Carbon and phosphorus transport by the major Indian rivers

Riverine systems play a major role in the transport of nutrients from the land masses and atmosphere to the oceans and frequently serve as reservoirs for numerous compounds. The biogeochemical cycling of elements is significantly affected by man's activities. With the growing awareness of human impact on quality of rivers, emphasis is given more towards a holistic treatment of a river as an ecosystem. In the present study, an attempt is made to estimate the organic carbon transport from the Himalayan rivers. The transfer of dissolved organic carbon (DOG) and particulate organic carbon (POC) from the Himalayan rivers is estimated to be about 7.6 and 9 million tons per year. High concentrations of P-PO4 are found in all the Indian rivers, which may be due to human interference. Pronounced temporal and seasonal variation for DOC and P-PO4 have been reported. The flux of P-PO4 and particulate inorganic phosphorus (PIP) from the Indian rivers to the ocean is 19.5 X 10(10) g yr(-1) and 1.5 X 10(12) g yr(-1) respectively. Comparisons were made with the prominent world rivers.