Chemistry of Phosphate and Nitrogen Compounds in Sediments

Phosphate and nitrogen compounds control growth of vegetation in most, if not all, fresh, brackish or salt waters. This book deals with the process constituting the cycles of the phosphate and nitrogen compounds in sediment and the phosphate equilibria between the sediment and the overlying water. Sediment, to a large extent, controls the P- and N-concentrations and thus primary production. In most waters, too high concentrations of these compounds cause excessive growth of algae, causing so-called eutrophication. Abatement of this can only be achieved after a complete understanding of the quantitative role of sediment in the P- and N-cycle.
This book will be of interest to students of limnology at graduate or Ph.D. levels, environmental engineers, biologists and chemists appointed to include sediment in their work or studies, and for water managers dealing with water quality control. The book should be seen as a complement to textbooks on limnology, in that it provides an in-depth treatment of the subject.