Source apportionment of nitrogen in Estonian rivers

The statistical model MESAW (Matrix Equations for Source Apportionmenton Watershed) was used to estimate the diffuse unit- area sourceemission coefficients of nitrogen in Estonianrivers. The input data included monitored riverine loads, point sources and land use categories from a total of 50 rivers/ catchment areas. Two independent studieswere conducted: the estimation of emission coefficients for the whole of Estonia and for a smaller study area near Tallinn. The results from both cases showed that drained peat soils were the highest diffuse source contributor in unit-area loads. The results show that the unit-area loads from drained peat soils were up to 2.3 times higher than from arable land. Moreover, a comparison of emission coefficients for the whole of Estonia and for the Tallinn catchment areaindicated that coefficients can vary significantly between sources and single years. Additional detailed studies and monitoring are needed to support these conclusions.