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Relating P Lability in Stream Sediments to Watershed Land Use via an Effective Sequential Extraction Scheme

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Abstract

High applications of P fertilizers and manure are general practice in intensive agriculture and may cause eutrophication in adjacent streams. Bioavailability of P can be estimated by sequential extractions commonly used for soil or sediment. A single combined method may facilitate more effective comparisons of topsoils and adjoining stream sediments, and enhance management decisions. In this study, the suitability of an established soil P sequential extraction was tested on stream bed sediments. The study was conducted in the Sumas River watershed in the agricultural Lower Fraser Valley, Canada. Sediment samples with differing land use (forest, low and high intensity agriculture) from 1993, 1994, 2008, and 2009 from 14 sites along the Sumas River and tributaries were used. Total sequential extraction concentrations were in agreement with aqua regia digestion (Rs = 0.96) and showed consistency over the study time sequence. P fractions released by 0.5 M NaHCO3 (median 14 %), 0.1 M NaOH (33 %), and 1.0 M HCl (38 %) were significantly (α = 0.05) higher than P released by other extractants. These three extraction steps provide a practical and time-effective assessment of P lability in stream sediments and may be used as a combined scheme for sediment and soil. Analytical results further revealed that land use has a major and characteristic impact on P lability. With a land use change from forest to intensive agriculture, results showed an increase in total P concentrations (30 to 4,000 ppm) and in P lability, in particular for the moderately labile NaOH-P fraction (20 to 50 %).

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Abbreviations

P:

Phosphorus

Rs:

Spearman rank correlation coefficient

M:

Molar concentration (mol L−1)

NaHCO3 :

Sodium bicarbonate

NaOH:

Sodium hydroxide

HCl:

Hydrochloric acid

AAO:

Acid ammonium oxalate

AQ:

Aqua regia digestion

SEQ:

Sequential extraction

SR:

Sumas River

SC:

Swift Creek

AS:

Arnold Slough

MC:

Marshall Creek

R 2 :

Linear Pearson regression coefficient

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Acknowledgments

Silja V. Hund acknowledges funding from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The authors also would like to thank Hans Schreier for his contributions to this work and Trudy Naugler for the assistance with the laboratory analysis, both from the University of British Columbia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Silja V. Hund, Sandra Brown & Les M. Lavkulich

  2. Institute of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476, Golm, Potsdam, Germany

    Silja V. Hund & Sascha E. Oswald

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  1. Silja V. Hund
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Correspondence to Silja V. Hund.

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Hund, S.V., Brown, S., Lavkulich, L.M. et al. Relating P Lability in Stream Sediments to Watershed Land Use via an Effective Sequential Extraction Scheme. Water Air Soil Pollut 224, 1643 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-013-1643-9

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