Nutrient transport associated with water erosion: progress and prospect

2007 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 607-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yihe Lü ◽  
Bojie Fu ◽  
Liding Chen ◽  
Guohua Liu ◽  
Wei Wei

Along with the major water erosion process, large amounts of soil nutrient can be transported to water bodies that may degrade the erosion sites and result in water pollution problems in the nutrient-receiving water bodies. Because of the far-reaching ecological and environmental impacts of the nutrient transport processes during water erosion, much research has been done on this topic. The progress of this research topic is reviewed from the perspective of nutrient sources, covering triggers, carriers and forms of nutrient transport, and the factors regulating nutrient transport. Although much progress has been made, challenges still lie ahead. A multidisciplinary and integrative approach, therefore, needs to be taken to resolve the theoretical, methodological and practical problems in water erosion and nutrient transport research. More specifically, the interactions between landscape pattern and nutrient transport processes and spatiotemporal scale and scaling are the two central themes of consideration in methodological integration. It is also important to respect the dynamic and stochastic nature of nutrient transport which is closely related to rainfall-runoff events. The human dimension, formerly a relative weak point in research, needs to be strengthened to gain understanding and a more informed practical control over soil and nutrient loss and conservation.

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 235-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Pfister ◽  
Carlos E. Wetzel ◽  
Núria Martínez-Carreras ◽  
Jean François Iffly ◽  
Julian Klaus ◽  
...  

Abstract Hydrological processes research remains a field that is severely measurement limited. While conventional tracers (geochemicals, isotopes) have brought extremely valuable insights into water source and flowpaths, they nonetheless have limitations that clearly constrain their range of application. Integrating hydrology and ecology in catchment science has been repeatedly advocated as offering potential for interdisciplinary studies that are eventually to provide a holistic view of catchment functioning. In this context, aerial diatoms have been shown to have the potential for detecting of the onset/cessation of rapid water flowpaths within the hillslope-riparian zone-stream continuum. However, many open questions prevail as to aerial diatom reservoir size, depletion and recovery, as well as to their mobilisation and transport processes. Moreover, aerial diatoms remain poorly known compared to freshwater species and new species are still being discovered. Here, we ask whether aerial diatom flushing can be observed in three catchments with contrasting physiographic characteristics in Luxembourg, Oregon (USA) and Slovakia. This is a prerequisite for qualifying aerial diatoms as a robust indicator of the onset/cessation of rapid water flowpaths across a wider range of physiographical contexts. One species in particular, (Hantzschia amphioxys (Ehr.) Grunow), was found to be common to the three investigated catchments. Aerial diatom species were flushed, in different relative proportions, to the river network during rainfall-runoff events in all three catchments. Our take-away message from this preliminary examination is that aerial diatoms appear to have a potential for tracing episodic hydrological connectivity through a wider range of physiographic contexts and therefore serve as a complementary tool to conventional hydrological tracers.


RBRH ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luiz Claudio Galvão do Valle Junior ◽  
Dulce Buchala Bicca Rodrigues ◽  
Paulo Tarso Sanches de Oliveira

ABSTRACT The Curve Number (CN) method is extensively used for predict surface runoff from storm events. However, remain some uncertainties in the method, such as in the use of an initial abstraction (λ) standard value of 0.2 and on the choice of the most suitable CN values. Here, we compute λ and CN values using rainfall and runoff data to a rural basin located in Midwestern Brazil. We used 30 observed rainfall-runoff events with rainfall depth greater than 25 mm to derive associated CN values using five statistical methods. We noted λ values ranging from 0.005 to 0.455, with a median of 0.045, suggesting the use of λ = 0.05 instead of 0.2. We found a S0.2 to S0.05 conversion factor of 2.865. We also found negative values of Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (to the estimated and observed runoff). Therefore, our findings indicated that the CN method was not suitable to estimate runoff in the studied basin. This poor performance suggests that the runoff mechanisms in the studied area are dominated by subsurface stormflow.


