W.J. Chardon

Mitigation options to reduce phosphorus losses from the agricultural sector and improve surface water quality: a review

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) obliges Member States to improve the quality of surface water and groundwater. The measures implemented to date have reduced the contribution of point sources of pollution, and hence diffuse pollution from agriculture has become more important. In many catchments the water quality remains poor. COST Action 869 was an EU initiative to improve surface water quality that ran from 2006 to 2011, in which 30 countries participated. Its main aim was a scientific evaluation of the suitability and cost-effectiveness of options for reducing nutrient loss from rural areas to surface waters at catchment scale, including the feasibility of the options under different climatic and geographical conditions. This paper gives an overview of various categories of mitigation options in relation to phosphorus (P). The individual measures are described in terms of their mode of action, applicability, effectiveness, time frame, environmental side-effects (N cycling) and cost. In total, 83 measures were evaluated in COST Action 869.

Emerging technologies for removing nonpoint phosphorus from surface water and groundwater: introduction.

Coastal and freshwater eutrophication continues to accelerate at sites around the world despite intense efforts to control agricultural P loss using traditional conservation and nutrient management strategies. To achieve required reductions in nonpoint P over the next decade, new tools will be needed to address P transfers from soils and applied P sources. Innovative remediation practices are being developed to remove nonpoint P sources from surface water and groundwater using P sorbing materials (PSMs) derived from natural, synthetic, and industrial sources. A wide array of technologies has been conceived, ranging from amendments that immobilize P in soils and manures to filters that remove P from agricultural drainage waters. This collection of papers summarizes theoretical modeling, laboratory, field, and economic assessments of P removal technologies. Modeling and laboratory studies demonstrate the importance of evaluating P removal technologies under controlled conditions before field deployment, and field studies highlight several challenges to P removal that may be unanticipated in the laboratory, including limited P retention by filters during storms, as well as clogging of filters due to sedimentation. Despite the potential of P removal technologies to improve water quality, gaps in our knowledge remain, and additional studies are needed to characterize the long-term performance of these technologies, as well as to more fully understand their costs and benefits in the context of whole-farm- and watershed-scale P management.

Use of reactive materials to bind phosphorus

Phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural soils have caused surface water quality impairment in many regions of the world, including The Netherlands. Due to the large amounts of P accumulated in Dutch soils, the generic fertilizer and manure policy will not be sufficient to reach in time the surface water quality standards of the European Water Framework Directive. Additional measures must be considered to further reduce P enrichment of surface waters. One option is to immobilize P in soils or manure or to trap P when it moves through the landscape by using reactive materials with a large capacity to retain P. We characterized and tested two byproducts of the process of purification of deep groundwater for drinking water that could be used as reactive materials: iron sludge and iron-coated sand. Both materials contain low amounts of inorganic contaminants, which also have a low (bio)availability, and bound a large amount of P. We could describe sorption of P to the iron sludge in batch experiments well with the kinetic Freundlich equation (Q = × t (m) × C(n)). Kinetics had a large influence on P sorption in batch and column experiments and should be taken into account when iron-containing materials are tested for their capability to immobilize or trap P. A negative aspect of the iron sludge is its low hydraulic conductivity; even when mixed with pure sand to a mixture containing 20% sludge, the conductivity was very low, and only 10% sludge may be needed before application is possible in filters or barriers for removing P from groundwater. Due to its much higher hydraulic conductivity, iron-coated sand has greater potential for use under field conditions. Immobilizing P could be an option for using iron sludge as a reactive material.

Phytoextraction of phosphorus-enriched grassland soils.

