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Study on phosphorus loadings in ten natural and agricultural watersheds in subtropical region of China

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Abstract

Water eutrophication in subtropical regions of southern China threatens watershed health and is of major concern. However, annual phosphorus (P) loading and its dominant causes are still unclear, especially at the watershed scale. In this study, we investigated dynamic P loadings and associated factors (e.g., land use, livestock production, and runoff depth) in ten watersheds that varied in area from 9 to 5,212 ha in a hilly area of Hunan Province, China. A flowmeter was installed at the outlet of each watershed, and total P (TP) and soluble P (SP) concentrations were monitored periodically from June 2010 to October 2012. The results showed that annual P loadings (APLs) in the ten watersheds ranged from 22.8 to 247.8 kg P/km2 and that P loss primarily occurred from April to June of each year during the main rainfall season in the study area. In addition, the average eutrophication (>0.05 mg P/L) ratio for stream waters was 86.7 % during the study period, which was indicative of a potentially serious condition for the local water environments. Annual P loadings were linearly related to livestock density (LD; R = 0.92, p < 0.01), whereas the eutrophication ratio of stream water was significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with LD (R = 0.61), percentage cropland (R = 0.71), and percentage forest cover (R = −0.68). Thus, it is concluded that the control of livestock production has the greatest potential for reducing P loadings in watersheds in this subtropical area. This will be beneficial to the amelioration and protection of local environment.

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Abbreviations

APL:

Annual phosphorus loading

ER:

Eutrophication ratio

LD:

Livestock density

RD:

Runoff depth

SP:

Soluble phosphorus

TP:

Total phosphorus

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Science Fund of China (41171396), the National Science & Technology Pillar Program (2012BAD14B17), and the Creative Research Teams Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-T07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, Hunan, 410125, China

    Yuyuan Li, Cen Meng, Ru Gao, Wen Yang, Junxia Jiao, Yong Li, Yi Wang & Jinshui Wu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, 10049, China

    Cen Meng & Junxia Jiao

  3. Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, 410125, China

    Wen Yang

  4. Mapoling, Furong District, Changsha City, Hunan Province, China, 410125

    Yuyuan Li

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  1. Yuyuan Li
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Correspondence to Yuyuan Li.

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Li, Y., Meng, C., Gao, R. et al. Study on phosphorus loadings in ten natural and agricultural watersheds in subtropical region of China. Environ Monit Assess 186, 2717–2727 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3573-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3573-9

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