Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Nutrient and Trace Metal Fluxes into Estuarine Sediments Linked to Historical and Expanding Agricultural Activity (Hearnes Lake, Australia)

  • Published:
Estuaries and Coasts Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Agriculture activities in coastal catchments often contribute pollutant runoff such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and trace metals to estuarine environments. Here, we determine the historical impacts from agricultural expansion using sediment samples from an estuary and a coastal wetland downstream from intensive historical banana, and now, blueberry plantations (Hearnes Lake estuary, NSW, Australia). The three 210Pb dated sediment cores and surface sediment samples analyzed in this study revealed that trace metals (As, Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr) and N fluxes recently increased as a result of increasing sedimentation rates. Several moderate localized enrichments were observed in recent sediment layers. Most importantly, we found a clear link between the sediment P profile and recent blueberry cultivation. P enrichment increased by 9-fold and sediment fluxes by over 40-fold (up to 12.6 mg m−2 year−1) during the expansion of blueberry cultivation within the catchment since 2002. The trapping of sediments enriched in P by the wetlands provided a good chronology of agricultural practices in the region. With a global and regional increase in estuarine eutrophication, this study further demonstrates the importance of agricultural sources and the role coastal wetlands play in sequestering P from runoff.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrahim, G., and R. Parker. 2008. Assessment of heavy metal enrichment factors and the degree of contamination in marine sediments from Tamaki Estuary, Auckland, New Zealand. Environmental monitoring and assessment 136: 227–238.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aller, R.C. 1980. Quantifying solute distributions in the bioturbated zone of marine sediments by defining an average microenvironment. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 44 (12): 1955–1965.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Alongi, D.M. 2014. Carbon cycling and storage in mangrove forests. Annual Review of Marine Science 6 (1): 195–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrade, R., C.J. Sanders, G. Boaventura, and S.R. Patchineelam. 2012. Pyritization of trace metals in mangrove sediments. Environmental Earth Sciences 67 (6): 1757–1762.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Appleby, P.G., and F. Oldfield. 1978. The calculation of lead-210 dates assuming a constant rate of supply of unsupported 210Pb to the sediment. CATENA 5 (1): 1–8.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Australia, C.o. 2001. Solitary Islands Marine Reserve (Commonwealth Waters) Management Plan, ed. E. Australia. Canberra.

  • Baldwin, D., A. Mitchell, and J. Olley. 2002. 12 pollutant–sediment interactions: sorption, reactivity and transport of phosphorus. Agriculture, hydrology and water quality: 265.

  • Berner, R. 1985. Sulphate reduction, organic matter decomposition and pyrite formation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A 315 (1531): 25–38.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birch, G. 2016. Determination of sediment metal background concentrations and enrichment in marine environments—a critical review. Science of The Total Environment.