High soil P contents in agricultural soils in the Netherlands cause excessive losses of P to surface waters. The reductions in P application rates in the present manure policy are not sufficient to reach surface water quality standards resulting from the European Water Framework Directive in 2015. Accordingly, additional measures are necessary to reduce P loading to surface water. Greenhouse experiments showed that a rapid reduction in soluble P and readily available soil P can be obtained by zero P application. However, field data confirming these findings are scarce. In 2002 a phytoextraction experiment started on four grasslands sites on sand, peat, and clay soils. The phytoextraction (mining) plots receive no P and 300 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) and the grass is removed by mowing. The experiment showed that zero P application, over a period of 5 yr, led to a strong (30-90%) reduction in P concentrations in soil solution in the upper soil layer (0-0.05 m). The reduction in concentrations declined with depth. Mining also resulted in a decline in P pools in the soil solid phase. The largest decline (10-60%) was found in weakly bound P pools (water extractable P; P(w), and ammonium lactate extractable P; P-AL), whereas reductions in more strongly bound P forms were relatively small. It may be concluded that phytoextraction appears an effective method of reducing soil P concentrations in the uppermost soil layers in a couple of years and prolonged mining may thus be effective in reducing leaching and runoff of P.

Comparing different extraction methods for estimating phosphorus solubility in various soil types

In areas with intensive animal livestock farming, agricultural soils are enriched with phosphorus (P). These soils exhibit an increased risk for P transfer to the sub-soil and surface water via leaching. Besides the presence of hydrological pathways between a field and surface water, P in soil solution should be studied for evaluating the environmental risk. For this purpose, soil P extraction methods can be used. In this study, we tested the relation between various extraction methods and P in soil solution, simulated by a water extraction at a soil-to-solution ratio of 1:2 (w/v) using field-moist topsoils sampled from the major Dutch soil types (noncalcareous and calcareous sand and clay, reclaimed peat, and peat). The following methods were used: Pw (1:60 [v/v] water-extractable P), 0.01 M CaCl2 (1:10 [v/v]), FeO-strip, and acid ammonium oxalate-extractable P, Al, and Fe. Phosphorus in the 1:2 water extracts was mainly present as molybdate-reactive P (MRP). Extraction methods with the highest ability to predict MRP in 1:2 water extracts across different soil types were CaCl2, Pw, and FeO-strip, the latter two normalized for [Al + Fe]ox. However, for the peat and noncalcareous clay soils, also estimation of molybdate-unreactive P (MUP) is important because MUP dominates in the 1:2 water extracts of these soils. Thus, an extraction method that only determines MRP will not suffice, and further research is needed on the environmental risk of MUP in soil solution from these soil types. The calcareous sandy soils deviated significantly from the above mentioned relationships. For this soil type, it should be tested whether a single water extraction (e.g., Pw) suffices for determining the environmental risk.

Water and nutrient transport on a heavy clay soil in a fluvial plain in the Netherlands.

In flat areas, transport of dissolved nutrients by water through the soil matrix to groundwater and drains is assumed to be the dominant pathway for nutrient losses to ground- and surface waters. However, long-term data on the losses of nutrients to surface water and the contribution of various pathways is limited. We studied nutrient losses and pathways on a heavy clay soil in a fluvial plain in The Netherlands during a 5-yr period. Average annual nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses to surface water were 15.1 and 3.0 kg ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively. Losses were dominated by particulate N (50%) and P (70%) forms. Rapid discharge through trenches was the dominant pathway (60-90%) for water and nutrient transport. The contribution of pipe drains to the total discharge of water and nutrients was strongly related to the length of the dry period in the preceding summer. This relationship can be explained by the very low conductivity of the soil matrix and the formation of shrinkage cracks during summer. Losses of dissolved reactive P through pipe drains appear to be dominated by preferential flow based on the low dissolved reactive P concentration in the soil matrix at this depth. Rainfall occurring after manure application played an important role with respect to the annual losses of N and P in spring when heavy rainfall occurred within 2 wk after manure application.

Reducing phosphorus loading of surface water using iron-coated sand.

