Tuesday, 8 November 2005
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Issues in Phosphorus Movement in a Karst Basin.

Vimala Nair1, Willie Harris1, L. Rex Ellis1, and David Hornsby2. (1) University of Florida, 106 Newell Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611-0510, (2) Suwannee River Water Management District, 9225 County Road 49, Live Oak, FL 32060

The karst-dominated Lower Suwannee River Basin (LSRB) spans several Florida counties where agricultural activities have potential to affect the groundwater, springs, and estuary. Data show vertical movement of P in soils, but a common assumption is that P transport is restricted once it reaches limestone. This assumption need not be true since P-enriched water may not have sufficient contact time with the limestone to be retained by the rock. Previous research has indicated that there is a delay time between P loading from an agricultural source and the movement of the P to a water body. A concern is that once P reaches an outlet (e.g., spring), elevated P concentrations could persist for years even if P applications were discontinued. A GIS approach is being used to determine if there is a significant elevation of P in springs nearest to agricultural sources. Another issue for the LSRB is allocating the contributions of agricultural P and natural P from phosphatic geologic formations and soils upstream from the karst region of the Basin. Water quality data for river, tributaries, springs, and estuary reveal total P concentrations (mostly dissolved) of up to several mg L-1 in tributaries of phosphatic watersheds. Do agricultural P inputs pose a significant ecological risk to the estuary in light of the natural P loading? This is a challenging question yet to be resolved.

Handout (.pdf format, 250.0 kb)

Back to Phosphorus Chemistry in Soils: II. P Fluxes in Soil and Water Systems
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