2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keewook Kim ◽  
Gene Whelan ◽  
Marirosa Molina ◽  
S. Thomas Purucker ◽  
Yakov Pachepsky ◽  
...  

A series of simulated rainfall-runoff experiments with applications of different manure types (cattle solid pats, poultry dry litter, swine slurry) was conducted across four seasons on a field containing 36 plots (0.75 × 2 m each), resulting in 144 rainfall-runoff events. Simulating time-varying release of Escherichia coli, enterococci, and fecal coliforms from manures applied at typical agronomic rates evaluated the efficacy of the Bradford–Schijven model modified by adding terms for release efficiency and transportation loss. Two complementary, parallel approaches were used to calibrate the model and estimate microbial release parameters. The first was a four-step sequential procedure using the inverse model PEST, which provides appropriate initial parameter values. The second utilized a PEST/bootstrap procedure to estimate average parameters across plots, manure age, and microbe, and to provide parameter distributions. The experiment determined that manure age, microbe, and season had no clear relationship to the release curve. Cattle solid pats released microbes at a different, slower rate than did poultry dry litter or swine slurry, which had very similar release patterns. These findings were consistent with other published results for both bench- and field-scale, suggesting the modified Bradford–Schijven model can be applied to microbial release from manure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarina Koehler ◽  
Andrea Springer ◽  
Nicole Issel ◽  
Stefanie Klinger ◽  
Christina Strube ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The roundworm Ascaris suum is one of the parasites with the greatest economic impact on pig farming. In this context, lower weight gain is hypothesized to be due to decreased nutrient absorption. This study aims at characterizing the effects of A. suum infection on intestinal nutrient transport processes and potential molecular mechanisms. Methods Three groups of six piglets each were infected orally (10,000 embryonated A. suum eggs) in a single dose (“single infection”). Another three groups were infected orally (1000 embryonated eggs) for 10 consecutive days (“trickle infection”). Animals were necropsied 21, 35 and 49 days post-infection (dpi). Three groups served as respective controls. The Ussing chamber technique was applied for the functional characterization of small intestinal tissues [short-circuit currents (Isc) as induced by glucose, alanine and peptides; 3H-glucose net flux rates; tissue conductance (Gt)]. Transcription and expression levels of relevant cytokines and nutrient transporters were evaluated (qPCR/western blot). Results Peptide- and alanine-induced changes in Isc were significantly decreased in the jejunum and ileum of the trickle-infected group at 49 dpi and in the ileum of the single-infected group at 49 dpi. No significant differences regarding glucose transport were observed between the Ascaris-infected groups and the control group in Ussing chamber experiments. Transcription levels of the glucose and peptide transporters as well as of selected transcription factors (transcription of signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 [STAT6] and hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha [Hif-1α]) were significantly increased in response to both infection types after some periods. The transcription of interleukins 4 and 13 varied between decrease and increase regarding the respective time points, as did the protein expression of glucose transporters. The expression of the peptide transporter PepT1 was significantly decreased in the ileal single-infected group at 35 dpi. Hif-1α was significantly increased in the ileal tissue from the single-infected group at 21 dpi and in the trickle-infected group at 35 dpi. The expression levels of Na+/K+-ATPase and ASCT1 remained unaffected. Conclusions In contrast to the current hypothesis, these results indicate that the nutrient deprivation induced by A. suum cannot be explained by transcriptional or expression changes alone and requires further studies. Graphical abstract


2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunming Wang ◽  
Lili Lang ◽  
Ting Hua ◽  
Hui Li ◽  
Caixia Zhang ◽  
...  

