The seasonal cycle of nutrient salts (NH4, NO2, NO3, PO4, Si(OH)(4)) in the
Adriatic coastal belt of Salento has been studied both in marine waters as
well as in a brackish environment directly linked to the sea. The distribu
tion and concentration of N, P and Si along the Salento coast seems to depe
nd on the global circulation in the Adriatic Basin down to 50 m depth with
maximum values in the winter of all the chemicals studied in correspondence
to the prevailing southward Adriatic superficial current which affects the
Italian coastal areas. Modest concentrations were recorded for P while for
N and Si(OH)(4) higher concentrations were found with respect to other Med
iterranean coastal areas. In the Acquatina brackish pond N and Si(OH)(4) co
ncentrations were between 3 and 10 times greater with respect to the nearby
sea (coast of S. Cataldo di Lecce). PO4, on the contrary, was always lower
than 0.1 mu M, and in some cases absent, particularly in periods following
phytoplankton algal blooms.