Soil controls of phosphorus in runoff: Management barriers and opportunities

2011 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 329-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kleinman ◽  
Andrew Sharpley ◽  
Anthony Buda ◽  
Richard McDowell ◽  
Arthur Allen
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Sediment Delivery ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Barriers And Opportunities

Kleinman, P. J. A., Sharpley, A. N., Budda, A. R., McDowell, R. W. and Allen, A. L. 2011. Soil controls of phosphorus in runoff: Management barriers and opportunities. Can. J. Soil Sci. 91: 329–338. The persistent problem of eutrophication, the biological enrichment of surface waters, has produced a vast literature on soil phosphorus (P) effects on runoff water quality. This paper considers the mechanisms controlling soil P transfers from agricultural soils to runoff waters, and the management of these transfers. Historical emphases on soil conservation and control of sediment delivery to surface waters have demonstrated that comprehensive strategies to mitigate sediment-bound P transfer can produce long-term water quality improvements at a watershed scale. Less responsive are dissolved P releases from soils that have historically received P applications in excess of crop requirements. While halting further P applications to such soils may prevent dissolved P losses from growing, the desorption of P from soils that is derived from historical inputs, termed here as “legacy P”, can persist for long periods of time. Articulating the role of legacy P in delaying the response of watersheds to remedial programs requires more work, delivering the difficult message that yesterday's sinks of P may be today's sources. Even legacy sources of P that occur in low concentration relative to agronomic requirement can support significant loads of P in runoff under the right hydrologic conditions. Strategies that take advantage of the capacity of soils to buffer dissolved P losses, such as periodic tillage to diminish severe vertical stratification of P in no-till soils, offer short-term solutions to mitigating P losses. In some cases, more aggressive strategies are required to mitigate both short-term and legacy P losses.

Using Soil Phosphorus Measurements to Assess the Effectiveness of Subsurface-Band Application of Broiler Litter in Reducing Phosphorus Leaching

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 133-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmeet Lamba ◽  
Puneet Srivastava ◽  
Subhasis Mitra ◽  
Thomas R. Way
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Nutrient Management ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Broiler Litter ◽  
P Loss ◽  
Subsurface Flows ◽  
P Leaching

Abstract. Excessive delivery of phosphorus (P) from agricultural landscapes to surface waters results in water quality impairment. The method of application of broiler litter to agricultural fields significantly affects P loss to surface waters via surface and subsurface flow pathways from agricultural landscapes. Subsurface-band application of broiler litter can help reduce P loss in surface and subsurface flows. Typically, leachate samples are collected using lysimeters or subsurface flows are sampled to assess the effectiveness of subsurface-band application of broiler litter in limiting P mobility. In this study, we tested a simple and inexpensive method of assessing effectiveness of subsurface-band application of broiler litter using ortho-P (PO4-P) measurements in soils. This method of measuring PO4-P concentration in soils showed that subsurface-band application of broiler litter helps to reduce P leaching, whereas surface application of broiler litter was not effective in reducing P leaching. The results of this study show that soil PO4-P measurements can be successfully used to assess the effectiveness of subsurface-band application of broiler litter in reducing P leaching. Keywords: Leachate, Manure, Nutrient management, Phosphorus, Surface runoff, Water quality.

scholarly journals Phosphorus Fluxes in a Restored Carolina Bay Wetland Following Eight Years of Restoration

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colby James Moorberg ◽  
Michael John Vepraskas ◽  
Christopher Paul Niewoehner ◽  
Jeffrey Greville White ◽  
Daniel de Boucherville Richter
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Water ◽  
Atmospheric Deposition ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Surface Water Quality ◽  
Wetland Mitigation ◽  
Carolina Bay ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Soil P

