Floodwater Nutrient Processing in a Louisiana Swamp Forest Recieving Agriculture Runoff

摘要

From September 1978 through June 1979, experiments were carried out to: (1) measure N and P dynamics in a Louisiana swamp which receives agricultural runoff, (2) Calculate N and P budgets to determine if there was a net uptake or release, (3) Conduct laboratory experiments to determine the influence of leaf litter decomposition and dissolved oxygen nutrient retention by the swamp. A water budget was calculated as follows: input was 23% precipitation and 77% pumpage, outflows were 11% evapotranspiration and 89% drain. This water budget along with measured nutrient concentrations were used to calculate N and P budgets. Most of the input to the swamp study site (70% N, 74% P) was pumped into the ponds as particulates. The results indicate that the swamp can serve as long-term sink for significant quantities of N and P and that burial in sediments and denitrification are mechanisms for permanent losses.