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Temporal variability in phosphorus transfers: classifying concentration-discharge event dynamics

Version 2 2024-06-04, 05:55
Version 1 2017-05-01, 15:13
journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-04, 05:55 authored by P Haygarth, BL Turner, A Fraser, S Jarvis, T Harrod, D Nash, David HalliwellDavid Halliwell, T Page, K Beven
The importance of temporal variability in relationships between phosphorus (P) concentration (C p ) and discharge (QI is linked to a simple means of classifying the circumstances of C p -Q relationships in terms of functional types of response. New experimental data at the upstream interface of grassland soil and catchment systems at a range of scales (lysimeters to headwaters) in England and Australia are used to demonstrate the potential of such an approach. Three types of event are defined as Types 1-3, depending on whether the relative change in Q exceeds the relative change in C p (Type 1), whether C p and Q are positively inter-related (Type 2) and whether C p varies yet Q is unchanged (Type 3). The classification helps to characterise circumstances that can be explained mechanistically in relation to (i) the scale of the study fwith a tendency towards Type 1 in small scale lysimeters), (ii) the form of P with a tendency for Type 1 for soluble (i.e., < 0.45 μm P forms) and (iii) the sources of P with Type 3 dominant where P availability overrides transport controls. This simple framework provides a basis for development of a more complex and quantitative classification of C p -Q relationships that can be developed further to contribute to future models of P transfer and delivery from slope to stream. Studies that evaluate the temporal dynamics of the transfer of P are currently grossly under-represented in comparison with models based on static/spatial factors.

History

Journal

Hydrology and earth system sciences

Volume

8

Pagination

88-97

Location

[Göttingen Germany]

ISSN

1027-5606

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2004, Author(s)

Issue

1

Publisher

Copernicus Publications