The literature-based synthesis of nutrient stressor-response relationships to inform assessment, monitoring, and criteria development in rivers and streams
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Eutrophication from nitrogen and phosphorus pollution is a major stressor of freshwater ecosystems globally. Despite recognition of this problem by scientists and stakeholders, synthesis of scientific evidence is still needed to inform nutrient-related management decisions and policies, especially for streams and rivers. A rigorous assessment of what is known about nutrient-stressor response relationships and modifying factors is a critical first step for identifying, managing, and restoring aquatic resources impaired by eutrophication. We conducted systematic reviews of the literature that asked: “What are the responses of chlorophyll-a, diatoms, and macroinvertebrates to TN and TP concentrations in lotic ecosystems,” and “how are these relationships affected by other factors?” We describe the reviews and discuss preliminary results based on the ~300 publications documenting cause-effect relationships between relevant nutrients and endpoints that were obtained after screening >22,000 publications from academic databases, and >4000 from other sources, for relevance, duplication, and quantitative effect sizes. These reviews provide a state-of-the-science body of evidence for assessing nutrient impacts to the most widely-used indicators of biological responses to nutrients.