Abstract
Nutrient leaching from agricultural areas is one of the main concerns of watershed management. The paper examines nitrogen and phosphorus leaching from different parts of small agricultural watershed (378 ha) that was divided into 6 subcatchments. The calculations of nutrient outflow are based on the detailed measurement at the time of intensive agricultural activities during 5 years (1987–1991). The results show that nutrient leaching can vary very much even in such a small catchment area. The retention of nitrogen and phosphorus took place in the storage lake: 3,900 and 2.2 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively. At the same time, in the small subcatchment with high shallow groundwater outflow value, the nitrogen and phosphorus outflow was 233 and 0.90 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively. The most effective mitigation method is establishing buffer zones on the banks of the stream. A buffer zone of 460 m length would remove 2,200 to 2,640 kg N and 12 to 15 kg P a year, a constructed wetland on the stream would remove 1,660 to 2,760 kg N and 3 to 4.5 kg P a year. The detailed study gives good opportunity to estimate most critical areas where application of mitigation methods is most needed and ecologically and economically effective.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
APHA 1981. Standard methods for the Examination of Water and WasteWater. 15th edition. American Public Health Organization, Washington, USA.
Arheimer B. and Wittgren H.B. 1994. Modelling the effects of wetlands on regional nitrogen transport. Ambio 23(6): 378-386.
Bastian O. and Schreiber K.-F. (eds) 1999. Analyse und ökologische Bewertung der Landschaft. 2., neubearbeitete Auflage. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag Heidelberg, Berlin, Germany.
Behrendt H., Lademann L., Pagenkopf W.-G., and Pöthig R. 1996. Vulnerable areas of phosphorus leaching-detection by GIS-analysis and measurements of phosphorus sorption capacity. Water Sci. Technol. 33(4-5): 175-181.
Blackwell M.S.A., Hogan D.V., and Maltby E. 1999. The use of conventionally and alternatively located buffer zones for the removal of nitrate from diffuse agricultural run-off. Water Sci. Technol. 39(12): 157-164.
Collinge S.K. 1996. Ecological consequences of habitat fragmentation: Implications for landscape architecture and planning. Landsc. Urb. Plan. 36: 59-77.
Fleischer S. and Stibe L. 1991. Drainage basin management-reducing river transported nitrogen. Verhandlungen Internationale Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 24: 1753-1755.
Forman R.T.T. and Gordon M. 1986. Landscape Ecology. John Wiley, New York, NY, USA.
Haycock N.E. and Muscutt A.D. 1995. Landscape management strategies for the control of diffuse pollution. Landsc. Urb. Plan. 31(1-3): 313-321.
Jensen J.J. and Skop E. 1998. Alternative strategies for reducing nitrogen loading. Environ. Pollut. 102(S1): 741-748.
Kuusemets V. and Mander Ñ. 1999. Ecotechnological measures to control nutrient losses from catchments. Water Sci. Technol. 40(10): 195-202.
Lowrance R., Todd R., Fail J., Hendrickson O., Leonard R., and Asmussen L. 1984. Riparian forests as nutrient filters in agricultural watersheds. Bioscience 34(6): 374-377.
Mander Ñ., Kull A., and Kuusemets V. 2000. Nutrien flows and land use change in a rural catchment: a modelling approach. Landsc. Ecol. 15: 187-1999.
Mander Ñ. and Järvet, A. 1998. Buffering Role of Small Reservoirs in Agricultural Catchments. Internl. Rev. Hydrobiol. 83: 639-646.
Mander Ñ., Kull A., Tamm V., Kuusemetes V., and Karjus R. 1998. Impact of climatic fluctuations and land use change on runoff and nutrient losses in rural landscapes. Landsc. Urb. Plann. 41: 229-238.
Mander Ñ., Kuusemets V., and Ivask M. 1995. Nutrient dynamics of riparian ecotones: A case study from the Porijõgi River catchment, Estonia. Landsc. Urb. Plann. 31: 333-348.
Mander Ñ., Kuusemets V., Järvet A., Häberli K., Nõges T., Tuvikene A., and Mauring T. 1997. Ecological engineering for wastewater control in agricultural catchment areas: Three case studies from Estonia. In: Etnier C. and Guterstam B. (eds), Ecological Engineering for Wastewater Treatment, CRC/Lewis, New York, NY, USA, pp. 263-286.
Mander Ñ. and Mauring T. 1994. Nitrogen and phosphorus retention in natural ecosystems. In: Ryszkowski L. and Balazy S. (eds), Functional Appraisal of Agricultural Landscape in Europe, Research Center for Agricultural and Forest Environment, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznan, Poland, pp. 77-94.
Mander Ñ. and Mauring T. 1997. Constructed wetlands for waste-water treatment in Estonia. Water Sci. Technol. 35(5): 323-330.
Peterjohn W.W. and Correll D.L. 1984. Nutrient dynamics in an agricultural watershed: observations on the role of a riparian forest. Ecology 65(5): 1466-1475.
Petersen R.C., Petersen L.B.-M., and Lacoursiére J. 1992. A building-block Model of Stream Restoration. In: Boon P.J., Calow P., and Petts G.E. (eds), River Conservation and Management, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., New York, NY, USA, pp. 293-309.
Pinay G. and Decamps H. 1988. The role of riparian woods in regulating nitrogen fluxes between the alluvial aquifer and surface water: A conceptual model. Regul. Riv. Res.Manag. 2: 507-516.
Pionke H.B., Gburek W.J., and Sharpley N. 2000. Critical source area controls on water quality in an agricultural watershed located in the Chesapeake Basin. Ecol. Engineer. 14(4): 325-335.
Sharpley A., Chapra S., Wedepohl R., Sims J., Daniel T., and Reddy K. 1994. Managing agricultural phosphorus for protection of surface waters-Issues and options. J. Environ. Quality 23(3): 437-451.
Straškraba M. 1996. Ecotechnological methods for managing nonpoint source pollution in watersheds, lakes and reservoirs. Water Sci. Technol. 33(4-5): 73-80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kuusemets, V., Mander, Ü. Nutrient flows and management of a small watershed. Landscape Ecology 17 (Suppl 1), 59–68 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015281727132
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015281727132