  • Birch, G.F. 2017. Assessment of human-induced change and biological risk posed by contaminants in estuarine/harbour sediments: Sydney Harbour/estuary (Australia). Marine Pollution Bulletin 116 (1-2): 234–248.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Borges, A., C. Sanders, H. Santos, D. Araripe, W. Machado, and S. Patchineelam. 2009. Eutrophication history of Guanabara Bay (SE Brazil) recorded by phosphorus flux to sediments from a degraded mangrove area. Marine Pollution Bulletin 58 (11): 1750–1754.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Breithaupt, J.L., J.M. Smoak, R.H. Byrne, M.N. Waters, R.P. Moyer, and C.J. Sanders. 2018. Avoiding timescale bias in assessments of coastal wetland vertical change. Limnology and Oceanography 63 (S1): S477–S495.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, E.D., R.T. Bush, L.A. Sullivan, S.G. Johnston, and R.K. Hocking. 2008. Mobility of arsenic and selected metals during re-flooding of iron- and organic-rich acid-sulfate soil. Chemical Geology 253 (1-2): 64–73.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, E.D., S.G. Johnston, and B.D. Kocar. 2014. Arsenic mobility during flooding of contaminated soil: the effect of microbial sulfate reduction. Environmental Science & Technology 48 (23): 13660–13667.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carey, C.C., and E.J.L. Rydin. 2011. Lake trophic status can be determined by the depth distribution of sediment phosphorus. Limnology and Oceanography 56: 2051–2063.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, S.R. 2005. Eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems: bistability and soil phosphorus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102 (29): 10002–10005.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, S.R., and C.J. Sanders. 2017. Influence of anthropogenic activities on trace metal accumulation in Brazilian mangrove sediments. Revista Virtual de Química 9 (5): 2017–2031.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conrad, S.R., I.R. Santos, D.R. Brown, L.M. Sanders, M.L. van Santen, and C.J. Sanders. 2017. Mangrove sediments reveal records of development during the previous century (Coffs Creek estuary, Australia). Marine Pollution Bulletin 122 (1-2): 441–445.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crecelius, E.A., M.H. Bothner, and R. Carpenter. 1975. Geochemistries of arsenic, antimony, mercury, and related elements in sediments of Puget Sound. Environmental Science & Technology 9 (4): 325–333.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cutshall, N.H., I.L. Larsen, and C.R. Olsen. 1983. Direct analysis of 210Pb in sediment samples: self-absorption corrections. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research 206 (1-2): 309–312.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Davidson, M.A., B.D. Morris, and I.L. Turner. 2009. A simple numerical model for inlet sedimentation at intermittently open–closed coastal lagoons. Continental Shelf Research 29 (16): 1975–1982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeLaune, R., W. Patrick Jr., and R.J.N. Buresh. 1978. Sedimentation rates determined by 137Cs dating in a rapidly accreting salt marsh. Vol. 275, 532.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Stefano, C., V. Ferro, and S. Mirabile. 2010. Comparison between grain-size analyses using laser diffraction and sedimentation methods. Biosystems Engineering 106 (2): 205–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ding, S., C. Han, Y. Wang, L. Yao, Y. Wang, D. Xu, Q. Sun, P.N. Williams, and C. Zhang. 2015. In situ, high-resolution imaging of labile phosphorus in sediments of a large eutrophic lake. Water Research 74: 100–109.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doughty, C.C., E.B. Adams, and L.W. Martin. 1988. Highbush blueberry production in Washington and Oregon. PNW-Pacific Northwest Extension Publication, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho State Universities, Cooperative Extension Service (USA).

  • Duruibe, J.O., M. Ogwuegbu, and J. Egwurugwu. 2007. Heavy metal pollution and human biotoxic effects. International Journal of physical sciences 2: 112–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elledge, A., and C. Thornton. 2017. Effect of changing land use from virgin brigalow (Acacia harpophylla) woodland to a crop or pasture system on sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus in runoff over 25 years in subtropical Australia. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 239: 119–131.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, H., J. Kirk Cochran, H. Lwiza, B.J. Brownawell, and D.J. Hirschberg. 1998. Distribution of heavy metal and PCB contaminants in the sediments of an urban estuary: the Hudson River. Marine Environmental Research 45 (1): 69–88.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira, A.C., and L.D. Lacerda. 2016. Degradation and conservation of Brazilian mangroves, status and perspectives. Ocean & Coastal Management 125: 38–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujii, R. 1988. Water-quality and sediment-chemistry data of drain water and evaporation ponds from Tulare Lake drainage district, Kings County, California, March 1985 to March 1986. United States: USGS.

  • Fulton, M.H., D.W. Moore, E.F. Wirth, G.T. Chandler, P.B. Key, J.W. Daugomah, E.D. Strozier, J. Devane, J.R. Clark, and M.A. Lewis. 1999. Assessment of risk reduction strategies for the management of agricultural nonpoint source pesticide runoff in estuarine ecosystems. Toxicology and Industrial Health 15 (1-2): 201–214.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerritse, R., P. Wallbrink, and A. Murray. 1998. Accumulation of phosphorus and heavy metals in the Swan-Canning Estuary, Western Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 47 (2): 165–179.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gruber, N., and J.N. Galloway. 2008. An Earth-system perspective of the global nitrogen cycle. Nature 451 (7176): 293–296.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haines, P. 2006a. Hearnes Lake estuary processes study. Broadmeadow, NSW: WBM Oceanics Pty Ltd.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haines, P.E. 2006b. Physical and chemical behaviour and management of intermittently closed and open lakes and lagoons (ICOLLs) in NSW. Griffith University.

  • Haines, P., R. Tomlinson, and B. Thom. 2006. Morphometric assessment of intermittently open/closed coastal lagoons in New South Wales, Australia. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 67 (1-2): 321–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hakanson, L. 1980. An ecological risk index for aquatic pollution control. A sedimentological approach. Water Research 14 (8): 975–1001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han, Y., D. Peixuan, C. Junji, and E.S.J.S.o.t.t.e. Posmentier. 2006. Multivariate analysis of heavy metal contamination in urban dusts of Xi’an, Central China. 355: 176–186.

