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Agricultural non-point source (NPS) pollution is a major concern for water quality management in the Soyang watershed in South Korea. Nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen), organic matter, and sediment exports in streams were estimated in an agricultural catchment (Haean catchment) for two years. The stream water samples were taken in dry and rainy seasons to evaluate the effect of monsoonal rainfall on pollutants exports. The influence of land use changes on NPS pollution was assessed by conducting a land use census and comparing the NPS characteristic exports. Total phosphorus (TP), suspended solids (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) increased dramatically in rainy seasons. Land uses were changed during the study period. Dry fields and rice paddies have decreased distinctively while orchard (apple, grape, and peach) and ginseng crops showed an increase within the catchment. The TP and SS loading decreased in the streams in 2010 compared to the loading in 2009 while the BOD and NO₃⁻ did not show distinct significant change. In this study, monsoonal driven rainfalls increased exports of agricultural NPS pollutants into streams. Land use change (mostly crop and paddy fields to orchards and ginseng fields) remarkably mitigated TP and SS exports into the streams.

An important characteristic of lakes and reservoirs in the East Asian summer monsoon region is the dramatic seasonal difference in hydrologic inputs, with annual rainfall commonly concentrated in a few heavy rain events. In this study, we surveyed the monthly variations of phytoplankton density in 3 large deep reservoirs and 7 small shallow reservoirs and analyzed the effect of large precipitation events on phytoplankton. During heavy rains, stream phosphorus concentrations increased sharply, and phosphorus loadings into reservoirs were not continuous but episodic shock loadings. In deep stratified reservoirs, however, the concentrations of phosphorus and chlorophyll a were much lower than expected from the high total phosphorus levels in the storm runoff. Inflowing storm waters laden with phosphorus flowed into metalimnetic layers because deep reservoirs had strong thermal stratification and the storm water was cooler than the epilimnion. The result was the formation of an ecosystem resilient to phosphorus shock loadings during monsoon. Nutrients in the metalimnion seemed to be dispersed gradually toward the epilimnion, and phytoplankton reached maximum densities, called “monsoon blooms,” after the monsoon. By contrast, shallow reservoirs with short hydraulic residence times had lower chlorophyll a concentrations during the monsoon season because the high flushing rate was the major limiting factor of phytoplankton growth. In conclusion, summer monsoon is the major determinant of phytoplankton density in reservoirs of the East Asian region, but their responses can vary widely depending on hydrologic characteristics.

The decomposition rates of organic nitrogen and organic phosphorus in lakes and rivers can be important parameters in water quality model calibrations. Commonly, decomposition rate coefficients are calibrated by observing the changes in each component in the field survey. However, in natural field conditions, production and decomposition occur at the same time, and the calibrations may result in uncertainties. In this study, water samples collected from six major rivers in Korea were incubated for 20 days in a dark incubator and the decomposition rates of POP, DOP, LDOP, PON, DON, LPON, LDON, ammonia, and nitrite were determined. By excluding the interference of photosynthesis, animal grazing, and excretion, the decomposition rate coefficients were determined with less uncertainty than in natural conditions. The decomposition data were fit to first-order models of several decomposition pathways, including POP → DIP, POP → DOP → DIP, LPOP → LDOP → DIP, , and . The decomposition rates of dissolved forms were five–seven times higher than particulate forms. And the rates of organic P (0.149 day⁻¹ for LPOP and 0.718 day⁻¹ for LDOP) were 1.6 times higher than those of organic N (0.093 day⁻¹ for LPON and 0.472 day⁻¹ for LDON). Traditionally, the decomposition rates of organic phosphorus and organic nitrogen are not discriminated; the same rate is applied to organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The result of this study shows that organic phosphorus and nitrogen should be given different decomposition rates for more accurate models. The rate coefficients measured in this study will provide a guide to the selection of model parameters for water quality modeling.

We investigated the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope composition of particulate organic matter (POM) and zooplankton to understand the effects of highly variable hydrologic inputs with the onset of the summer monsoon season in Lake Soyang, Korea. The main characteristic separating pre-monsoon and post-monsoon seasons in Lake Soyang is the dramatic difference in hydrologic inflow. Pre-monsoon δ¹³C-POM (range −32.4 to −21.8‰) was lower than post-monsoon δ¹³C-POM (range −25.5 to −19.9‰). Epilimnetic δ¹³C-POM was higher post-monsoon compared to pre-monsoon, except in 2007. In the metalimnion, pre-monsoon δ¹³C-POM varied among years, while the variation in δ¹³C-POM post-monsoon was small and was related to the inflow of organic matter during summer monsoon storms. δ¹³C-zooplankton was lower post-monsoon (range −31.9 to −24.4‰) compared to pre-monsoon (range −19.4 to −17.7 ‰), while δ¹⁵N-zooplankton showed the opposite pattern (pre- and post-monsoon average 6.6 ± 2.0‰ and 4.3 ± 1.5‰, respectively). In Lake Soyang, the seasonal variation in δ¹³C-zooplankton was closely related to annual succession in the phytoplankton community and δ¹³C-phytoplankton. Thus, the results of this study provide some insights into the use of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N measurements for understanding linkages between varying hydrologic characteristics and seasonal variation in the stable isotope composition of zooplankton. The dramatic seasonal change in hydrologic inputs in the monsoonal climate and consequent changes in turbid surface water inflow is linked with changes in the phytoplankton and zooplankton communities in Lake Soyang.