Abstract:
The loss of nutrients, particularly phosphorus (P), in agricultural drainage waters is a priority conservation concern. Open drainage ditches concentrate runoff and therefore offer opportunities for capturing P in runoff from large areas of land. This paper provides an overview of the potential to use P sorbing materials in drainage ditches to sequester dissolved P from ditch water. We describe factors affecting the selection of P sorbing materials for use in treating ditch water and review several approaches to their application in ditches. In addition, experiential insight is provided with regard to developing and installing a P removal structure within a ditch that has high concentrations of dissolved P in flow. Preliminary data indicate that such structures have great promise in treating not only dissolved P in ditch flow, but also trace metals (arsenic, copper, nickel, zinc).
Footnotes
Chad J. Penn is an assistant professor of soil and environmental chemistry in the Department of Plant and Soil Science, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okalahoma. Ray B. Bryant is a research unit leader and Peter J.A. Kleinman is a soil scientist at the Pasture Systems and Watershed Research Management Unit, USDA Agricultural Research Service, University Park, Pennsylvania. Arthur L. Allen is an associate professor in the Department of Agriculture at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Maryland.
- Copyright 2007 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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