Changes in N and P Fluxes due to Agricultural Land Use in the Mississippi River System

Riverine flux is one of the most important terms balancing many global elemental cycles including nitrogen and phosphorus. Using US Geological Survey Water Data and a variety of GIS layers including yearly precipitation, we investigated the agricultural land use effects on both riverine discharge and fluxes of N and P from the Mississippi River system. Results demonstrate that there has been a large increase in water discharge due to agricultural land use and that the changes in discharge affected fluxes of N and P significantly. Dependency of the fluxes on regions and spatial variation will be discussed.