  • Harriott, V., S. Smith, and P.L. Harrison. 1994. Patterns of coral community structure of subtropical reefs in the Solitary Islands Marine Reserve, Eastern Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series 109: 67–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, M.R., B.F. Quin, and M. Nguyen. 2004. Phosphorus runoff from agricultural land and direct fertilizer effects. Journal of Environmental Quality 33 (6): 1954–1972.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Herbert, R. 1999. Nitrogen cycling in coastal marine ecosystems. FEMS Microbiology Reviews 23 (5): 563–590.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holtan, H., L. Kamp-Nielsen, and A.O. Stuanes. 1988. Phosphorus in soil, water and sediment: an overview, 19–34. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooda, P., A. Edwards, H. Anderson, and A. Miller. 2000. A review of water quality concerns in livestock farming areas. Science of the Total Environment 250 (1-3): 143–167.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hopkinson, C.S., and J.J. Vallino. 1995. The relationships among man’s activities in watersheds and estuaries: a model of runoff effects on patterns of estuarine community metabolism. Estuaries 18 (4): 598–621.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, H.M., and R.S. Walton. 2008. Land-use effects on fluxes of suspended sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus from a river catchment of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Journal of Hydrology 356 (1-2): 131–146.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jennerjahn, T., and V. Ittekkot. 1997. Organic matter in sediments in the mangrove areas and adjacent continental margins of Brazil. 1. Amino acids and hexosamines. Oceanolica Acta 20: 359–369.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kading, T., R. Mason, and J.J.M.p.b. Leaner. 2009. Mercury contamination history of an estuarine floodplain reconstructed from a 210Pb-dated sediment core (Berg River, South Africa). 59: 116–122.

  • Keene, A.F., S.G. Johnston, R.T. Bush, E.D. Burton, and L.A. Sullivan. 2010. Reactive trace element enrichment in a highly modified, tidally inundated acid sulfate soil wetland: East Trinity, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin 60 (4): 620–626.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirwan, M.L., and J.P. Megonigal. 2013. Tidal wetland stability in the face of human impacts and sea-level rise. Nature 504 (7478): 53–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krishnaswami, S., and D. Lal. 1978. Radionuclide limnochronology. In Lakes, 153–177: Springer.

  • Kumar, A., and A. Ramanathan. 2015. Speciation of selected trace metals (Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn) with depth in the sediments of Sundarban mangroves: India and Bangladesh. Journal of Soils and Sediments 15 (12): 2476–2486.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lambert, R., C. Grant, and S. Sauvé. 2007. Cadmium and zinc in soil solution extracts following the application of phosphate fertilizers. Science of the Total Environment 378 (3): 293–305.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loring, D.H., and R. Rantala. 1992. Manual for the geochemical analyses of marine sediments and suspended particulate matter. Earth-Science Reviews 32 (4): 235–283.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loughran, R., G. Elliott, B. Campbell, S. Curtis, D. Cummings, and D.J.A.G. Shelly. 1993. Estimation of erosion using the radionuclide caesium-137 in three diverse areas in eastern Australia. 13: 169–188.

  • Machado, W., C.J. Sanders, I.R. Santos, L.M. Sanders, E.V. Silva-Filho, and W. Luiz-Silva. 2016. Mercury dilution by autochthonous organic matter in a fertilized mangrove wetland. Environmental Pollution 213: 30–35.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malcolm, H.A., A. Jordan, and S.D.A. Smith. 2010. Biogeographical and cross-shelf patterns of reef fish assemblages in a transition zone. Marine Biodiversity 40 (3): 181–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandal, B.K., and K.T. Suzuki. 2002. Arsenic round the world: a review. Talanta 58 (1): 201–235.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marchand, C., E. Lallier-Vergès, and F. Baltzer. 2003. The composition of sedimentary organic matter in relation to the dynamic features of a mangrove-fringed coast in French Guiana. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56 (1): 119–130.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McMurtry, G.M., R.C. Schneider, P.L. Colin, R.W. Buddemeier, and T.H.J.N. Suchanek. 1985. Redistribution of fallout radionuclides in Enewetak Atoll lagoon sediments by callianassid bioturbation. 313: 674.

  • Meade, R.H. 1972. Transport and deposition of sediments in estuaries. In Environmental framework of coastal plain estuaries, 91–120. Geological Society of America Memoir.

