Phosphorus and Nitrogen Status in the Terengganu River Basin, Malaysia

Abstract

This study has been carried out in the Terengganu River basin, southern South China Sea (Malaysia), to determine the concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) based nutrients and their possible sources. The dissolved inorganic nutrients in this river were found to be related to land use, where higher concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients were recorded at the stations near to the agricultural activities and urban areas. In contrast, dissolved organic and particulate forms of P and N were generally higher in the largely undisturbed part of the upstream, suggesting that these forms of nutrients can originate from dead organic matter and living organisms, excretion of waste by animals, soil runoff and sewage discharge. When comparing with other selected rivers in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, Terengganu river basin showed a relatively higher concentration of P- and N-based nutrients, probably because of the fact that the river had received high impacts of anthropogenic activities. Therefore, a regular monitoring program in this basin is important in order to capture the impact of increasing population densities, land-use changes and social-economic development to the river, which has important implications for the sustainability of Terengganu as well as of Malaysian economy.