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TMDL for phosphorus and contributing factors in subtropical watersheds of southern China

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Abstract

Water eutrophication, particularly that caused by phosphorus runoff, is of major concern in China due to the serious threats it poses to watershed environments. We investigated one forested and nine agricultural watersheds with areas of 9–5212 ha in a hilly region of Hunan Province in a subtropical region of southern China from 2010 to 2012 to study total phosphorus (TP) loads and contributing factors. The annual TP loads varied from 35.7 to 222.1 kg P km−2 year−1 among the different watersheds, with the rainy season of spring and summer accounting for 56.3–82.0 % of TP loss. The highest total maximum daily load (TMDL, 0.5 kg P km−2 day−1) and existing exported daily TP loads (DTPL, 1.8 kg P km−2 day−1) were observed under high flow and moist flow conditions in the ten watersheds. However, the target daily reduction ratios for the DTPLs to reach the water quality standard of 0.05 mg P L−1 varied little with flow condition in the stream but depended on the type of watershed, i.e., <50, <80, and 80–90 % for forested, agricultural, and livestock-dominated watersheds, respectively. Gray relational analysis (GRA) suggested that livestock density was the most important factor for watershed TP load under various hydrologic conditions, while livestock density (LD), soil available phosphorous (SAP), cropland percentage, and mean shape index (SHMN) were notable factors for daily reduction rate (DRR) under high and moist flow conditions. Therefore, to protect the local watershed environments, watershed management approaches that include the regulation of livestock production are recommended as the most effective means of reducing P loads at the watershed scale in subtropical areas of southern China.

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Abbreviations

ATPL:

Annual TP load

DD:

Drainage density

DRR:

Daily reduction rate

DTPL:

Daily TP load

GRA:

Gray relational analysis

GRG:

Gray relational grade

LD:

Livestock density

LDC:

Load duration curve

SAP:

Soil available phosphorous

SHMN:

Shape index

TWI:

Topography wetness index

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Science Fund of China (41171396) and the National Science and Technology Pillar Program (2012BAD14B 17, 2014BAD14B02). The authors thank Mr. Weidong Zhang for his kind assistance in field observations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Changsha Research Station for Agricultural and Environmental Monitoring, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Hunan, 410125, China

    Cen Meng, Yuyuan Li, Yi Wang, Wen Yang, Junxia Jiao, Meihui Wang, Manyi Zhang, Yong Li & Jinshui Wu

  2. Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Regions, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Hunan, 410125, China

    Cen Meng, Yuyuan Li, Yi Wang, Junxia Jiao, Meihui Wang, Manyi Zhang, Yong Li & Jinshui Wu

  3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10049, China

    Cen Meng, Junxia Jiao & Meihui Wang

  4. College of Resources and Environmental Science, Hunan Normal University, Beijing, Hunan, 410125, China

    Wen Yang

  5. Mapoling, Furong District, Changsha City, Hunan, 410125, China

    Yuyuan Li

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  1. Cen Meng
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  2. Yuyuan Li
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Correspondence to Yuyuan Li.

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Meng, C., Li, Y., Wang, Y. et al. TMDL for phosphorus and contributing factors in subtropical watersheds of southern China. Environ Monit Assess 187, 514 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4737-6

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