Watershed- and reach-scale drivers of phosphorus retention and release by streambed sediment in a western Lake Erie watershed during summer

Rebecca M. Kreiling; Patrik Mathis Perner; Kenna Jean Breckner; Tanja N. Williamson; Lynn A. Bartsch; James M. Hood; Nathan F. Manning; Laura T. Johnson

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160804

USGS · 70239810

Watershed- and reach-scale drivers of phosphorus retention and release by streambed sediment in a western Lake Erie watershed during summer

Rebecca M. Kreiling·Patrik Mathis Perner·Kenna Jean Breckner·Tanja N. Williamson·Lynn A. Bartsch·James M. Hood·Nathan F. Manning·Laura T. Johnson

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Abstract

Reducing phosphorus (P) concentrations in aquatic ecosystems, is necessary to improve water quality and reduce the occurrence of harmful cyanobacterial algal blooms. Managing P reduction requires information on the role rivers play in P transport from land to downstream water bodies, but we have a poor understanding of when and where river systems are P sources or sinks. During the summers of 2019 and 2021, we sampled streambed sediment at 78 sites throughout the Maumee River network (a major source of P loads to Lake Erie) focusing on the zero equilibrium P concentration (EPC 0 ), the soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentration at which sediment neither sorbs nor desorbs P. We used structural equation modeling to identify direct and indirect drivers of EPC 0 . Stream sediment was a P sink at 40 % and 67 % of sites in 2019 and 2021, respectively. During both years, spatial variation in EPC 0 was shaped by stream water SRP concentrations, sediment P saturation, and sediment physicochemical characteristics. In turn, SRP concentrations and sediment P saturation (PSR) were influenced by agricultural land use and stream size. Effect of stream size differed among years with stream size having a greater effect on SRP in 2019 and on PSR in 2021. Streambed sediment is currently a net P sink across the sites sampled in the Maumee River network during summer, but sediment at these locations, especially sites in headwater streams, may become a P source if stream water SRP concentrations decrease. Our results improve the understanding of watershed- and reach-scale controls on EPC 0 but also indicate the need for further research on how changes in SRP concentration as a result of conservation management implementation influences the role of streambed sediment in P transport to Lake Erie.

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Science of the Total Environment Article

Source-reported bounding extent: 40.73618231726948° to 42.31459273306595° latitude; -84.73156164832794° to -82.62308207803166° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Rebecca M. Kreiling, Patrik Mathis Perner, Kenna Jean Breckner, Tanja N. Williamson, Lynn A. Bartsch, James M. Hood, Nathan F. Manning, Laura T. Johnson. 2023. Watershed- and reach-scale drivers of phosphorus retention and release by streambed sediment in a western Lake Erie watershed during summer. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160804

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