Soil Phosphorus Forms and Storage in Stormwater Treatment Areas of the Everglades: Influence of Vegetation and Nutrient Loading

Reddy, K. R., Vardanyan, L. G., Hu, J., Villapando, O., Bhomia, R. K., Smith, T., Harris, W. G., & Newman, S. (2020). Soil Phosphorus Forms and Storage in Stormwater Treatment Areas of the Everglades: Influence of Vegetation and Nutrient Loading. Science of The Total Environment. 725, 138442. DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138442.

Abstract

Stormwater treatment areas (STAs) are an integral component of the Everglades restoration strategies to reduce phosphorus (P) loads from adjacent agricultural and urban areas. The overall objective of this study was to determine the forms and distribution of P in floc and soils along the flow-path of two parallel flow-ways (FWs) in STA-2 with emergent aquatic vegetation (EAV) and submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), respectively, to assess their stability and potential for long term storage. In EAV high organic matter accretion supported low bulk density and high P concentrations in floc and soil, while high mineral matter accretion in SAV resulted in high bulk density and low P concentrations. Approximately 25–30% of the total P is identified as highly reactive P (HRP) pools, 50–60% in moderately reactive P (RP) forms, and 15–20% in the non-reactive P (NRP) pool. Within HRP and RP pools, a large proportion of P in the SAV areas was inorganic while organic P was more dominant in the EAV areas. Enrichment of total P (especially in HRP and RP pools) found in the upstream areas of both FWs resulted from the P loading into FWs over time, and the surplus P conditions can potentially support flux into the water column. In EAV FW, approximately 45% of the P retained was recovered in floc and RAS and remaining was possibly retained in the above and below ground biomass and incorporated into subsurface soils. In SAV FW, all of the P retained was recovered in floc and soils suggesting P retention in plants was not significant. For STAs to continue to function effectively and meet the desired outflow TP concentrations, management strategies should be aimed to promote P limiting conditions within the system to avoid release of P from floc and soils to water column and potential downstream transport.