth, intensification of agriculture, increased pressure on natural ecosystems and projected climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, it is crucial to quantify and understand drivers behind spatiotemporal patterns of nitrogen concentrations and loads in rivers and streams. Such knowledge can support sustainable management of water resources with the goal to provide clean water, create and maintain healthy ecosystems and prevent excessive pollution of water resources with nitrogen compounds, as is found in large parts of North America, Europe and Asia.

Agricultural land is the main source of stream sediments after conversion of an African montane forest.

In many parts of Africa, soil erosion is an important problem, which is evident from high sediment yields in tropical montane streams. Previous studies in Kenya pointed to a large contribution from catchments cultivated by smallholder farmers. This led to the hypothesis that unpaved tracks and gullies are the main sediment sources in smallholder agriculture catchments of the highlands of Kenya.

Diurnal Patterns in Solute Concentrations Measured with In Situ UV-Vis Sensors: Natural Fluctuations or Artefacts?

In situ spectrophotometers measuring in the UV-visible spectrum are increasingly used to collect high-resolution data on stream water quality. This provides the opportunity to investigate short-term solute dynamics, including diurnal cycling. This study reports unusual changes in diurnal patterns observed when such sensors were deployed in four tropical headwater streams in Kenya.

Land use affects total dissolved nitrogen and nitrate concentrations in tropical montane streams in Kenya.

African tropical montane forests are facing fast and dynamic changes in land use. However, the impacts of these changes on stream water quality are understudied. This paper aims at assessing the effect of land use and physical catchment characteristics on stream water concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), nitrate (NO-N) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the Mau Forest, the largest tropical montane forest in Kenya.

Field-scale study of the influence of differing remediation strategies on trace metal geochemistry in metal mine tailings from the Irish Midlands.

Mine tailings represent a globally significant source of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) to the environment. The management of large volumes of mine tailings represents a major challenge to the mining industry and environmental managers. This field-scale study evaluates the impact of two highly contrasting remediation approaches to the management and stabilisation of mine tailings.