Journal article
Groundwater nutrient concentrations during prairie reconstruction on an Iowa landscape
Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, Vol.139(1-2), pp.206-213
10/15/2010
DOI: 10.1016/j.agee.2010.08.003
Abstract
One anticipated benefit of ecosystem restoration is water quality improvement. This study evaluated NO3-N and phosphorus in subsurface waters during prairie establishment following decades of row-crop agriculture. A prairie seeding in late 2003 became established in 2006. Wells and suction cup samplers were monitored for NO3-N and phosphorus. Nitrate-N varied with time and landscape position. Non-detectable NO3-N concentrations became modal along ephemeral drainageways in 2006, when average concentrations in uplands first became <10 mg NO3-N L-1. This decline continued and upland groundwater averaged near 2 mg NO3-N L-1 after 2007. The longer time lag in NO3-N response in uplands was attributed to greater quantities of leachable N in upland subsoils. Spatial differences in vadose-zone travel times were less important, considering water table dynamics. Phosphorus showed a contrasting landscape pattern, without any obvious temporal trend. Phosphorus was greatest along and near ephemeral drainageways. Sediment accumulation from upland agricultural erosion provided a source of P along drainageways, where shallow, reductive groundwater increased P solubility. Phosphorus exceeded eutrophication risk thresholds in these lower areas, where saturation-excess runoff could readily transport P to surface waters. Legacy impacts of past agricultural erosion and sedimentation may include soluble phosphorus in shallow groundwater, at sites prone to saturation-excess runoff. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Groundwater nutrient concentrations during prairie reconstruction on an Iowa landscape
- Creators
- M. D. Tomer - National Laboratory for Agriculture and the EnvironmentK. E. Schilling - Iowa Department of Natural ResourcesC. A. Cambardella - National Laboratory for Agriculture and the EnvironmentP. Jacobson - Grinnell CollegeP. Drobney - United States Fish and Wildlife Service
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Agriculture, ecosystems & environment, Vol.139(1-2), pp.206-213
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.agee.2010.08.003
- ISSN
- 0167-8809
- eISSN
- 1873-2305
- Number of pages
- 8
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/15/2010
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984383926102771
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