Processes controlling the flux of legacy phosphorus to surface waters at the farm scale
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15550846 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Victoria Barcala (0000-0002-3245-2867, Deltares, corresponding author), Joachim Rozemeijer (0000-0001-8278-554X, Deltares), Leonard Osté (0000-0002-5303-1244, Deltares), B van der Grift (0000-0003-4069-6703, KWR Water Research Institute), Laurens Gerner, Thilo Behrends (0000-0002-0728-6545, Utrecht University) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 015003-015003 |
| Publication date | 2020-11-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/abcdd4 |
| OpenAlex | W3106943852 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 35 |
Phosphorus (P) leaching from agriculture is a major driver of water eutrophication in downstream rivers and lakes. In drained lowland areas with intensive agriculture, a reduction in the fertilizer applications may be insufficient to improve the water quality in the short term as the P accumulated in the soil during decades of high fertilization may continue leaching for many years. A complementary approach to reduce P exports from agriculture is to implement edge-of-field mitigation measures at the farm scale. The selection of effective measures requires a detailed insight into the chemical and hydrological transport mechanisms. Here, we determined the main P sources, processes, and transport routes at the farm scale to support the selection of appropriate mitigation measures. We quantified the legacy P, the different P pools stored in the upper soil, and related it to the yearly P export downstream. To do this, we combined high-resolution monitoring data from the soil, groundwater, surface water, and ditch sediments. The legacy P in the topsoil was high, about 2500 kg ha −1 . The predominant subsurface flow and the subsoils’ P sorption capacity retained the P mobilized from the topsoil and explained the relative moderate flux of P to surface waters (0.04 kg ha −1 during the 2018–2019 drainage season). The dissolved P entering the drainage ditch via groundwater discharge was bound to iron-containing particles formed due to the oxidation of dissolved ferrous iron. Once leached from the soil to the drainage ditch, resuspension of P-rich sediment particles during flow peaks were the most important P transport mechanism (78%). Therefore, we expect that hydraulic constructions that reduce flow velocities and promote sedimentation of P-containing particles could reduce the export of P further downstream
Ditch · Drainage · Eutrophication · Groundwater · Hydrology (agriculture · Leaching (pedology · Nutrient · Soil water · Surface water · Topsoil · Water quality · Aquatic Ecosystems and Phytoplankton Dynamics · Environmental Science · Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics · Soil erosion and sediment transport · Ecology · Environmental Engineering · Geology · Soil Science
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |