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Non-point source contribution and dynamics of soluble and particulate phosphorus from main tributaries of the Zarivar Lake watershed, Iran

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Abstract

The temporal variability of phosphorus (P) transport and the relationships between discharge, suspended sediment concentration and particulate (PP), and soluble (SP) phosphorus were examined. The study was conducted at the event scale in seven tributaries of the Zarivar Lake watershed in Kurdistan Province (Iran) from March 2011 to April 2012. Based on eight runoff events, 82% of the total P was the PP carried out by suspended sediment. Results showed a high variability of P transport during different runoff events. It was found that soil erosion was the source of the high P load. For all tributaries, PP was linearly related to both discharge and suspended sediment concentration. However, the relationships of SP and PP with discharge and suspended sediment concentration showed different hysteresis patterns. The relationship between PP and discharge was generally characterized by a clockwise pattern (i.e., lower part contribution of the sub-watersheds) but the patterns between SP and discharge were mainly anticlockwise (i.e., upper part contribution of the sub-watersheds or perhaps due to a subsurface flow contribution).

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Acknowledgments

The present paper has been written during the sabbatical leave of the first author facilitated by Tarbiat Modares University in Iran and Texas A&M University in USA whose valuable supports are acknowledged. The fieldwork data collection in this study has been also acquired in collaboration with the University of Kurdistan and NGO members in the study area. All physicochemical analyses of water and sediment samples have been done by the authors at the University of Kurdistan Laboratory.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Watershed Management Engineering, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

    Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi & Shirko Ebrahimi Mohammadi

  2. Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering & Zachry Department of Civil Engineering, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX, 77843-2117, USA

    Vijay P. Singh

  3. University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran

    Kamran Chapi

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  1. Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi
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  2. Shirko Ebrahimi Mohammadi
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  3. Vijay P. Singh
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  4. Kamran Chapi
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Correspondence to Seyed Hamidreza Sadeghi.

Additional information

• We determined the spatiotemporal variations of phosphorous to a eutrophicating inland lake in Iran.

• Some 82% of the total phosphorous was carried out by suspended sediment.

• The lower part of the sub-watersheds contributed more in transporting particulate phosphorous.

• Hysteresis patterns of solute phosphorous and discharge was mainly anticlockwise.

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Sadeghi, S.H., Ebrahimi Mohammadi, S., Singh, V.P. et al. Non-point source contribution and dynamics of soluble and particulate phosphorus from main tributaries of the Zarivar Lake watershed, Iran. Environ Monit Assess 189, 238 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5937-z

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