Seasonal nutrient export dynamics in a mixed land use subwatershed of the Grand River, Ontario, Canada

Irvine, Cameron; Macrae, Merrin L.; Morison, Matthew Q.; Petrone, Richard M.

doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2019.10.005

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…In contrast to the level southwestern region, the undulating northeastern region is more vulnerable to PP losses that largely occur during distinct peak periods of the year (particularly snowmelt) and are associated with surface runoff and, to a lesser extent, tile drainage. Although P losses in this region may occur throughout the year, they are predominantly associated with snowmelt and spring runoff prior to the growing season when prolonged surface runoff occurs (Irvine et al., 2019; Macrae et al., 2007; Van Esbroeck et al., 2016, 2017). This may occur as a single event (or two) in the most extreme northeast locations, where winters are slightly colder (30‐yr mean daily air temperatures December–March of −4.1 °C), or as three to five events in regions that are located between the northeast and southwestern Ontario (i.e., midwestern Ontario), where winters are slightly milder (30‐yr normal December–March mean daily air temperature of −3.2 °C).…”

Section: Regional Differences Reveal Challenges For One Size Fits All P Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, P losses in this region are largely driven by erosive forces associated with surface runoff that occurs during critical periods of the year, and P is predominantly lost in a particulate form (Irvine et al., 2019; Macrae et al., 2007; Plach et al., 2019). Riparian zones are less effective during these periods because they are frequently submerged by overbank flooding by streams or covered by ice and snow (Kieta et al., 2018; Vanrobaeys et al., 2019).…”

Section: Regional Differences Reveal Challenges For One Size Fits All P Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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One size does not fit all: Toward regional conservation practice guidance to reduce phosphorus loss risk in the Lake Erie watershed

et al. 2021

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Agricultural phosphorus (P) losses to surface water bodies remain a global eutrophication concern, despite the application of conservation practices on farm fields.Although it is generally agreed upon that the use of multiple conservation practices ("stacking") will lead to greater improvements to water quality, this may not be cost effective to farmers, reducing the likelihood of adoption. At present, wholesale recommendations of conservation practices are given; however, the application of specific conservation practices in certain environments (e.g., no-till with surface application, cover crops) may not be effective and can even lead to unintended consequences. In this paper, we present the Lake Erie watershed as a case study. The Lake Erie watershed contains regions with unique physical geographies that include differences in climate, soil, topography, and land use, which have implications for both P transport from agricultural fields and the efficacy of conservation practices in mitigating P losses. We define major regions within the Lake Erie watershed where common strategies for conservation practice implementation are appropriate, and we propose a five-step plan for bringing regionally tailored, adaptive, and cost-conscious conservation practice into watershed planning. Although this paper is specific to the Lake Erie watershed, our framework can be transferred across broader geographic regions to provide guidance for watershed planning.

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Section: Regional Differences Reveal Challenges For One Size Fits All P Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Regional Differences Reveal Challenges For One Size Fits All P Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

One size does not fit all: Toward regional conservation practice guidance to reduce phosphorus loss risk in the Lake Erie watershed

et al. 2021

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“…Natural or anthropogenic processes may result in high concentrations of pollutants in river systems at specific time periods (Dwivedi et al, 2018; Vidon et al, 2010), creating what McClain et al (2003) termed a biogeochemical hot moment . In areas with seasonal flow patterns, there is often a corresponding pattern in water quality, with some areas showing a direct relationship (Irvine et al, 2019) between river discharge and concentrations of common pollutants and some showing an inverse relationship (Tabari et al, 2011; Vega et al, 1998; Xie et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water quality and spatio‐temporal hot spots in an effluent‐dominated urban river

Schliemann

Grevstad

Brazeau

2020

Hydrological Processes

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In arid and semi-arid regions, many rivers experience extremely low flow conditions during seasonal dry periods. During these times, effluent from wastewater treatment plants can make up the majority of flow in the river. However, water quality in urban systems can also be strongly influenced by the natural or human-influenced flow regime and discharge from other anthropogenic sources such as industrial operations and runoff from impervious surfaces. In this study, we aimed to determine whether water quality was controlled primarily by wastewater discharge in an effluentdominated river. Between May 2016-May 2019, we systematically measured water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, and the concentrations of nitrate-N, ammonia-N, and orthophosphate in the South Platte River in the Denver metropolitan area, Colorado, USA. We found that, despite being an effluentdominated river, wastewater treatment plant discharge was not the principal factor controlling water quality in many of the sampled areas. Non-point source pollution from impervious surfaces, delivered to the river through storm drains and minor tributary streams, also contributed to the high nutrient conditions in several locations. We also noted a strong seasonality in water quality, with higher concentrations of nutrients and higher biochemical oxygen demand in the winter months when wastewater effluent can make up more than 90% of the flow in the river. Thus, the interaction of discharge location and reduced seasonal flow produced spatio-temporal hot spots of diminished water quality. More stringent enforcement of water quality regulations may improve water quality in this system. However, a large portion of the pollution seems to be from non-point sources, which are very difficult to control.

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“…This high variability of P transport has been explored at the watershed‐scale using the hot spot/hot moment concept originally from McClain et al. (2003) (Goyette et al., 2019; Irvine et al., 2019; Zhu et al., 2012). Hot spots are areas with high rates of biogeochemical activity relative to the surrounding area, and hot moments are short times of high biogeochemical activity relative to longer time periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Bernhardt et al. (2017) spurred a new way of thinking about nutrient export (e.g., Goyette et al., 2019; Irvine et al., 2019), this “control point” concept for P loss in subsurface drainage has not been explored. Indeed, Irvine et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the concept of control points for dissolved reactive phosphorus losses in subsurface drainage

et al. 2022

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Agricultural phosphorus (P) loss, which is highly variable in space and time, has been studied using the hot spot/hot moment concept, but increasing the rigor of these assessments through a relatively newer "ecosystem control point" framework may help better target management practices that provide a disproportionate water quality benefit. Sixteen relatively large (0.85 ha) subsurface drainage plots in Illinois were used as individual observational units to assess dissolved reactive P (DRP) concentrations and losses within a given field over four study years. Three plot-months were identified as DRP control points (one export and two transport control points), where each plot-month contributed >10% of the annual DRP load from the field. These control points occurred on separate plots and in both the growing and nongrowing seasons but were likely related to agronomic P applications. Elevated soil test P, especially near a historic farmstead, and soil clay content were spatial drivers of P loss across the field. The nongrowing season was hypothesized to be the most significant period of P loss, but this was only documented in two of the four study years. A cereal rye (Secale cereale L.) cover crop did not significantly reduce DRP loss in any year, but there was also no evidence of increased drainage P losses due to freezing and thawing of the cover crop biomass. This work confirmed annual subsurface drainage DRP losses were agronomically small (<3% of P application rate), although the range of DRP concentrations relative to eutrophication criteria still demonstrated a potential for negative environmental impact. The control point concept may provide a new lens to view drainage DRP losses, but this framework should be refined Abbreviations: DRP, dissolved reactive phosphorus; STP, soil test phosphorus; TP, total phosphorus.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Seasonal nutrient export dynamics in a mixed land use subwatershed of the Grand River, Ontario, Canada

Cited by 20 publications

References 59 publications

One size does not fit all: Toward regional conservation practice guidance to reduce phosphorus loss risk in the Lake Erie watershed

One size does not fit all: Toward regional conservation practice guidance to reduce phosphorus loss risk in the Lake Erie watershed

Water quality and spatio‐temporal hot spots in an effluent‐dominated urban river

Assessing the concept of control points for dissolved reactive phosphorus losses in subsurface drainage

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