  • Middelburg, J., J. Nieuwenhuize, R. Lubberts, and O. Van de Plassche. 1997. Organic carbon isotope systematics of coastal marshes. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 45 (5): 681–687.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Molina, M., F. Aburto, R. Calderón, M. Cazanga, and M. Escudey. 2009. Trace element composition of selected fertilizers used in Chile: phosphorus fertilizers as a source of long-term soil contamination. Soil and Sediment Contamination 18 (4): 497–511.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, W.S. 1984. Radium isotope measurements using germanium detectors. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research 223 (2-3): 407–411.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muñoz-Hincapié, M., J.M. Morell, and J.E. Corredor. 2002. Increase of nitrous oxide flux to the atmosphere upon nitrogen addition to red mangroves sediments. Marine Pollution Bulletin 44 (10): 992–996.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nikolaidis, N.P., G.M. Dobbs, J. Chen, and J.A. Lackovic. 2004. Arsenic mobility in contaminated lake sediments. Environmental Pollution 129 (3): 479–487.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nürnberg, G.K., R. Fischer, and A.M. Paterson. 2018. Reduced phosphorus retention by anoxic bottom sediments after the remediation of an industrial acidified lake area: indications from P, Al, and Fe sediment fractions. Science of the Total Environment 626: 412–422.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pant, H., and K. Reddy. 2001. Phosphorus sorption characteristics of estuarine sediments under different redox conditions. Journal of Environmental Quality 30 (4): 1474–1480.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peterjohn, W.T., and D.L. Correll. 1984. Nutrient dynamics in an agricultural watershed: observations on the role of a riparian forest. Ecology 65 (5): 1466–1475.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rémi, D., G.O. Chantal, G. Nicolas, G. Catherine, and G. Gérard. 2015. Distinct export dynamics for dissolved and particulate phosphorus reveal independent transport mechanisms in an arable headwater catchment. Hydrological Processes 29: 3162–3178.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, Y., P. Lam, E.A. Boyle, and J. Thomson. 1995. Authigenic cadmium enrichments in suboxic sediments: precipitation and postdepositional mobility. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 132 (1-4): 99–111.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rydin, E., J.M. Malmaeus, O.M. Karlsson, and P. Jonsson. 2011. Phosphorus release from coastal Baltic Sea sediments as estimated from sediment profiles. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 92 (1): 111–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sadat-Noori, M., I.R. Santos, D.R. Tait, A. McMahon, S. Kadel, and D.T. Maher. 2016. Intermittently closed and open lakes and/or lagoons (ICOLLs) as groundwater-dominated coastal systems: evidence from seasonal radon observations. Journal of Hydrology 535: 612–624.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, C.J., J.M. Smoak, A.S. Naidu, D.R. Araripe, L.M. Sanders, and S.R. Patchineelam. 2010. Mangrove forest sedimentation and its reference to sea level rise, Cananeia, Brazil. Environmental Earth Sciences 60 (6): 1291–1301.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, C.J., I.R. Santos, R. Barcellos, and E.V. Silva Filho. 2012. Elevated concentrations of dissolved Ba, Fe and Mn in a mangrove subterranean estuary: consequence of sea level rise? Continental Shelf Research 43: 86–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, C.J., B.D. Eyre, I.R. Santos, W. Machado, W. Luiz-Silva, J.M. Smoak, J.L. Breithaupt, M.E. Ketterer, L. Sanders, and H. Marotta. 2014. Elevated rates of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus accumulation in a highly impacted mangrove wetland. Geophysical Research Letters 41 (7): 2475–2480.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, I.R., J. De Weys, and B.D. Eyre. 2011. Groundwater or floodwater? Assessing the pathways of metal exports from a coastal acid sulfate soil catchment. Environmental Science & Technology 45 (22): 9641–9648.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Santschi, P.H., B.J. Presley, T.L. Wade, B. Garcia-Romero, and M. Baskaran. 2001. Historical contamination of PAHs, PCBs, DDTs, and heavy metals in Mississippi river Delta, Galveston bay and Tampa bay sediment cores. Marine Environmental Research 52 (1): 51–79.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Short, K. 1994. Quick poison, slow poison: pesticide risk in the lucky country: K. Short.

  • Simpson, M.B.,. Bruce. 2017. In Berry plant protection guide, ed. D.o.P. Industries. Wollongbar, NSW: NSW DPI.

  • Simpson, S., G. Batley, and A. Chariton. 2013. Revision of the ANZECC/ARMCANZ sediment quality guidelines. CSIRO Land and Water Report 8: 128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, V.H. 2003. Eutrophication of freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems a global problem. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 10 (2): 126–139.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, E.R.G., R. Naidu, and A. Alston. 1998. Arsenic in the soil environment. Academic Press.