Abstract Restoring wetlands on agricultural land can release soil P to surface waters. Phosphorus is a limiting nutrient in many freshwater systems, thus restricting its release will improve surface water quality. A P balance was used to examine how P was cycling in a Carolina Bay wetland eight years after restoration from prior-drained agricultural land. The change in soil P was evaluated between archived samples taken at restoration (2005), and eight years after restoration (2013). Measured P fluxes included atmospheric deposition, plant uptake, and loss to surface water outflow. The soil total P pool at the time of restoration was 810 kg P ha -1 . No significant (α=0.05) decrease in the soil P pool was observed. Atmospheric deposition contributed 7 kg P ha-1, plants accumulated 28 kg Pha-1 and incorporated 27 P ha-1 into woody biomass and 1 kg P ha-1 on the forest floor litter, and 1.7 kg P ha-1 was lost to surface waters draining the wetland. Because the loss of P to surface waters was small, and because runoff water concentrations of P declined through this period of study to concentrations below those likely to cause eutrophication (< 0.1 mg L-1), we concluded that the wetland was not contributing to the degradation of surface water quality of nearby streams following restoration. Further, relatively “isolated” wetlands such as that studied may be promising sites for future wetland mitigation projects due to limited impacts on surface water quality.

scholarly journals Impacts of Soil Phosphorus Drawdown on Snowmelt and Rainfall Runoff Water Quality

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 803-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Liu ◽  
Jane A. Elliott ◽  
Henry F. Wilson ◽  
Helen M. Baulch
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Runoff Water

scholarly journals Global phosphorus shortage will be aggravated by soil erosion

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Alewell ◽  
Bruno Ringeval ◽  
Cristiano Ballabio ◽  
David A. Robinson ◽  
Panos Panagos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Chemical Fertilizer ◽  
Rill Erosion ◽  
Soil P ◽  
P Loss ◽  
Global Soil ◽  
Spatially Distributed ◽  
Food And Feed

Abstract Soil phosphorus (P) loss from agricultural systems will limit food and feed production in the future. Here, we combine spatially distributed global soil erosion estimates (only considering sheet and rill erosion by water) with spatially distributed global P content for cropland soils to assess global soil P loss. The world’s soils are currently being depleted in P in spite of high chemical fertilizer input. Africa (not being able to afford the high costs of chemical fertilizer) as well as South America (due to non-efficient organic P management) and Eastern Europe (for a combination of the two previous reasons) have the highest P depletion rates. In a future world, with an assumed absolute shortage of mineral P fertilizer, agricultural soils worldwide will be depleted by between 4–19 kg ha−1 yr−1, with average losses of P due to erosion by water contributing over 50% of total P losses.

Assessing P fertiliser use in vegetable production: agronomic and environmental implications

Soil Research ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 674 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Y. Chan ◽  
T. Wells ◽  
D. Fahey ◽  
S. M. Eldridge ◽  
C. G. Dorahy
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Poultry Litter ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Environmental Implications ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Farming Practice

Vegetable production is often located in the peri-urban areas close to large cities. In Sydney, Australia, excessive levels of phosphorus (P) have been reported in the soils, and vegetable farms have long been regarded as a potential source of the P that enters Sydney’s waterways. We report vegetable production under varying soil P conditions and the consequent changes in soil P, as well as water quality of runoff and leachate after growing 5 crops in a field trial where inputs in the form of garden organic compost were compared to current farmers’ practice. No difference in vegetable yield was observed between 100 and 400 mg/kg of soil Colwell P (0–0.10 m); therefore, our results indicate that the excessive soil P levels in the vegetable farms around Sydney are not important for optimal vegetable production. Results from runoff and leachate studies clearly demonstrate that high concentrations of P in soils used for vegetable production under the current farming practice around Sydney have increased the potential to export P and to negatively affect water quality of receiving environments. The significant increases in soluble P concentrations found in the soil and runoff water from the current farming practice can be attributed to the use of poultry litter. In contrast, using compost in place of poultry litter resulted in significantly reduced soil P accumulation and P concentration in runoff and leachate. Training and education programs for farmers and their advisors are recommended to encourage more sustainable fertiliser management practices and reduce the accumulation of P in the environment.

