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- Title
Speciation and distribution of organic phosphorus in river sediments: a national survey.
- Authors
McDowell, Richard; Hill, S.
- Abstract
Purpose: Organic phosphorus (P) can play a role in in-stream productivity (e.g., periphyton or macrophyte growth), but little is known of the largest likely source of organic P-bed sediment. A survey was conducted of 76 bed sediment samples of rivers within the New Zealand National River Water Quality Network in an effort to determine the concentration and form of organic P species, and variation according to catchment and sediment characteristics or classifications used to characterise anthropogenic P inputs (e.g., as baseline [viz. reference] or impact sites) and therefore likely in-stream productivity. Materials and methods: Sediments were analysed for a range of physiochemical properties. NaOH-EDTA extracts were analysed by P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (P NMR), which isolated orthophosphate from other P species including orthophosphate monoesters, orthophosphate diesters and pyrophosphate. Results and discussion: More P was extracted from sediments at impact compared to baseline sites, while the proportion of organic P increased where microbial processing (as reflected by site elevation) decreased. Analysis by P NMR of sediments showed they contained fewer and less-enriched forms of organic P than profiles of typical lake sediments or soils (e.g., no phosphonates or polyphosphates). This was hypothesised to reflect either low P inputs via catchment runoff, or efficient utilisation due to strong P limitation. Conclusions: Some evidence was found of changes in the distribution and form of organic P species in relation to anthropogenic activity and sediment processes. However, organic P concentrations were small and only represented a single sampling. Hence, additional work needs to examine if these changes relate to changes in in-stream productivity over time.
- Subjects
PHOSPHORUS analysis; GENETIC speciation; RIVER sediments
- Publication
Journal of Soils & Sediments: Protection, Risk Assessment, & Remediation, 2015, Vol 15, Issue 12, p2369
- ISSN
1439-0108
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11368-015-1125-3