Phosphorus losses from agricultural soils is an important source of P in surface waters leading to surface water quality impairment. In addition to reducing P inputs, mitigation measures are needed to reduce P enrichment of surface waters. Because drainage of agricultural land by pipe drainage is an important pathway of P to surface waters, removing P from drainage water has a large potential to reduce P losses. In a field trial, we tested the performance of a pipe drain enveloped with Fe-coated sand, a side product of the drinking water industry with a high ability to bind P, to remove P from the drainage water. The results of this trial, encompassing more than one hydrological season, are very encouraging because the efficiency of this mitigation measure to remove P amounted to 94%. During the trial, the pipe drains were below the groundwater level for a prolonged time. Nevertheless, no reduction of Fe(III) in the Fe-coated sand occurred, which was most likely prevented by reduction of Mn oxides present in this material. The enveloped pipe drain was estimated to be able to lower the P concentration in the effluent to the desired water quality criterion for about 14 yr. Manganese oxides are expected to be depleted after 5 to 10 yr. The performance of the enveloped pipe drain, both in terms of its ability to remove P to a sufficiently low level and the stability of the Fe-coated sand under submerged conditions in the long term, needs prolonged experimental research.

Selective extraction of labile phosphorus using dialysis membrane tubes filled with hydrous iron hydroxide

Leaching of phosphorus (P) can be a serious problem in P-enriched sandy soils. Techniques that decrease the P content of such soils have been proposed as possible remediation methods. In this study, we determined the effect of P removal from two P-rich sandy soils on extractability of soil P in a laboratory experiment. We created soil samples in increasing stages of P depletion by using a sink method, which consists of a dialysis membrane tube filled with hydrous Fe-(hydr)oxide (DMT-HFO). Total amounts of P removed were relatively small compared with the high initial ammonium-oxalate extractable P contents. However, amounts of water and CaCl2 extractable P in the depleted soil samples decreased by 57 to 80%, on average, for both soils. On the other hand, the ammonium-oxalate-based P saturation index decreased by only 11%. Apparently, labile P forms were readily removed, which means that depletion by the DMT-HFO was selective. Our results suggest that remediation methods that remove a small but selective amount of P from soil may cause a significant decrease of the soil potential to release dissolved P. We also used our results to evaluate the suitability of the DMT-HFO to act as an infinite sink for P. For that, the desorption results were described with a simple kinetic Langmuir equation. Errors of kd (desorption constant) and Q0 (amount of P initially adsorbed) were calculated. Although the model fit was good for both soils (r2=0.98*** and 0.99***), errors in Q0 and kd were large. Therefore, the DMT-HFO method could not be used to determine the desorption constants of our soils. Values of kd and Q0 obtained by this method should not be used in modeling studies.

Speciation of water-extractable organic nutrients in grassland soils.

The release of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from agricultural land can have a large impact on the transport of N and phosphorus (P) to surface waters leading to water quality impairment. The speciation of DOM in agricultural grassland soils has received little attention thus far. Quantification of DOM speciation can improve our knowledge of its fate in these soils. Furthermore, the influence of temperature on DOM concentration and composition is still ambiguous. In this study, we determined the concentration and composition of water-extractable organic carbon (EOC), water-extractable organic N (EON), and water-extractable organic P (EOP) before and after incubation of sand, peat, and clay grassland soils at different temperatures (1.5 °C, 10 °C, and 20 °C) for 35 days. Extracted organic compounds were fractioned in three operationally defined fractions: humic acids (HA), fulvic acids (FA), and hydrophilic (Hy) compounds using a recently developed batch fractionation method. Both EON and EOP formed a major fraction of total N and P. Concentrations of EOC, EON, and EOP were different among the sand, peat, and clay soils, but their speciation was remarkably similar. The EOC and EON were mainly present in the hydrophobic form (HA and FA), whereas EOP was mainly present in the Hy fraction. An increase in temperature generally resulted in a decrease of the total EOC, EON, and EOP concentrations, whereas the speciation remained constant. The effect of temperature on the dynamics of DOM is not necessarily related to net changes in pool size of the HA, FA, and Hy fractions. Insight into the influence of incubation temperature on the dynamics of EOC, EON, and EOP can only be achieved when the processes responsible for the consumption and the production of dissolved organic nutrients are quantified.