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An improved export coefficient model to estimate non-point source phosphorus pollution risks under complex precipitation and terrain conditions

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Abstract

To control non-point source (NPS) pollution, it is important to estimate NPS pollution exports and identify sources of pollution. Precipitation and terrain have large impacts on the export and transport of NPS pollutants. We established an improved export coefficient model (IECM) to estimate the amount of agricultural and rural NPS total phosphorus (TP) exported from the Luanhe River Basin (LRB) in northern China. The TP concentrations of rivers from 35 selected catchments in the LRB were used to test the model’s explanation capacity and accuracy. The simulation results showed that, in 2013, the average TP export was 57.20 t at the catchment scale. The mean TP export intensity in the LRB was 289.40 kg/km2, which was much higher than those of other basins in China. In the LRB topographic regions, the TP export intensity was the highest in the south Yanshan Mountains and was followed by the plain area, the north Yanshan Mountains, and the Bashang Plateau. Among the three pollution categories, the contribution ratios to TP export were, from high to low, the rural population (59.44%), livestock husbandry (22.24%), and land-use types (18.32%). Among all ten pollution sources, the contribution ratios from the rural population (59.44%), pigs (14.40%), and arable land (10.52%) ranked as the top three sources. This study provides information that decision makers and planners can use to develop sustainable measures for the prevention and control of NPS pollution in semi-arid regions.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (41590841) and the Innovation Project of State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology of China (SKLURE2017-1-3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Xian Cheng, Liding Chen, Ranhao Sun & Yongcai Jing

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xian Cheng, Liding Chen & Yongcai Jing

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  1. Xian Cheng
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  2. Liding Chen
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  3. Ranhao Sun
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  4. Yongcai Jing
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Correspondence to Ranhao Sun.

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Cheng, X., Chen, L., Sun, R. et al. An improved export coefficient model to estimate non-point source phosphorus pollution risks under complex precipitation and terrain conditions. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 20946–20955 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2191-z

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