| dc.description.abstract | Research work on Nairobi Dam, Kenya, and its tributaries has revealed that during the first trial
sampling period, the R2 value, i.e., the square of linear regression correlation coefficient was poor
between the nutrients: (PO4
3- + Hydrolysable) – Phosphorous and nitrate-nitrogen (0.0133). But
excellent or fairly good correlation was obtained between other pairs of bulk inorganic nutrients in
the same groups or blocks of the Periodic Table, or having the same physiological or environmental
roles. The results for correlation in descending order are as follows: K & Na (0.9782), Ca & Mg
(0.9468), Mn & Fe (0.6357) and Zn & Cu (0.5373). On the other hand, the second sampling results
showed that the R2 value between ‘Total’ phosphorous and 'Total' Nitrogen ((Total Kjeldahl +
nitrate) - nitrogen) (0.8587) was far much higher than that involving phosphorous and nitratenitrogen
for the first sampling, while that between the other nutrient pairs remained fairly
satisfactory as follows:- K & Na (0.9875), Ca & Mg (0.6047), Mn & Fe (0.5147) and Zn & Cu (0.554).
This was as expected for elements in the same group or those close to one another like copper and
zinc, thus indicating possibility of a common source for most of these inorganic nutrients, such as the
domestic sewage effluents. The correlation data for nitrogen and phosphorus demonstrated the fact
that it is the total amount of these elements which matters when dealing with eutrophication. | en |
