Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Dissolved and particulate nutrient flux from three adjacent agricultural watersheds: A five-year study

  • Published:
Biogeochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fluxes of dissolved and particulate nitrogen (N) and phosphorus(P) from three adjacent watersheds were quantified with ahigh-resolution sampling program over a five-year period. The watershedsvary by an order of magnitude in area (12,875, 7968 and 1206 ha), and inall three watersheds intensive agriculture comprises > 90% ofland. Annual fluxes of dissolved N and P per unit watershed area (exportcoefficients) varied ∼2X among watersheds, and patterns were notdirectly related to watershed size. Over the five-year period, meanannual flux of soluble reactive P (SRP) was 0.583 kg P ·ha−1 · yr−1 from the smallestwatershed and 0.295 kg P · ha−1 ·yr−1 from the intermediate-sized watershed, which hadthe lowest SRP flux. Mean annual flux of nitrate was 20.53 kg N ·ha−1 · yr−1 in the smallestwatershed and 44.77 kg N · ha−1 ·yr−1 in the intermediate-sized watershed, which had thehighest nitrate flux. As a consequence, the export ratio of dissolvedinorganic N to SRP varied from 80 (molar) in the smallest watershed to335 in the intermediate-sized watershed. Because most N was exported asnitrate, differences among watersheds in total N flux were similar tothose for nitrate. Hence, the total N:P export ratio was 42(molar) for the smallest watershed and 109 for the intermediate-sizedwatershed. In contrast, there were no clear differences among watershedsin the export coefficients of particulate N, P, or carbon, even though> 50% of total P was exported as particulate P in allwatersheds. All nutrient fractions were exported at higher rates in wetyears than in dry years, but precipitation-driven variability in exportcoefficients was greater for particulate fractions than for dissolvedfractions.

Examination of hydrological regimes showed that, for all nutrientfractions, most export occurred during stormflow. However, theproportion of nitrate flux exported as baseflow was much greater thanthe proportion of SRP flux exported as baseflow, for all threewatersheds (25–37% of nitrate exported as baseflow vs.3–13% of SRP exported as baseflow). In addition, baseflowcomprised a greater proportion of total discharge in theintermediate-sized watershed (43.7% of total discharge) than theother two watersheds (29.3 and 30.1%). Thus, higher nitrateexport coefficients in the intermediate-sized watershed may haveresulted from the greater contribution of baseflow in this watershed.Other factors potentially contributing to higher nitrate exportcoefficients in this watershed may be a thicker layer of loess soils anda lower proportion of riparian forest than the other watersheds. Theamong-watershed variability in SRP concentrations and exportcoefficients remains largely unexplained, and might represent theminimum expected variation among similar agriculturalwatersheds.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan JD, Erickson DL & Fay J (1997) The influence of catchment land use on stream integrity across multiple spatial scales. Freshwater Biol. 37: 149-161

    Google Scholar 

  • Baker DB (1993) The Lake Erie Agroecosystem Program: Water quality assessments. Agricult. Ecosyst. Environ. 46: 197-215

    Google Scholar 

  • Beaulac MN & Reckhow KH (1982) An examination of land use-nutrient export relationships. Water Resources Bull. 18: 1013-1024

    Google Scholar 

  • Boggess CF, Flaig EG & Fluck RC (1995) Phosphorus budget-basin relationships for Lake Okeechobee tributary basins. Ecol. Eng. 5: 143-162

    Google Scholar 

  • Brenner FJ & Mondok JJ (1995) Nonpoint source pollution potential in an agricultural watershed in northwestern Pennsylvania. Water Resources Bulletin 31: 1101-1112

    Google Scholar 

  • Caraco NF & JJ Cole (1999) Human impact on nitrate export: An analysis using major world rivers. Ambio 28: 167-170

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter SR, Caraco NF, Correll DL, Howarth RW, Sharpley AN & Smith VH (1998) Nonpoint pollution of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecol. Appl. 8: 559-568