Changes in soil phosphorus availability and potential phosphorus loss following cessation of phosphorus fertiliser inputs

Soil Research ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 427 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Dodd ◽  
R. W. McDowell ◽  
L. M. Condron
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Soils ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Pasture Production ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Olsen P ◽  
P Loss ◽  
P Concentration ◽  
Rate Of Decline ◽  
P Retention

Long-term application of phosphorus (P) fertilisers to agricultural soils can lead to in the accumulation of P in soil. Determining the rate of decline in soil P following the cessation of P fertiliser inputs is critical to evaluating the potential for reducing P loss to surface waters. The aim of this study was to use isotope exchange kinetics to investigate the rate of decline in soil P pools and the distribution of P within these pools in grazed grassland soils following a halt to P fertiliser application. Soils were sourced from three long-term grassland trials in New Zealand, two of which were managed as sheep-grazed pasture and one where the grass was regularly cut and removed. There was no significant change in total soil P over the duration of each trial between any of the treatments, although there was a significant decrease in total inorganic P on two of the sites accompanied by an increase in the organic P pool, suggesting that over time P was becoming occluded within organic matter, reducing the plant availability. An equation was generated using the soil-P concentration exchangeable within 1 min (E1 min) and P retention of the soil to predict the time it would take for the water-extractable P (WEP) concentration to decline to a target value protective of water quality. This was compared with a similar equation generated in the previous study, which used the initial Olsen-P concentration and P retention as a predictor. The use of E1 min in place of Olsen-P did not greatly improve the fit of the model, and we suggest that the use of Olsen-P is sufficient to predict the rate of decline in WEP. Conversely, pasture production data, available for one of the trial sites, suggest that E1 min may be a better predictor of dry matter yield than Olsen-P.

SIMPLE: Assessment of non-point phosphorus pollution from agricultural land to surface waters by means of a new methodology

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 177-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.F. Schoumans ◽  
J. Mol-Dijkstra ◽  
L.M.W. Akkermans ◽  
C.W.J. Roest
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Surface Waters ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Complex Dynamic ◽  
Phosphorus Pollution ◽  
Soil P ◽  
The Past ◽  
Actual Risk ◽  
Water Quality Models

In the past, environmental Phosphorus (P) parameters like soil P indices have been used to catogorize the potential risk of P losses from agricultural land. In order to assess the actual risk of P pollution of groundwater and surface waters, dynamic process oriented soil and water quality models have been frequently used. Recently, an approximating model for phosphorus, called SIMPLE, has been developed. This model approximates the output from a complex dynamic water quality model. The approximating model is called a metamodel. This simple P-model proves to be a powerful tool for quick assessment of the risk of P pollution from agricultural land to surface waters.

scholarly journals Grazing Systems to Retain and Redistribute Soil Phosphorus and to Reduce Phosphorus Losses in Runoff

Soil Systems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Anish Subedi ◽  
Dorcas Franklin ◽  
Miguel Cabrera ◽  
Amanda McPherson ◽  
Subash Dahal
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Clustering ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Reactive Phosphorus ◽  
Forage Utilization ◽  
Georgia Piedmont

A study of phosphorus accumulation and mobility was conducted in eight pastures in the Georgia piedmont, USA. We compared two potential grazing treatments: strategic-grazing (STR) and continuous-grazing-with-hay-distribution (CHD) from 2015 (Baseline) to 2018 (Post-Treatment) for (1) distribution of Mehlich-1 Phosphorus (M1P) in soil and (2) dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) and total Kjeldahl phosphorus (TKP) in runoff water. STR included rotational grazing, excluding erosion vulnerable areas, and cattle-lure management using movable equipment (hay-rings, shades, and waterers). After three years of treatment, M1P had significantly accrued 6- and 5-fold in the 0–5 cm soil layer and by 2- and 1.6-fold in the 5–10 cm layer for CHD and STR, respectively, compared to Baseline M1P. In STR exclusions, M1P also increased to 10 cm depth post-treatment compared to Baseline. During Post-Treatment, TKP runoff concentrations were 21% and 29% lower, for CHD and STR, respectively, in 2018 compared to 2015. Hot Spot Analysis, a spatial clustering tool that utilizes Getis-Ord Gi* statistic, revealed no change in Post-Treatment CHD pastures, while hotspots in STR pastures had moved from low-lying to high-lying areas. Exclusion vegetation retained P and reduced bulk density facilitating vertical transportation of P deeper into the soil, ergo, soil P was less vulnerable to export in runoff, retained in the soil for forage utilization and reduced export of P to aquatic systems

Dairy farm characteristics and managed flows of phosphorus

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.H. Anderson ◽  
F.R. Magdoff
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
New York ◽  
National Research Council ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Farm Size ◽  
Runoff Water ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Animal Density ◽  
P Accumulation ◽  
Soil Test P

AbstractNonpoint sources of P pollution have been implicated in the declining water quality of many lakes in the northeastern U.S. Most of the agricultural nonpoint P contribution to surface waters comes from field runoff. Water quality may be improved by better understanding the movement, or flow, of P through a farm so that reasons for buildup of high soil P levels can be identified and remedies explored. In this study, the managed flows of P (P in imported and exported products) were estimated based on 1hour farmer interviews on 45 Vermont farms and 1 New York farm. Farm P inflow/outflow budgets were developed using information from the interviews. It was estimated that an average of 57% of the P brought onto the farms was not exported. Phosphorus imported in feed and minerals averaged 65% of the total P imports, while purchased fertilizer contributed to an average of 35% of the total farm P imports. Phosphorus was often fed in excess of the cow's nutritional requirements recommended by the National Research Council. Soil test P levels on two pairs of farms with similar animal densities and soil types reflected the large differences in the estimated net P accumulation. For all 46 farms, there was a significant relationship between net P accumulation and animal density (r2 = 0.59). Farms grouped by management operation type (confinement, pasture - based [non-organic], and pasture-based [organic]) were different in average farm size, animal density, P imports, net P accumulation, milk production, and predominant crop. Feeding of excess P results from the high P levels recommended by feed salesmen and nutritionists, who typically take into account the available home-grown forages and provide the suggested needs for purchases of concentrates and minerals. In a survey of seven Vermont dairy feed consultants and salespersons, rations were designed to feed cows as much as 50% more P than research has indicated is necessary.

scholarly journals Variations in Soil Properties Rather than Functional Gene Abundances Dominate Soil Phosphorus Dynamics under Short-Term Nitrogen Input

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Han ◽  
Jingjing Li ◽  
Kesi Liu ◽  
Hui Zhang ◽  
Xiaoting Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Microbial Biomass ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Soil Ph ◽  
Soil Phosphorus ◽  
Functional Genes ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Soil P ◽  
Soil Microbial ◽  
N Input ◽  
Microbial Biomass P

Abstract Background and aims Microorganisms play a vital role in regulating soil phosphorus (P) dynamics in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how nitrogen (N) inputs trigger the functional traits of P transformation-related microorganisms to affect P fates in soil needs to be explored further. Our aims were to reveal the soil microbial functional profiles for P turnover in response to N input and to explore the relationships between soil P dynamics, soil properties and functional genes.Methods We collected soil samples from field experiments with three levels of N input over three years in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to determine soil P dynamics and other properties and functional genes via metagenomics.Results The soil available P and microbial biomass P were significantly affected by N inputs and significantly associated with soil properties (including soil pH, alkaline phosphatase activity, and soil total N and NO3--N contents). Meanwhile, high N input decreased the relative abundance of the pstS gene, and low N input reduced the relative abundances of ugpQ and C-P lyase genes. The pstS gene was a determinant of soil microbial biomass P and significantly correlated with soil pH. Moreover, Alphaproteobacteria with C-P lyase and Actinobacteria related to alkaline phosphatases and phosphate-specific transport were the most abundant taxa but not affected by N input.Conclusions We found relationships between the pstS gene, microbial biomass P and soil pH, and the microbial functional gene abundance was less important than soil properties in regulating soil P dynamics under short-term N inputs.

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