TY - JOUR

T1 - Watershed Buffering of Legacy Phosphorus Pressure at a Regional Scale

T2 - A Comparison Across Space and Time

AU - Kusmer, A. S.

AU - Goyette, J.-O.

AU - MacDonald, G. K.

AU - Bennett, E. M.

AU - Maranger, R.

AU - Withers, P. J. A.

N1 - The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10021-018-0255-z

PY - 2019/1

Y1 - 2019/1

N2 - Phosphorus (P) plays a crucial role in both agricultural production and water quality. There has been growing recognition of the importance of ``legacy'' P (surplus P that has accumulated in watersheds over time) for understanding contemporary water quality outcomes; however, little is known about how different watersheds respond to cumulative pressures from surplus P. The ``buffering capacity'' concept describes the ability of watersheds to attenuate P loading to surface waters by retaining P inputs over time. To explore the role of various watershed characteristics in buffering capacity, we used historic P data to calculate indices describing long- and short-term buffering for 16 large watersheds in southern Quebec, Canada, across a 30-year time span (1981--2011). We examined the correlation between these buffering capacity indicators and a set of key geochemical, hydrological, landscape and socio-ecological variables that we hypothesized could influence P buffering dynamics. Both short- and long-term buffering metrics were most strongly correlated with hydrological characteristics. Riverine TP flux across the watersheds was most strongly correlated with long-term buffering, which could represent a dominant influence of legacy P on contemporary riverine P flux. However, short- and long-term watershed buffering indices were not correlated with each other, suggesting distinctly different timescales and mechanisms of buffering. Combining estimates of long-term P accumulation along with biophysical characteristics of the watershed (including hydrology) explained a much greater share of the variation in riverine TP flux (R2thinspace=thinspace0.69) than biophysical characteristics alone (R2thinspace=thinspace0.36). Our findings reinforce the need to consider P buffering capacity and legacy P accumulation to help guide decision making around regional water quality targets across human-dominated landscapes.

AB - Phosphorus (P) plays a crucial role in both agricultural production and water quality. There has been growing recognition of the importance of ``legacy'' P (surplus P that has accumulated in watersheds over time) for understanding contemporary water quality outcomes; however, little is known about how different watersheds respond to cumulative pressures from surplus P. The ``buffering capacity'' concept describes the ability of watersheds to attenuate P loading to surface waters by retaining P inputs over time. To explore the role of various watershed characteristics in buffering capacity, we used historic P data to calculate indices describing long- and short-term buffering for 16 large watersheds in southern Quebec, Canada, across a 30-year time span (1981--2011). We examined the correlation between these buffering capacity indicators and a set of key geochemical, hydrological, landscape and socio-ecological variables that we hypothesized could influence P buffering dynamics. Both short- and long-term buffering metrics were most strongly correlated with hydrological characteristics. Riverine TP flux across the watersheds was most strongly correlated with long-term buffering, which could represent a dominant influence of legacy P on contemporary riverine P flux. However, short- and long-term watershed buffering indices were not correlated with each other, suggesting distinctly different timescales and mechanisms of buffering. Combining estimates of long-term P accumulation along with biophysical characteristics of the watershed (including hydrology) explained a much greater share of the variation in riverine TP flux (R2thinspace=thinspace0.69) than biophysical characteristics alone (R2thinspace=thinspace0.36). Our findings reinforce the need to consider P buffering capacity and legacy P accumulation to help guide decision making around regional water quality targets across human-dominated landscapes.

KW - phosphorus

KW - watershed

KW - agriculture

KW - historic legacy

KW - land use

KW - hydrology

KW - soil P

KW - nutrient budgets

U2 - 10.1007/s10021-018-0255-z

DO - 10.1007/s10021-018-0255-z

M3 - Journal article

VL - 22

SP - 91

EP - 109

JO - Ecosystems

JF - Ecosystems

SN - 1435-0629

IS - 1

ER -