1997 ◽  
Vol 36 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
F. Calomino ◽  
P. Veltri ◽  
P. Piro ◽  
J. Niemczynowicz

In Urban Hydrology, a basic question is whether or not the common methods involving the use of design storms bring to the the some results obtained by those methods that make use of real storms. In general, one can say that different design storms give good results when used with the appropriate model, or, conversely, that good results can be achieved through careful model calibration. On the basis of 51 rainfall-runoff recordings obtained from the experimental catchment of Luzzi (Cosenza, Italy), the frequency distribution of the observed peak discharges was initially computed. Then the runoff events were simulated using Wallrus, a well known simulation model, taking as input the observed precipitations. The frequency distribution of the simulated peak discharges was compared to that of the observed ones, with the aim of calibrating the model on a statistical basis. After that, the rainfall events were analysed, obtaining the frequency distributions of the observed intensities over several durations and developing IDF curves of given frequencies and, then, the Chicago design storms. The plotting positions of the peak discharges simulated by this way show a good agreement with the distribution of both the observed peak discharges and the peak discharges simulated through the real storms.


2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 1225-1249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralf Loritz ◽  
Sibylle K. Hassler ◽  
Conrad Jackisch ◽  
Niklas Allroggen ◽  
Loes van Schaik ◽  
...  

Abstract. This study explores the suitability of a single hillslope as a parsimonious representation of a catchment in a physically based model. We test this hypothesis by picturing two distinctly different catchments in perceptual models and translating these pictures into parametric setups of 2-D physically based hillslope models. The model parametrizations are based on a comprehensive field data set, expert knowledge and process-based reasoning. Evaluation against streamflow data highlights that both models predicted the annual pattern of streamflow generation as well as the hydrographs acceptably. However, a look beyond performance measures revealed deficiencies in streamflow simulations during the summer season and during individual rainfall–runoff events as well as a mismatch between observed and simulated soil water dynamics. Some of these shortcomings can be related to our perception of the systems and to the chosen hydrological model, while others point to limitations of the representative hillslope concept itself. Nevertheless, our results confirm that representative hillslope models are a suitable tool to assess the importance of different data sources as well as to challenge our perception of the dominant hydrological processes we want to represent therein. Consequently, these models are a promising step forward in the search for the optimal representation of catchments in physically based models.


2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1851-1868 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bas van der Grift ◽  
Hans Peter Broers ◽  
Wilbert Berendrecht ◽  
Joachim Rozemeijer ◽  
Leonard Osté ◽  
...  

Abstract. Many agriculture-dominated lowland water systems worldwide suffer from eutrophication caused by high nutrient loads. Insight in the hydrochemical functioning of embanked polder catchments is highly relevant for improving the water quality in such areas or for reducing export loads to downstream water bodies. This paper introduces new insights in nutrient sources and transport processes in a polder in the Netherlands situated below sea level using high-frequency monitoring technology at the outlet, where the water is pumped into a higher situated lake, combined with a low-frequency water quality monitoring programme at six locations within the drainage area. Seasonal trends and short-scale temporal dynamics in concentrations indicated that the NO3 concentration at the pumping station originated from N loss from agricultural lands. The NO3 loads appear as losses via tube drains after intensive rainfall events during the winter months due to preferential flow through the cracked clay soil. Transfer function-noise modelling of hourly NO3 concentrations reveals that a large part of the dynamics in NO3 concentrations during the winter months can be related to rainfall. The total phosphorus (TP) concentration and turbidity almost doubled during operation of the pumping station, which points to resuspension of particulate P from channel bed sediments induced by changes in water flow due to pumping. Rainfall events that caused peaks in NO3 concentrations did not results in TP concentration peaks. The rainfall induced and NO3 enriched quick interflow, may also be enriched in TP but retention of TP due to sedimentation of particulate P then results in the absence of rainfall induced TP concentration peaks. Increased TP concentrations associated with run-off events is only observed during a rainfall event at the end of a freeze–thaw cycle. All these observations suggest that the P retention potential of polder water systems is primarily due to the artificial pumping regime that buffers high flows. As the TP concentration is affected by operation of the pumping station, timing of sampling relative to the operating hours of the pumping station should be accounted for when calculating P export loads, determining trends in water quality, or when judging water quality status of polder water systems.


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