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Phosphorus source—sink relationships of stream sediments in the Rathbun Lake watershed in southern Iowa, USA

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Abstract

The surface waters of Rathbun Lake watershed in southern Iowa are impacted by agricultural sources of sediments and nutrients, including phosphorus (P). Because stream sediments often play an important role in regulating P concentrations in stream water, we investigated sediment–water column P relationships in four creeks within the watershed and then evaluated the relationship between sediment properties and indicators of the risk of P loss. Based on Mehlich-3-extractable P (17 to 68 mg kg−1) and degree of P saturation (2 to 12 %), stream bank and bed sediments at the four sites were unlikely to serve as major sources of P. However, equilibrium P concentrations, which ranged from 0.02 to 0.12 mg L−1, indicated that bed sediments could release P to the water column depending on dissolved P (DP) concentrations in the stream water and the time of year. The likelihood of P desorption from the sediments increased with increasing pH (r = 0.92, p < 0.01) and sand content (r = 0.78, p < 0.05), but decreased with clay content (r = −0.72, p < 0.05) and iron (Fe) (r = −0.93, p < 0.001) associated with organic matter. From these results, we speculate that changes in land use within the riparian areas may, at least initially, have little effect on P concentrations in the streams. Low concentrations of DP relative to total P (TP) in these streams, however, suggest that P loads to Rathbun Lake can be reduced if P inputs from eroded bank sediments are controlled.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Douglas Bear, Mustafa Tufekcioglu, Jay Berkey, and Teresita Chua for technical support. We also thank the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service 406 Program and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University for providing financial support. Mention of trade names does not imply recommendation or endorsement by Iowa State University or the USDA Agricultural Research Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agronomy Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Najphak Hongthanat & Michael L. Thompson

  2. USDA-Agricultural Research Service, National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    John L. Kovar

  3. Animal Science Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    James R. Russell

  4. Natural Resource Ecology and Management Department, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, USA

    Thomas M. Isenhart

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  1. Najphak Hongthanat
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Correspondence to John L. Kovar.

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Hongthanat, N., Kovar, J.L., Thompson, M.L. et al. Phosphorus source—sink relationships of stream sediments in the Rathbun Lake watershed in southern Iowa, USA. Environ Monit Assess 188, 453 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5437-6

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