    Google Scholar 

  • Cleresci NL, Curran SJ & Sedlak RI (1986) Nutrient loads toWisconsin lakes: Part 1. Nitrogen and phosphorus export coefficients. Water Resources Bull. 22: 983-990

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohn TA (1995) Recent advances in statistical methods for the estimation of sediment and nutrient transport in rivers. Rev. Geophys. 33 (Suppl): 1117-1123

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohn TA, DeLong EE, Gilroy EJ, Hirsch RM & Wells DK (1989) Estimating constituent loads. Water Resources Res. 25: 937-945

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooke SE & Prepas EE (1998) Stream phosphorus and nitrogen export from agricultural and forested watersheds on the Boreal Plain. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 55: 2292-2299

    Google Scholar 

  • Correll DL (1998) The role of phosphorus in the eutrophication of receiving waters: A review. J. Environ. Qual. 27: 261-267

    Google Scholar 

  • Correll DL, Jordan TE & Weller DE (1999) Effects of precipitation and air temperature on phosphorus fluxes from Rhode River watersheds. J. Environ. Qual. 28: 144-154

    Google Scholar 

  • Creed IF & Band LE (1998) Export of nitrogen from catchments within a temperate forest: Evidence for a unifying mechanism regulated by variable source area dynamics. Water Resources Res. 34: 3105-3120

    Google Scholar 

  • Crumpton WG, Isenhart TM & Mitchell PD (1992) Nitrate and organic N analyses with second derivative spectroscopy. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37: 907-913

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniel TC, Sharpley AN & Lemunyon JL (1998) Agricultural phosphorus and eutrophication: A symposium overview. J. Environ. Qual. 27: 251-257

    Google Scholar 

  • DeVantier BA & Feldman AD (1993) Review of GIS applications in hydrologic modeling. J. Water Resources Planning and Management. 119: 246-261

    Google Scholar 

  • Dillon PJ & Kirchner WB (1975) The effects of geology and land use on the export of phosphorus from watersheds. Water Research 9: 135-148

    Google Scholar 

  • Downing JA, McClain M, Twilley R, Melack JM, Elser J, Rabalais NN, Lewis Jr. WM, Turner RE, Corredor J, Soto D, Yanez-Arancibia A, Kopaska JA & Howarth RW (1999) The impact of accelerating land-use change on the N-cycle of tropical aquatic ecosystems: Current conditions and projected changes. Biogeochemistry 46: 109-148

    Google Scholar 

  • Gambrell RP, Gilliam JW & Weed SB (1975) Nitrogen losses from soils of the North Carolina Coastal Plain. J. Environ. Qual. 4: 317-322

    Google Scholar 

  • Gburek WJ & Sharpley AN (1998) Hydrologic controls on phosphorus loss from upland agricultural watersheds. J. Environ. Qual. 27: 267-277

    Google Scholar 

  • Grayson RB, Moore ID & McMahon TA (1992) Physically based hydrologic modeling 2. Is the concept realistic? Water Resources Res. 26: 2659-2666

    Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Simmons RC & Gold AJ (1992) Nitrate dynamics in riparian forests: Microbial studies. J. Environ. Qual. 21: 666-671

    Google Scholar 

  • Gustard A, Bullock A & Dixon JM (1992) Low flow estimation in the United Kingdom. Report 108 (pp 19-25). Institute of Hydrology, Wallingford, England

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckrath G, Brookes PC, Poulton PR & Goulding KWT (1995) Phosphorus leaching from soils containing different phosphorus concentrations in the Broadbalk experiment. J. Environ. Qual. 24: 904-910

    Google Scholar 

  • Hessen DO, Hindar A & Holtan G (1997) The significance of nitrogen runoff for eutrophication of freshwater and marine recipients. Ambio 26: 312-320

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill AR (1996) Nitrate removal in stream riparian zones. J. Environ. Qual. 25: 743-755

