Variations in Stream Water and Sediment Phosphorus among Select Ozark Catchments

Abstract

Stream sediments play a large role in the transport and fate of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in stream ecosystems, and equilibrium P concentrations (EPC 0) of benthic sediments at which P is neither adsorbed nor desorbed are often related to stream water SRP concentrations. This study evaluated (i) the variation among water chemistry and sediment-P interactions among streams draining catchments that varied in the land use; (ii) the relations between SRP concentration, sediment EPC 0, and other measured abiotic factors (e.g., particle size distribution, slope of linear sorption isotherms, etc.) in the stream sediments; and (iii) the use of the traditional Mehlich-3 (M3) soil extraction on stream sediments to elucidate other abiotic factors (e.g, M3P, P saturation ratio, etc.) related to SRP concentration in stream sediments. Stream water and sediments were sampled at 22 selected Ozark streams in northwest Arkansas during fall 2003 and spring 2004. Nitrate-N concentrations in the water column (r = 0.69) and modified P saturation ratios (PSR mod) ) of the benthic sediments (r = 0.79) at the selected streams increased with an increase in percent pasture in the catchments, whereas SRP concentration (r = -0.56) and Mehlich-3-extractable P (M3P) content (r = -0.47) decreased with an increase in the percent forested area. Soluble reactive P concentrations in the stream water were positively correlated to sediment EPC 0 (r = 0.51), although sediment EPC(0) was generally greater than SRP. The M3 soil extraction was useful in identifying abiotic factors related to SRP concentrations in the selected streams, in particular SRP concentrations were positively correlated to M3P contents (r = 0.50) and PSR mod (r = 0.71) of the benthic sediments. Thus, M3P and EPC 0 estimates from stream sediments may be valuable yet simple indicators of whether benthic sediments act as sinks or sources of P in fluvial systems, as well as estimating changes in stream SRP concentrations.

Legacy Nutrient Dynamics at the Watershed Scale: Principles, Modeling, and Implications

“…In fluvial systems (i.e., ditches/drainages and streams/rivers), built-up of sediment legacy P pools results from the deposition of particulate P as fluvial bed sediments (Ballantine et al, 2009), sorption of dissolved P onto riverbed sediments (Haggard et al, 2005(Haggard et al, , 2007Stutter et al, 2010) or onto suspended sediments that are subsequently deposited on the riverbed (Owens and Walling, 2002). Net N retention in sediment is mainly associated with the deposition of organic N, physical sorption, and biogeochemical interception (formation of organic N) by sediments in fluvial bed (Brunet and Astin, 1997;Noe and Hupp, 2005).…”

Can We Manage Nonpoint‐Source Pollution Using Nutrient Concentrations during Seasonal Baseflow?

“…We know that nutrient concentrations in baseflow increase with anthropogenic influence within the catchment (Haggard et al, 2003(Haggard et al, , 2007Brion et al, 2010;Cox et al, 2013;Giovannetti et al, 2013). However, the landscape factors that likely are responsible for increased nutrients during baseflow also influence catchment hydrology.…”

Uncertainty and sensitivity in a bank stability model: implications for estimating phosphorus loading

“…Total phosphorus content of streambanks is also controlled by these factors (Palmer-Felgate et al, 2009), although the silt-clay content is often the largest driver (Bledsoe et al, 2000). Streambank phosphorus concentrations may also be higher in intensively farmed catchments (Palmer-Felgate et al, 2009) or in deforested areas (Haggard et al, 2007), although others have shown little correlation to land use (Nellesen et al, 2011;Tufekcioglu, 2010;Zaimes et al, 2008a).…”