Journal article
River floodplains as source or sink for fine sediment and total phosphorus export in an agricultural watershed
Earth surface processes and landforms, Vol.49(9), pp.2677-2689
07/22/2024
DOI: 10.1002/esp.5849
Appears in UI Libraries Support Open Access
Abstract
Floodplains constitute a vital and integrated component of the riverine network ensuring the connectivity and continuity of the river with the upland watershed areas. However, the sediment trapping efficiency of floodplains has not been well investigated. The purpose of this experimental study was to evaluate the functionality of floodplains to act as either sources or sinks for fine sediments and sediment-bound nutrients (e.g., total phosphorus) during floods of various return periods. Thus, we hypothesized that (i) soil texture, in terms of topsoil erodibility and (ii) the magnitude of the incoming flood, in terms of the applied shear stress, are the two key parameters govern river floodplains' ability to store or release fine sediments and total phosphorus, during major flood conditions. Topsoil erodibility experiments were coupled with site-specific flood inundation maps to estimate the eroded fine sediment mass and the total phosphorus release rates per unit area per unit time of each flood condition considered. Results suggested that the floodplain soils of the upstream reaches act as net sources, the floodplains of the midstream reaches have a dual functionality; during low magnitude flood events (up to 10-year return periods), they act as net sinks, while during higher flood events, they act as sources; and the floodplains of the downstream reaches largely act as sinks. This study results are applicable for watershed managers to identify floodplain areas vulnerable to erosion and sources of nutrient pollution.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- River floodplains as source or sink for fine sediment and total phosphorus export in an agricultural watershed
- Creators
- Iordanis (Danny) V. Moustakidis - Univ Iowa, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, IIHR Hydrosci & Engn, Iowa City, IA 52242 USAKeith E. Schilling - University of Iowa, IIHR--Hydroscience and EngineeringLarry J. Weber - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Earth surface processes and landforms, Vol.49(9), pp.2677-2689
- Publisher
- Wiley
- DOI
- 10.1002/esp.5849
- ISSN
- 0197-9337
- eISSN
- 1096-9837
- Number of pages
- 13
- Grant note
- Iowa Nutrient Research Center (INRC) C6-72746-74 / Iowa Nutrient Research Center, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 06/09/2024
- Date published
- 07/22/2024
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984649054102771
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