    Google Scholar 

  • Howarth RW (1988) Nutrient limitation of net primary production in marine ecosystems. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 19: 89-110

    Google Scholar 

  • Howarth RW, Billen G, Swaney D, Townsend A, Jaworski N, Lajtha K, Downing JA, Elmgren R, Caraco N, Jordan T, Berendse F, Freney J, Kudeyarov V, Murdoch P & Zhu ZL (1996) Regional nitrogen budgets and riverine N& P fluxes for the drainages to the North Atlantic Ocean: natural and human influences. Biogeochemistry 35: 75-139

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunsaker CT & DA Levine DA (1995) Hierarchical approaches to the study of water quality in rivers. BioScience 45: 193-203

    Google Scholar 

  • Jansson M (1985) A comparison of detransformed logarithmic regressions and power function regressions. Geografiska Annaler 67A: 61-70

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan TE, Correll DL & Weller DE (1993) Nutrient interception by a riparian forest receiving inputs from adjacent cropland. J. Environ. Qual. 22: 467-473

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan TE, Correll DL & Weller DE (1997a) Relating nutrient discharges from watersheds to land use and streamflow variability. Water Resources Res. 33: 2579-2590

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan TE, Correll DL & Weller DE (1997b) Nonpoint source discharges of nutrients from piedmont watersheds of Chesapeake Bay. J. Amer. Water Resources Assoc. 33: 631-645

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalkhoff SJ (1995) Relation between stream-water quality and geohydrology during base-flow conditions, Roberts Creek watershed, Clayton County, Iowa. Water Resources Res. 31: 593-604

    Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy EJ (1983) Computation of continuous records of streamflow. Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations of the United States Geological Survey, Book 3. U.S. Geological Survey

  • Lewis WM Jr, Melack JM, McDowell WH, McClain M & Richey JE. 1999. Nitrogen yields from undisturbed watersheds in the Americas. Biogeochemistry 46: 149-162

    Google Scholar 

  • Likens GE & FH Bormann (1995) Biogeochemistry of a forested ecosystem. Second edition. Springer-Verlag

  • Logan TJ (1990) Sustainable agriculture and water quality. In: Edwards CA, Lal R, Madden P, Miller RH & House G (Eds) Sustainable Agricultural Systems (pp 582-613). Soil and Water Conservation Society, Ankeny, Iowa, USA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Medley KE, Okey BW, Barrett GW, Lucas MF & Renwick WH (1995) Landscape change with agricultural intensification in a rural watershed, southwestern Ohio, USA. Landscape Ecol 10: 161-176

    Google Scholar 

  • Miltner RJ & Rankin ET (1998) Primary nutrients and the biotic integrity of rivers and streams. Freshwater Biol. 40: 145-158

    Google Scholar 

  • Mueller DK, Hamilton PA, Helsel DR, Hitt KJ & Ruddy BC (1995) Nutrients in ground water and surface water of the United States-An analysis of data through 1992. United States Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 95-4031

  • Murphy J & Riley JP (1962) A modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters. Anal. Chim. Acta. 27: 31-36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naiman RJ, Ed (1992) Watershed management: Balancing Sustainability and Environmental Change. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Naiman RJ, Magnuson JJ, McKnight DM & Stanford JA, Eds (1995) The Freshwater Imperative: A Research Agenda. Island Press, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nathan RJ & McMahon TA (1990) Evaluation of automated techniques for base flow and recession analyses. Water Resources Research 26: 1465-1473

    Google Scholar 

  • Omernik JM (1976) The influence of land use on stream nutrient levels. United States Environmental Protection Agency Report EPA 600/3-76-014, Corvallis, Oregon

    Google Scholar 

  • Osborne LL & Kovacic DA (1993) Riparian vegetated buffer strips in water quality restoration and stream management. Freshwater Biol. 29: 243-258

    Google Scholar 

  • Porterfield G (1972) Computation of fluvial-sediment discharge. Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations of the United States Geological Survey, Book 3. U.S. Geological Survey

