What happens to the amount of nutrients deposited in a water body as the watershed size increases?

As the size of the watershed increases, the amount of nutrients deposited in the water body typically increases as well. A larger watershed encompasses a greater area of land, which contributes more runoff. This runoff carries various nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fields, urban areas, and natural landscapes into the water body. The increased runoff can lead to higher concentrations of these nutrients in the water, promoting productivity and sometimes resulting in eutrophication, where excessive nutrients can cause harmful algal blooms and negatively impact aquatic ecosystems. As such, the correlation between watershed size and nutrient input is an important fundamental principle in aquatic ecology and management practices.