2013 Volume 1 Issue 1 Pages 145-161
This paper describes the self-purifying function in term of water quality of a tidal flat in the Tokyo Port Wild Bird Park (TWBP). In this study, the authors carried out field observations of water quality over 2 tidal cycles and estimated nutrient fluxes between a tidal flat and the adjacent sea in the summers of 2006, 2007, and 2008. Sampling of benthos and bottom sediments and counting of water birds were carried out in the field. From the study, the authors found following the results: (1) This flat functions as a net sink of nitrogen and chlorophyll-a and a net source of phosphorus in summer. (2) Nutrient fluxes between sediments and the overlying water are large in proportion to the tidal flat area. (3) The amount of TN and TP removal by water birds is not very large compared to TN and TP fluxes between the tidal flat and the adjacent sea.
