Excess phosphorus is often identified as a major factor in the eutrophication of wetlands and lakes. Often attributed to agricultural practices, the specific source of a large part of this excess has been difficult to determine. The term "nonpoint" source is often used to broadly describe the inflow along waterways of significant amounts of this essential plant nutrient and other pollution. This research was intended to determine the effectiveness of using cattails (Typha), a common plant along waterways, as indicators of plant available phosphorus in the soil along these waterways. Two sites in the southern part of Michigan's lower peninsula (45°N,84°W) where cattails grew were systematically examined for phosphorus and certain cattail characteristics. Plant and soil data were gathered in a grid-like pattern to determine both the relationship of paired data and their spatial distribution across each site. One set of data was shown to be significant. At one site, the density of cattails is weakly correlated with Phosphorus concentrations. Of particular importance, the spatial distribution of both variables is also noticeably similar at the site. No significant correlation between other data was shown. There is also no apparent similarity in spatial distribution. Though weakly correlated, we were able to support a hypothesis that a reasonable correlation exists between cattail density and plant available phosphorus at one site. The spatial distribution of these traits are also similar suggesting that cattails may, in some cases, be useful as indicators of excess phosphorus, perhaps better defining its source than “nonprint”. / Department of Biology

No description available.

Phosphorous concentrations exceed water quality guidelines in most of the major rivers in southern Quebec. The problem is particularly acute in the Pike River, which drains into the Missisquoi Bay of Lake Champlain, in southeastern Quebec. Elevated phosphorus concentrations can lead to a reduction in the palatability of drinking water, a decrease in diversity of aquatic life and loss of recreational opportunities. All of these problems have been observed in the Bay. / Two agricultural fields (the Marchand and Gagnon sites) located on the Pike River watershed, in southeastern Quebec were selected and equipped with instrumentation to measure and evaluate the partitioning of phosphorus between surface runoff and subsurface drainage, on a year round basis. The snowmelt event was the dominant surface and subsurface event for the 2000/2001 hydrological year. On the Marchand site surface flow data was incomplete as a result of a failure of the surface runoff flume. On both sites the IF 200 subsurface flow meters failed, which resulted in missing subsurface flow data during certain runoff events. Therefore, the majority of the comparisons made relate to the Gagnon site. / The 2000/2001 hydrological year was unusually dry, which resulted in a limited number of surface and subsurface runoff events. The annual depth of surface runoff for the Gagnon site was 87.5 mm/ha, of which only 0.2mm occurred outside the snowmelt event. The estimated depth of subsurface runoff of the snowmelt event at the Gagnon site based upon a water balance equation was 93.7 mm/ha, or 51.7% of the total volume that occurred on the Gagnon field during the snowmelt event. / The total phosphorus load in surface runoff for the spring snowmelt at the Gagnon site was 166.4 g/ha, whereas the estimated total phosphorus load in subsurface drainage was 98.2 g/ha, or 37.1% of the total load. Subsurface drains can therefore be a significant pathway for phosphorus losses.

The goal of this thesis was to examine submerged macrophoe biomass, distribution, and ecosystem effects at scales large enough to incorporate the littoral zone into models of whole lake structure and function. Submerged macrophyte biomass and distribution was shown to be highly variable between growing seasons and primarily dependant upon air temperature and the timing of the onset of the growing season. Within a growing season, a mass balance study showed an undisturbed macrophyte bed to markedly lower phytoplankton biomass: total phosphorus ratios, although the net effect of the bed on the growing season phosphorus budget was minimal. The weedbed preferentially retained phytoplankton biomass while being a source of bacterial production to the open water. These findings were mirrored at the among lake scale, as planktonic respiration and bacterial production were higher in macrophyte dominated lakes than would be expected based on phytoplankton biomass alone. Further, phytoplankton biomass was lower than would be expected based on epilimnetic phosphorus levels, showing that the classical view of pelagic interactions that proposes phosphorus determines phytoplankton abundance, which in turn determines bacterial abundance through the production of organic carbon, becomes less relevant as macrophyte cover increases. Long term phosphorus accumulation in the littoral zone was shown to be linked to macrophyte biomass, and on average almost an order of magnitude higher than calculated from the growing season (June--October) phosphorus budget, suggesting that the bulk of phosphorus accumulation in weedbeds occurs outside of the growing season. Finally, sediment core data showed that while submerged weedbeds accumulate up to four times as much bulk sediment compared to the profundal zone, phosphorus accumulation in weedbeds is much less than observed in the profundal zone. These results strongly indicating that submerged macrophyte beds play a central role in trapping ep

No description available.

