Agronomy and Horticulture Department
Manure Phosphorus and Surface Water Protection III: Transport Factors
Date of this Version
2005
Document Type
Article
Citation
Plant and Soil Sciences eLibrary (PASSeL) Lesson
A contribution of the University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension, Journal Series 1047
Abstract
This lesson addresses transport factors that may contribute to phosphorus (P) delivery to surface waters. Erosion, runoff, subsurface flow, drainage, and distance to surface water are the main factors. In some places, wind erosion may also be important. The effects of management practices on P transport are discussed, and water-related P transport processes are described in detail.
Overview
The importance of agricultural P management in protecting water quality was addressed in Lesson I of this series [Manure Phosphorus (P) and Surface Water Protection 1: Basic Concepts of Soil and Water P]. Factors contributing to P loss from land to surface waters include source factors and transport factors (Table 1). As discussed in Lesson I, an interaction of source and transport factors is needed to have runoff P loss. If either source or transport factors contributes minimally to the risk of P delivery to surface waters, then the risk for P delivery is not likely to be great, even if the other set of factors creates a much greater risk potential. The “critical source area” concept, introduced in Lesson II, tells us the risk is greatest when both the source and transport factors are high.
The current lesson addresses transport factors that may contribute to P delivery to surface waters, the most important being erosion, runoff, subsurface flow, drainage and distance to surface water (Fig. 1). In some instances, wind erosion may also play an important role. The lesson also discusses the effects of management practices on P transport and water-related transport processes.
Objectives
Upon completing this lesson, a student should be able to:
- Identify transport factors and analyze their importance for P delivery to surface waters.
- Describe the interaction of erosion with soil test P and total soil P relative to P in runoff and erosion.
- Name and discuss the role of management practices in reducing the effect of transport factors contributing to P loss from a field.
[Table 1. Site and management factors: Soil P levels; P application practices, including time, rate, and method of application; Field management practices, such as tillage practices and use of cover crops. Transport factors: Runoff; Erosion from rainfall, snowmelt, and irrigation events; Surface and subsurface drainage; Percolation and underground movement of P to seepage areas; Distance from P source to concentrated water flow or a water body; Stream bank/bed cutting; Atmospheric deposition.]
Modules:
Comments
Copyright © 2005 Charles Wortmann, David Tarkalson, and Deana Namuth. Used by permission.
This project was supported in part by the National Research Initiative Competitive Grants CAP project 2011-68002-30029 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, administered by the University of California-Davis and by the National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Undergraduate Education, National SMETE Digital Library Program, Award #0938034, administered by the University of Nebraska. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the USDA or NSF.
Development of this lesson was supported, in part, by a University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension grant. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors.