A review of the water quality of the mesopotamian (southern iraq)‎ marshes prior to the massive Desiccation of the early 1990s

Abstract EN

The marshes of southern Iraq range from in size from 8,000 to 30,000 km2.

Delivery of freshwater to this system has been affected by the construction of water control structures both within Iraq and in neighboring countries.

In the early 1990s, the Government of Iraq drained a large portion of this system and burned extensive stands of Phragmites.

Less than 10% of these marshes were functioning normally by 2000 (Partow 2001, Brasington 2002).

This review summarizes the existing data on water quality of this vast and unique ecosystem prior to the Iraqi government's decision to drain these marshes.

These data come from numerous graduate these and other investigations not readily accessible by the scientific community.

Water quality variables considered included salinity, ionic composition, and a number of variables related to nutrient status.

These data show that salinity has increased over time, adversely affecting agriculture in southern Iraq.

Dissolved oxygen concentrations have generally been high, waters are typically slightly alkaline, and extensive submerged aquatic vegetation facilitates the settling of suspended solids.

Nitrates are the predominant form of inorganic nitrogen, and the concentrations were low compared to other water bodies in Iraq.

Nutrient limitation experiments indicated that the phytoplankton were nitrogen limited.