Nonpoint source discharges of nutrients from Piedmont watersheds of Chesapeake Bay

We measured annual discharges of water, sediments, and nutrients from 10 watersheds with differing proportions of agricultural lands in the Piedmont physiographic province of the Chesapeake Bay drainage. Flow-weighted mean concentrations of total N, nitrate, and dissolved silicate in watershed disch...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the American Water Resources Association 1997-06, Vol.33 (3), p.631-645
Main Authors: Jordan, T.E. (Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD.), Correll, D.L, Weller, D.E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
agriculture
AGUA
ASPECTOS FISIOGRAFICOS
AZOTE
BASSIN VERSANT
Brackish
Chesapeake Bay
COASTAL PLAINS
COMPORTAMIENTO HUMANO
COMPORTEMENT HUMAIN
CORRELATION
CUENCAS HIDROGRAFICAS
DRAINAGE
DRENAJE
EAU
ELEMENT GEOMORPHOLOGIQUE
FARMLAND
FOSFORO
Freshwater
HUMAN ACTIVITY
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR
LLANURA COSTERA
Marine
MARYLAND
NITROGEN
NITROGENO
NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION
NUTRIENTES
NUTRIENTS
PENNSYLVANIA
PENNSYLVANIE
PHOSPHORE
PHOSPHORUS
PHYSIOGRAPHIC FEATURES
PLAINE COTIERE
POLLUTION
POLUCION
SEDIMENT
SEDIMENTO
SILICATE
SILICATES
SILICATOS
SUBSTANCE NUTRITIVE
TERRE AGRICOLE
TIERRAS AGRICOLAS
WATER
water quality
WATERSHEDS
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Summary:We measured annual discharges of water, sediments, and nutrients from 10 watersheds with differing proportions of agricultural lands in the Piedmont physiographic province of the Chesapeake Bay drainage. Flow-weighted mean concentrations of total N, nitrate, and dissolved silicate in watershed discharges were correlated with the proportion of cropland in the watershed. In contrast, concentrations of P species did not correlate with cropland. Organic P and C correlated with the concentration of suspended particles, which differed among watersheds. Thus, the ratio of N:P:Si in discharges differed greatly among watersheds, potentially affecting N, P or Si limitation of phytoplankton growth in the receiving waters. Simple regression models of N discharge versus the percentage of cropland suggest that croplands discharge 29-42 kg N ha-1 yr-1 and other lands discharge 1.2-5.8 kg N ha-1 yr-1. We estimated net anthropogenic input of N to croplands and other lands using county level data on agriculture and N deposition from the atmosphere. For most of the study watersheds, N discharge amounted to less than half of the net anthropogenic N
ISSN:1093-474X
1752-1688
DOI:10.1111/j.1752-1688.1997.tb03538.x