  • Prairie YT & Kalff J (1986) Effect of catchment size on phosphorus export. Water Resources Bull. 22: 465-470

    Google Scholar 

  • Puckett LJ (1995) Identifying the major sources of nutrient water pollution. Environ. Sci. Tech. 29: 408-414

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards RP & Baker DB (1993) Trends in nutrient and suspended sediment concentrations in Lake Erie tributaries, 1975-1990. J. Great Lakes Res. 19: 200-211

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards RP & Holloway J (1987) Monte Carlo studies of sampling strategies for estimating tributary loads. Water Resources Res. 23: 1939-1948

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaus MH, Vanni MJ, Wissing TE, Bremigan MT, Garvey JA & Stein RA (1997) Nitrogen and phosphorus excretion by detritivorous fish (the gizzard shad, Dorosoma cepedianum) in a reservoir ecosystem. Limnol. Oceanogr. 42: 1386-1397

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharpley AN (1995) Identifying sites vulnerable to phosphorus loss in agricultural runoff. J. Environ. Qual. 24: 947-951

    Google Scholar 

  • Sims JT, Simard RR & Joern BC (1998) Phosphorus loss in agricultrual drainage: Historical perspective and current research. J. Environ. Qual. 27: 277-293

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith RA, Alexander RB & Wolman MG (1987) Water-quality trends in the nation's rivers. Science 235: 1607-1615

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith VH (1998) Cultural eutrophication of inland, estuarine, and coastal waters. In: Pace ML & Groffman PM (Eds) Successes, Limitations, and Frontiers in Ecosystem Science (pp 7-49). Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokal RR & Rohlf FJ (1981) Biometry. Second edition. Freeman, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Solorzano L (1969) Determination of ammonia in natural waters by the phenolhypochlorite method. Limnol. Oceanogr. 14: 799-801

    Google Scholar 

  • Soranno PA, Hubler SL, Carpenter SR & Lathrop RC (1996) Phosphorus loads to surface waters: A simple model to account for spatial pattern of land use. Ecol. Appl. 6: 865-878

    Google Scholar 

  • Stainton MP, Capel MJ & Armstrong FAJ (1977) The chemical analysis of fresh-water. Miscellaneous Special Publication 25. Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinheimer TR, Scoggin KD & Kramer LA (1998) Agricultural chemical movement through a field-size watershed in Iowa: Surface hydrology and nitrate loss in discharge. Environ. Sci. Tech. 32: 1048-1052

    Google Scholar 

  • USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) (1992) Watershed plan and environmental assessment for Four Mile Creek Watershed, Ohio and Indiana

  • Vitousek PM, Gosz JR, Grier CC, Melillo JM, Reiners WA & Todd RL (1979) Nitrate loss from disturbed ecosystems. Science 204: 469-474

    Google Scholar 

  • Winner RW, Strecker RL & Ingersoll EM (1962) Some physical and chemical characteristics of Acton Lake, Ohio. Ohio J. Sci. 62: 55-61

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Jeffery D. Auch

    Present address: Robert B. Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI, 49401, USA

  2. Maynard H. Schaus

    Present address: Department of Biology, Virginia Wesleyan College, 1584 Wesleyan Drive, Norfolk, VA, 23502-5599, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA (Author for correspondence; e-mail:

    Michael J. Vanni

  2. Department of Geography, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    William H. Renwick

  3. Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Jenifer L. Headworth

  4. Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA;

    Jeffery D. Auch

  5. Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA;

    Maynard H. Schaus

Authors
  1. Michael J. Vanni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William H. Renwick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jenifer L. Headworth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jeffery D. Auch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Maynard H. Schaus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael J. Vanni.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Vanni, M.J., Renwick, W.H., Headworth, J.L. et al. Dissolved and particulate nutrient flux from three adjacent agricultural watersheds: A five-year study. Biogeochemistry 54, 85–114 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010681229460

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010681229460

Search

Navigation