Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda

Lake Bunyonyi is one of the major resources of social-economic potential in the districts of Rubanda and Kabale, South- Western Uganda. The lake’s sub-catchment faces environmental problems because of intensive agriculture, settlement, business and tourism activities, which consequently cause poll...

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Main Authors: Alex, Saturday, Thomas, J. Lyimo, John, Machiwa, Pamba, Siajali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Applied Water Science 2022
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Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/653
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author Alex, Saturday
Thomas, J. Lyimo
John, Machiwa
Pamba, Siajali
author_facet Alex, Saturday
Thomas, J. Lyimo
John, Machiwa
Pamba, Siajali
author_sort Alex, Saturday
collection KAB-DR
description Lake Bunyonyi is one of the major resources of social-economic potential in the districts of Rubanda and Kabale, South- Western Uganda. The lake’s sub-catchment faces environmental problems because of intensive agriculture, settlement, business and tourism activities, which consequently cause pollution of water in the lake’s system. This study, therefore, intended to determine the processes that govern nitrogen dynamism using a numerical model that takes into account various processes in the system using STELLA® 8.1.1 software. From the model simulation, it was found that mineralization, microbial uptake and nitrification were the major processes governing nitrogen transformation in the water phase, accounting for 47.8% (0.49 g/d m−2), 44.2% (0.45 g/d m−2), and 7.8% (0.05 g/d m−2), respectively. The developed model predicted reasonably well the behaviour of the lake evidenced by the validation results of observed and simulated data that showedgood linear regression coefficients (R2) of organic nitrogen (0.48), ammonia–nitrogen (0.68), and nitrate–nitrogen (0.61). The model has proven suitable for application on lakes with characteristics similar to that of Lake Bunyonyi. The study recommended that a compressive investigation that puts into consideration all the possible sources of nutrient and water inflow into the lake system be done on Lake Bunyonyi.
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spelling oai:idr.kab.ac.ug:20.500.12493-6532024-01-17T04:44:30Z Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda Alex, Saturday Thomas, J. Lyimo John, Machiwa Pamba, Siajali Denitrification · Lake Bunyonyi · Mineralization · Nitrification and nitrogen dynamics Lake Bunyonyi is one of the major resources of social-economic potential in the districts of Rubanda and Kabale, South- Western Uganda. The lake’s sub-catchment faces environmental problems because of intensive agriculture, settlement, business and tourism activities, which consequently cause pollution of water in the lake’s system. This study, therefore, intended to determine the processes that govern nitrogen dynamism using a numerical model that takes into account various processes in the system using STELLA® 8.1.1 software. From the model simulation, it was found that mineralization, microbial uptake and nitrification were the major processes governing nitrogen transformation in the water phase, accounting for 47.8% (0.49 g/d m−2), 44.2% (0.45 g/d m−2), and 7.8% (0.05 g/d m−2), respectively. The developed model predicted reasonably well the behaviour of the lake evidenced by the validation results of observed and simulated data that showedgood linear regression coefficients (R2) of organic nitrogen (0.48), ammonia–nitrogen (0.68), and nitrate–nitrogen (0.61). The model has proven suitable for application on lakes with characteristics similar to that of Lake Bunyonyi. The study recommended that a compressive investigation that puts into consideration all the possible sources of nutrient and water inflow into the lake system be done on Lake Bunyonyi. Kabale University 2022-07-05T15:40:22Z 2022-07-05T15:40:22Z 2022 Article https://doi.org/10.1007/s13201-022-01709-0 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/653 en application/pdf Applied Water Science
spellingShingle Denitrification · Lake Bunyonyi · Mineralization · Nitrification and nitrogen dynamics
Alex, Saturday
Thomas, J. Lyimo
John, Machiwa
Pamba, Siajali
Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda
title Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda
title_full Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda
title_fullStr Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda
title_full_unstemmed Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda
title_short Modelling nitrogen transformation in the Lake Bunyonyi ecosystem, South‑Western Uganda
title_sort modelling nitrogen transformation in the lake bunyonyi ecosystem south western uganda
topic Denitrification · Lake Bunyonyi · Mineralization · Nitrification and nitrogen dynamics
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/653
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