Journal article
Authors list: Koch, Stefan; Lederer, Henrike; Kahle, Petra; Lennartz, Bernd
Publication year: 2023
Journal: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
Volume number: 195
Issue number: 8
ISSN: 0167-6369
eISSN: 1573-2959
Open access status: Hybrid
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11465-6
Publisher: Springer
Abstract:
Heterogeneous flow pathways through the soil determine the transport of dissolved and particle-bound nutritional elements like phosphorus (P) to ground and surface waters. This study was designed to understand the spatial patterns of P in agriculturally used soils and the mechanisms causing P accumulation and depletion at the centimetre scale. We conducted dye tracer experiments using Brilliant Blue on a loamy Stagnosol in North-Eastern-Germany. The plant-available P was analysed using double lactate extraction (DL-P). The plant-available P content of the topsoil was significantly higher than that of the subsoil in all three replicates (p < 0.001). The topsoil's stained areas showed significantly higher P contents than unstained areas (p < 0.05), while the opposite was found for the subsoil. The P content varied enormously across all observed soil profiles (4 to 112 mg P kg(-1) soil) and different categories of flow patterns (matrix flow, flow fingers, macropore flow, and no visible transport pathways). The P contents of these transport pathways differed significantly and followed the order: P-matrix flow > P-finger flow > P-no visible transport pathways > P-macropore flow. We conclude that P tends to accumulate along flow pathways in the topsoil in the observed fertilized and tilled mineral soil. In contrast, in the subsoil at a generally lower P level, P is depleted from the prominent macroporous flow domains.
Citation Styles
Harvard Citation style: Koch, S., Lederer, H., Kahle, P. and Lennartz, B. (2023) Linking transport pathways and phosphorus distribution in a loamy soil: a case study from a North-Eastern German Stagnosol, Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 195(8), Article 933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11465-6
APA Citation style: Koch, S., Lederer, H., Kahle, P., & Lennartz, B. (2023). Linking transport pathways and phosphorus distribution in a loamy soil: a case study from a North-Eastern German Stagnosol. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. 195(8), Article 933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11465-6
Keywords
AGRICULTURAL PHOSPHORUS; BRILLIANT BLUE FCF; DEPTH DISTRIBUTION; DYE; Dye tracer experiment; Macropore flow; Mecklenburg-Vorpommern; Non-uniform flow; PREFERENTIAL FLOW PATHWAYS; Stained flow path width