This study has attempted to model and quantify the impacts of Beneficial Management Practices (BMP) like buffer strips on the phosphorus concentration and loading in the Buck Creek Watershed of Central Indiana. The GIS based modeling was done using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS). The results from the EPA funded two year (2002-2004) Upper White River Watershed Project (UWRWP) for the Buck Creek Watershed were used as the measured base data for the modeling evaluation. These measured data were compared against the data generated out of the model simulation based on two different scenarios which took into consideration the combinations of land use, agricultural management practices, point source pollutions and BMPs. Scenario-1 simulated all the aspects of land use intensity, moderate agricultural management practices and moderate point source pollutions taking place in the Buck Creek watershed. While running the model in scenario-1, there was a noticeable increase in the phosphorus loading to the sub-watersheds ranging from 10% in the lowland sub-watershed of BC-4 to 39% in the highland sub-watershed of BC-7. In scenario-2, BMPs were implemented in the model which added 100 acres of vegetated buffer strips uniformly in all sub-watersheds and 3 acres of grassed buffers along the streams except BC-3. On re-running the model in scenario-2, there was a drastic decline in the phosphorus loading to the stream. It has been noted that there was at least 15% reduction in the loading of phosphorus to the stream where buffer strips were implemented. The present GIS modeling study helped to quantify the changes in the loading of sediments and nutrients which are induced by any parametric changes in the watershed including soil, slope, land use, agricultural management practices and BMPs. / Department of Geography

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Numerous studies have investigated the fate of pollutants in riparian buffers, but few studies have focused on the control of multiple contaminants simultaneously in riparian zones. To better understand what drives the biogeochemical cycles of multiple contaminants in riparian zones, a 19-month study was conducted in riparian buffers across a range of hydrogeomorphic (HGM) settings in the White River watershed in Indiana. Three research sites [Leary Webber Ditch (LWD), Scott Starling (SS) and White River (WR)] with contrasting hydro-geomorphology were selected. We monitored groundwater table depth, oxidation reduction potential (ORP), dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), NO3-, NH4+, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), SO42- , total Hg and methylmercury (MeHg). Our results revealed that differences in HGM conditions translated into distinctive site hydrology, but significant differences in site hydrology did not lead to different biogeochemical conditions. Nitrate reduction and sulfate re-oxidation were likely associated with major hydrological events, while sulfate reduction, ammonia and methylmercury production were likely associated with seasonal changes in biogeochemical conditions. Results also suggest that the LWD site was a small sink for nitrate but a source for sulfate and MeHg, the SS site was a small sink for MeHg but had little effect on NO3-, SO42- and SRP, and the WR was an intermediate to a large sink for nitrate, an intermediate sink for SRP, and a small source for MeHg. Land use and point source appears to have played an important role in regulating solute concentrations (NO3-, SRP and THg). Thermodynamic theories probably oversimplify the complex patterns of solute dynamics which, at the sites monitored in the present study, were more strongly impacted by HGM settings, land use, and proximity to a point source.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The characterization of the nutrients nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon (NPC) export to streams during storms is an integral part of understanding processes affecting water quality. Despite the fact that excessive levels of these nutrients in the Mississippi River basin adversely affects water quality in the Gulf of Mexico, little research has been conducted on NPC dynamics during storms on larger (>20 km2) agriculturally dominated Midwestern watersheds. This project examined the storm export of nitrate, ammonium, total phosphorus, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the upper Eagle Creek Watershed (UECW) (274 km2) in Central Indiana, USA. Water samples were collected during five winter and spring storms in 2007 and 2008 on the rising and falling limb of the hydrograph, in order to characterize NPC dynamics during storm events. Stream discharge and precipitation was monitored continuously, and major cations were used to examine changes in source water over the duration of the storm and assist in the determination of potential flowpaths. DOC, total P, and TKN (Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen) tended to peak with discharge, while nitrate usually exhibited a slight lag and peaked on the receding limb. Total phosphorus, NH3-, TKN, and DOC appear to be delivered to the stream primarily by overland flow. NO3--N appear to be delivered by a combination of tile drain and macropore flow. Overall UECW displayed smoother nutrient export patterns than smaller previously studied watersheds in the area suggesting that scale may influence nutrient export dynamics. Further research is underway on a 3000 km2 watershed in the area to further examine the role scale may play in nutrient export patterns.