Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Field drains as a route of rapid nutrient export from agricultural land receiving biosolids
AU - Heathwaite, A. Louise
AU - Burke, S. P.
AU - Bolton, L.
N1 - Field drains as a route of rapid nutrient export from agricultural land receiving biosolids 5 cites: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?num=100&hl=en&lr=&cites=14095810463825033138
PY - 2006/7/15
Y1 - 2006/7/15
N2 - We report research on the environmental risk of incidental nutrient transfers from land to water for biosolids amended soils. We show that subsurface (drainflow) pathways of P transport may result in significant concentrations, up to 10 mg total P l− 1, in the drainage network of an arable catchment when a P source (recent biosolids application) coincides with a significant and active transport pathway (rainfall event). However, the high P concentrations were short-lived, with drainage ditch total P concentrations returning to pre-storm concentrations within a few days of the storm event. In the case of the drainflow concentrations reported here, the results are unusual in that they describe an ‘incidental event’ for a groundwater catchment where such events might normally be expected to be rare owing to the capacity of the hydrological system to attenuate nutrient fluxes for highly adsorbed elements such as P. Consequently, there is a potential risk of P transfers to shallow groundwater systems. We suggest that the findings are not specific to biosolids-alone, which is a highly regulated industry, but that similar results may be anticipated had livestock waste or mineral fertilizer been applied, although the magnitude of losses may differ. The risk appears to be more one of timing and the availability of a rapid transport pathway than of P source.
AB - We report research on the environmental risk of incidental nutrient transfers from land to water for biosolids amended soils. We show that subsurface (drainflow) pathways of P transport may result in significant concentrations, up to 10 mg total P l− 1, in the drainage network of an arable catchment when a P source (recent biosolids application) coincides with a significant and active transport pathway (rainfall event). However, the high P concentrations were short-lived, with drainage ditch total P concentrations returning to pre-storm concentrations within a few days of the storm event. In the case of the drainflow concentrations reported here, the results are unusual in that they describe an ‘incidental event’ for a groundwater catchment where such events might normally be expected to be rare owing to the capacity of the hydrological system to attenuate nutrient fluxes for highly adsorbed elements such as P. Consequently, there is a potential risk of P transfers to shallow groundwater systems. We suggest that the findings are not specific to biosolids-alone, which is a highly regulated industry, but that similar results may be anticipated had livestock waste or mineral fertilizer been applied, although the magnitude of losses may differ. The risk appears to be more one of timing and the availability of a rapid transport pathway than of P source.
KW - Biosolids
KW - Sewage sludge
KW - Phosphorus
KW - Diffuse pollution
KW - Drainage
KW - Agriculture
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.02.033
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.02.033
M3 - Journal article
VL - 365
SP - 33
EP - 46
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
IS - 1-3
ER -