  • Sundby, B.r., C. Gobeil, N. Silverberg, and M. Alfonso. 1992. The phosphorus cycle in coastal marine sediments. Limnology and Oceanography 37 (6): 1129–1145.

  • Surratt, D., J. Cherrier, L. Robinson, and J. Cable. 2008. Chronology of sediment nutrient geochemistry in Apalachicola Bay, Florida (USA). Journal of Coastal Research 243: 660–671.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tait, D.R., D.T. Maher, C.J. Sanders, and I.R.J.G.e.C.A. Santos. 2017. Radium-derived porewater exchange and dissolved N and P fluxes in mangroves. 200: 295–309.

  • Tam, N.F., and Y. Wong. 1993. Retention of nutrients and heavy metals in mangrove sediment receiving wastewater of different strengths. Environmental Technology 14 (8): 719–729.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tam, N., and Y. Wong. 2000. Spatial variation of heavy metals in surface sediments of Hong Kong mangrove swamps. Environmental Pollution 110 (2): 195–205.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tang, W., B. Shan, H. Zhang, and Z. Mao. 2010. Heavy metal sources and associated risk in response to agricultural intensification in the estuarine sediments of Chaohu Lake Valley, East China. Journal of Hazardous Materials 176 (1-3): 945–951.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thrupp, L. 1991. Long-term losses from accumulation of pesticide residues: a case of persistent copper toxicity in soils of Costa Rica. Geoforum 22 (1): 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upadhyay, S., and R.S. Gupta. 1995. The behaviour of aluminium in waters of the Mandovi estuary, west coast of India. Marine Chemistry 51 (3): 261–276.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Valette-Silver, N.J. 1993. The use of sediment cores to reconstruct historical trends in contamination of estuarine and coastal sediments. Estuaries 16 (3): 577–588.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Varekamp, J., B. Kreulen, M. Buchholtz, and E.J.E.G. Mecray. 2003. Mercury contamination chronologies from Connecticut wetlands and Long Island Sound sediments. Vol. 43, 268–282.

    Google Scholar 

  • White, S., I. Santos, and S. Hessey. 2018. Effect of intensive horticulture practices on surrounding headwater stream nitrate concentrations. Environmental Pollution 243: 1036–1046.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Windham, L., J.S. Weis, and P. Weis. 2003. Uptake and distribution of metals in two dominant salt marsh macrophytes, Spartina alterniflora (cordgrass) and Phragmites australis (common reed). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 56 (1): 63–72.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao, K., J. Wu, H. Li, Y. Hong, A.M. Wilson, J.J. Jiao, and M. Shananan. 2018. Nitrogen fate in a subtropical mangrove swamp: potential association with seawater-groundwater exchange. Science of the Total Environment 635: 586–597.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, S., H. Li, T. Ysebaert, T. Bouma, W. Zhang, Y. Wang, P. Li, M. Li, and P. Ding. 2008. Spatial and temporal variations in sediment grain size in tidal wetlands, Yangtze Delta: on the role of physical and biotic controls. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 77 (4): 657–671.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J., and C. Liu. 2002. Riverine composition and estuarine geochemistry of particulate metals in China—weathering features, anthropogenic impact and chemical fluxes. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 54 (6): 1051–1070.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zwolsman, J.J., G. Berger, and G.T.M. Van Eck. 1993. Sediment accumulation rates, historical input, postdepositional mobility and retention of major elements and trace metals in salt marsh sediments of the Scheldt estuary, SW Netherlands. Marine Chemistry 44 (1): 73–94.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank David Greenhalgh and Samantha Hessey for assisting in sampling effort and historical information. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge David Willis of NSW DPI for the historical aerial images.

Funding

The authors would like to thank Coffs Harbour City Council for the funding to undertake sampling and farm area spatial information. CJS and IRS are supported by the Australian Research Council (DE160100443 and FT170100327).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Marine Science Centre, School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, P.O. Box 157, Coffs Harbour, NSW, 2540, Australia

    Stephen R. Conrad, Isaac R. Santos, Shane White & Christian J. Sanders

Authors
  1. Stephen R. Conrad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Isaac R. Santos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shane White
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Christian J. Sanders
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen R. Conrad.

Additional information

Communicated by Wen-Xiong Wang

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Conrad, S.R., Santos, I.R., White, S. et al. Nutrient and Trace Metal Fluxes into Estuarine Sediments Linked to Historical and Expanding Agricultural Activity (Hearnes Lake, Australia). Estuaries and Coasts 42, 944–957 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00541-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00541-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation