<p>Nutrient enrichment is the main cause of the increasing eutrophication process in the Baltic Sea during last century. A prerequisite counteract this process the load of nutrients to the Sea must be investigated. The large contribution of nutrients to the Sea is caused by emission from the rivers within the drainage basin. For the total emission of nutrient into the Sea the retention process in the rivers has big influence. This process in the river system has been assumed as a not important part of the nutrient cycle. However some investigators have pointed out that the retention process occurs in the river and be an important part of the nutrient dynamics in the river. For the object of investigation the Odra River Basin was chosen, as an example of a large river basin in the Baltic Sea Drainage Basin. The Odra River is mainly localized in Poland and contributes substantially to the eutrophication of the Baltic Proper. The Odra River is one of the least dammed major rivers of the Baltic Proper and as such of especial interest in retention studies. The phosphorus was chosen as an example of nutrient in the eutrophication process. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the phosphorus retention within the river. Two different models were used to calculate the retention process in the river. The"Multiple Regression Model"turned out to be insignificant, therefore the results were computed by using a “similarity model”, based on similarities between load from monitored tributary basins and the rest of the sub-basin. The retention in the Odra River in the amounted to -4608 t yr-1, which is 43% of the total phosphorus emission to the Odra River. There is also stated that in the Notec and the Warta rivers the retention process occur in the amount of -1940 t yr-1 and -3007 t yr-1 respectively.</p>

Nutrient enrichment is the main cause of the increasing eutrophication process in the Baltic Sea during last century. A prerequisite counteract this process the load of nutrients to the Sea must be investigated. The large contribution of nutrients to the Sea is caused by emission from the rivers within the drainage basin. For the total emission of nutrient into the Sea the retention process in the rivers has big influence. This process in the river system has been assumed as a not important part of the nutrient cycle. However some investigators have pointed out that the retention process occurs in the river and be an important part of the nutrient dynamics in the river. For the object of investigation the Odra River Basin was chosen, as an example of a large river basin in the Baltic Sea Drainage Basin. The Odra River is mainly localized in Poland and contributes substantially to the eutrophication of the Baltic Proper. The Odra River is one of the least dammed major rivers of the Baltic Proper and as such of especial interest in retention studies. The phosphorus was chosen as an example of nutrient in the eutrophication process. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the phosphorus retention within the river. Two different models were used to calculate the retention process in the river. The"Multiple Regression Model"turned out to be insignificant, therefore the results were computed by using a “similarity model”, based on similarities between load from monitored tributary basins and the rest of the sub-basin. The retention in the Odra River in the amounted to -4608 t yr-1, which is 43% of the total phosphorus emission to the Odra River. There is also stated that in the Notec and the Warta rivers the retention process occur in the amount of -1940 t yr-1 and -3007 t yr-1 respectively.