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EFFECT OF CATCHMENT SIZE ON PHOSPHORUS EXPORT 1
Author(s) -
T.Prairie Yves,
Kalff Jacob
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1986.tb01901.x
Subject(s) - drainage basin , phosphorus , environmental science , agriculture , catchment area , hydrology (agriculture) , drainage , structural basin , geography , ecology , geology , chemistry , biology , paleontology , cartography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
We tested the common assumption, made when expressing phosphorus export on an areal basis, that this export is a linear function of catchment area and found it wanting. The data show that in agricultural catchments, TP (total phosphorus) export varies as the 0.77 power of drainage basin area, resulting in a reduction in phosphorus delivery per unit area with increasing catchment size. Following further division of catchments according to agricultural practice, we found that this spatial scale effect is restricted to row crops and pastures. We present simple statistical models to allow a comparison of TP export from catchments of different size. Such models are not needed for nonrow crops, mixed agricultural and forested catchments, where TP export is a linear function of catchment size.
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