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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #154578
Title: EFFECT OF LEAF LITTER ON PHOSPHORUS RETENTION AND HYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES AT A 1ST ORDER STREAM IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA, USA.

Author
item HAGGARD, BRIAN
item STORM, DANIEL - OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

Submitted to: Journal of Freshwater Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/8/2003
Publication Date: 12/1/2003
Citation: HAGGARD, B.E., STORM, D.E. EFFECT OF LEAF LITTER ON PHOSPHORUS RETENTION AND HYDROLOGIC PROPERTIES AT A 1ST ORDER STREAM IN NORTHEAST OKLAHOMA, USA. JOURNAL OF FRESHWATER ECOLOGY. 2003. V. 18(8). P. 557-565.

Interpretive Summary: A series of solute injections were used in a small headwater stream in northeastern Oklahoma to assess the effect of leaf litter on phosphorus retention and hydrologic properties. Phosphorus retention was evaluated using the spiraling concept and estimation of the phosphorus uptake length. Phosphorus uptake length is the average distance a phosphorus molecule travels in the water column before being assimilated by abiotic or biotic processes in a stream. The hydrologic properties measured included average, minimum and maximum water velocity, dispersion, transient storage area, and exchange rate between transient storage areas and the main stream channel. Transient storage areas are portion of the stream where water is moving slower than the average water velocity in the main stream channel. Phosphorus uptake length was less in fall (86 m) compared to summer (117 m). During similar stream flow, leaf litter had a an effect on hydrologic properties reducing the velocity with which water travels through the main channel and increasing absolute transient storage area. Overall, the input of leaf litter into this small stream had a relatively small effect on phosphorus uptake length, but our results suggest P retention was slightly greater during fall compared to summer probably because of changes in hydrologic properties.

Technical Abstract: Many abiotic and biotic processes, as well as hydrology and the level of phosphorus (P) enrichment during short-term additions, affect uptake length (Sw) in streams. In this study, the relation between Sw measured by stable PO4 additions and the level of PO4 enrichment from the additions during summer and fall was examined in Willow Branch, a 1st order stream in the southwestern portion of the Ozark Plateaus in northeast Oklahoma, USA. The y-intercept of this relation was used to more closely approximate ambient Sw and other metrics of P retention efficiency during summer and fall and determine the effect of leaf litter input on P retention efficiency and hydrological properties. Under similar discharge, the presence of the leaf litter during fall decreased water velocity and dispersion coefficient while the transient storage area increased compared to summer. An increase in Sw was generally observed with an increase in the level of P enrichment, and the linear relation (y-intercept) estimated Sw at 117 and 86 m during summer and fall. The slope of the linear relations was variable because a 5 ug L-1 increase in P enrichment resulted in a 27 and 5 m increase in Sw estimation during summer and fall. Overall, the input of leaf litter into Willow Branch had a relatively small effect on Sw , but our results suggest P retention was slightly greater during fall compared to summer.