Assessing nutrient transport following dredging of agricultural drainage ditches.

摘要

Agricultural drainage ditches are vital for many agricultural landscapes in the U.S. Previous research has indicated that dredging agricultural drainage ditches may degrade water quality. In this study, we monitored nutrient transport in two drainage ditches for six years (2003-2008), during which two dredging activities occurred. Ditch reach nutrient loads were calculated on a monthly and annual basis for the two ditches, as hydrology and water chemistry were monitored daily during the growing season. When dredging activities occurred within the previous 12 months, reach loads were significantly reduced for all nutrients monitored, with net losses in the dredged reaches of NH₄-N (-94 kg), soluble P (SP; -6.6 kg), and total P (TP; -5.4 kg). When examining annual reach loads, the nutrient losses from recently dredged reaches were generally significantly lower than the other reaches during the same year. The apparent improvements in water chemistry seem to be contrary to earlier reports of potentially degraded water quality immediately after dredging. We attribute this to: (1) oxidation of reduced sediments, (2) deposition of "fresh" sediments, (3) recolonization by filamentous algae and higher plants, and (4) formation of biofilms on the exposed sediments. To avoid the detrimental impacts on water quality immediately after dredging, and to maximize the benefit of ditch recovery, we propose that ditch managers work with agricultural producers to delay nutrient applications to adjacent fields for at least one month after dredging activities. This should allow the ditches sufficient time to recover their ecological function following dredging.