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Effectiveness of Vegetated Buffer Strips in Controlling Legacy Phosphorus Exports from Agricultural Land
Author(s) -
Habibiandehkordi Reza,
Lobb David A.,
Owens Philip N.,
Flaten Don N.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2018.04.0129
Subject(s) - soil water , topsoil , buffer strip , subsoil , surface runoff , environmental science , eutrophication , phosphorus , fertilizer , manure , saturation (graph theory) , leaching (pedology) , vegetation (pathology) , agronomy , chemistry , soil science , nutrient , ecology , biology , medicine , mathematics , combinatorics , organic chemistry , pathology
The continued phosphorus (P) impairment of freshwaters and the associated risk of eutrophication raise questions regarding the efficiency of current beneficial management practices (BMPs) for improving water quality. Vegetated buffer strips (VBSs) are widely encouraged BMPs for reducing P export from agricultural land. However, there is a lack of evidence regarding the long‐term efficiency of VBSs for reducing legacy P losses. This research used soil analyses to investigate the P removal efficiency of an unmanaged VBS for controlling P loss from agricultural land in Manitoba, Canada, between 1954 and 2011. The results showed statistically significant retention of total P, Olsen extractable P, and 0.01 M CaCl 2 extractable P by a 5‐m wide VBS compared with field soils. We found that surface soils at 5‐m into the VBS had a significantly greater P sorption capacity and a smaller degree of P saturation (DPS) than adjacent field soils. The elevated DPS in field soils is likely associated with gradual P enrichment as a result of manure or fertilizer application over time and the strong affinity of P compounds for soil. Although P stratification in the VBS over 57 yr resulted in a significant increase (∼11%) in DPS of VBS topsoil compared with VBS subsoil, our findings do not support the saturation of VBS soils with P. However, cutting and removal of vegetation from VBS could be a useful strategy to remove P from VBS and minimize possible P remobilization associated with vegetation senescence, especially where the climate is cold and runoff is dominated by snowmelt. Core Ideas Vegetated buffer strips (VBSs) reduced legacy P losses from adjacent land. VBS soils had a significantly greater P sorption capacity than field soils. VBS soils had a significantly smaller degree of P saturation than field soils. VBS soils did not get saturated with P exports from adjacent land even after 57 yr.