Phosphorus Loss from a Mixed Land Use Catchment in Northwest Spain

This work examined P loss from a mixed land use catchment in northwest Spain and how it was related to hydrological factors. A stream draining a mixed land use catchment of 16 km2 in northwest Spain was monitored for 5 yr. Water samples were taken more frequently with increased stream flows. A total...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental quality 2013-07, Vol.42 (4), p.1151-1158
Main Authors: Rodríguez‐Blanco, M. L., Taboada‐Castro, M. M., Keizer, J. J., Taboada‐Castro, M. T.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Catchments
Discharge
Drainage
Environmental Monitoring
Exports
Fertilizers
Freshwater
Grasslands
Land use
Northwest
Phosphorus
Population
Rainy season
Rivers
Runoff
Seasons
Sediment concentration
Spain
Stream discharge
Stream flow
Streams
Suspended sediments
Water analysis
Water Movements
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Water sampling
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Summary:This work examined P loss from a mixed land use catchment in northwest Spain and how it was related to hydrological factors. A stream draining a mixed land use catchment of 16 km2 in northwest Spain was monitored for 5 yr. Water samples were taken more frequently with increased stream flows. A total of 132 runoff events of different magnitudes were analyzed in this study. Mean annual P loss from the catchment was 11.5 kg km−2, about 68% being transported during runoff events, which only contributed to 29% of the flow. The contribution of runoff events to particulate P and dissolved P losses was 76 and 46% of total losses during the study period, respectively. A high interannual variability in P loss was observed, the differences being related to rainfall amount and distribution. At a seasonal scale, the highest P loads and concentrations were observed during rainy seasons; the lowest P loads occurred in summer because they occurred with stream flow. Particulate P accounted for the greatest proportion (74%) of transported P. There was a high variability in P transported between runoff events, with maximum discharge and discharge increase being the most important variables explaining total P concentration in these events through their effect on suspended sediment concentration.
ISSN:0047-2425
1537-2537
DOI:10.2134/jeq2012.0318