Nutrient management for coastal zones: a case study of the nitrogen load to the Stockholm Archipelago

This study investigates cost-effective solutions of decreasing the nutrient load to a coastal area, using a drainage basin approach. The study is applied to the Stockholm Archipelago, a coastal area of the Baltic Sea suffering from eutrophication caused by the load of nutrients entering the area. Nitrogen is the nutrient of concern in this study since it is the limiting nutrient of the Archipelago. The main sources of nitrogen are wastewater plants, agriculture, and atmospheric depositions. The final impact of a deposition depends on the buffering capabilities it is subject to on its trajectory from the source to the recipient. This is the reason for using a recipient oriented approach, in which the focus is to reduce the final impact of a deposition. The model integrates data over hydrology, land cover, land use, and economy in order to find the optimal allocation of measures. Results indicate that in order to achieve cost effectiveness, the major part of nitrogen load reduction to the Archipelago should be done at the wastewater plants and by constructing wetlands. The minimum annual cost of reaching a 50% reduction of the load to the Archipelago was estimated to around 191 million Swedish crowns (around $ 19 million).