Multi-Decadal Nutrient Management and Trends in Two Catchments of Lake Okeechobee

IF 3.6 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Resources Pub Date : 2024-02-13 DOI:10.3390/resources13020028

Rachael Z. Cooper, S. Ergas, M. Nachabe

{"title":"Multi-Decadal Nutrient Management and Trends in Two Catchments of Lake Okeechobee","authors":"Rachael Z. Cooper, S. Ergas, M. Nachabe","doi":"10.3390/resources13020028","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":" Despite years of efforts to improve water quality, harmful algal blooms remain a chronic phenomenon, with devastating environmental, economic, and social impacts in many regions worldwide. In this study, we assessed the complexity of nutrient pollution attributed to harmful algal blooms in South Florida (USA) by analyzing 20 years of flow and nutrient data within two headwater basins in the Lake Okeechobee (LO) watershed. The study used an established advanced regression method, the Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method, as an analysis framework to examine the impact of nutrient management practices on water quality trends. The WRTDS method produced total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentration and flux trends, which were then compared with existing and historic nutrient management records within the basin. Results from this study highlight divergences in progress to improve water quality. Nutrient management practices only had a weak impact on TP and TN flux trends in one of the two basins, where TP flux decreased 2% per year, and TN flux decreased 0.1% per year. TP and TN flux increased in the second basin. Variances of improvement between the two basins are likely attributable to differences in contemporary point source loading and legacy nutrient pools from non-point source inputs 20 years or more before the analysis period. The long-lasting impacts of legacy nutrients also emphasize a need for investments in technologies and practices that can withdraw nutrients from enriched soil and water. ","PeriodicalId":37723,"journal":{"name":"Resources","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Resources","FirstCategoryId":"1087","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13020028","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Despite years of efforts to improve water quality, harmful algal blooms remain a chronic phenomenon, with devastating environmental, economic, and social impacts in many regions worldwide. In this study, we assessed the complexity of nutrient pollution attributed to harmful algal blooms in South Florida (USA) by analyzing 20 years of flow and nutrient data within two headwater basins in the Lake Okeechobee (LO) watershed. The study used an established advanced regression method, the Weighted Regression on Time, Discharge, and Season (WRTDS) method, as an analysis framework to examine the impact of nutrient management practices on water quality trends. The WRTDS method produced total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentration and flux trends, which were then compared with existing and historic nutrient management records within the basin. Results from this study highlight divergences in progress to improve water quality. Nutrient management practices only had a weak impact on TP and TN flux trends in one of the two basins, where TP flux decreased 2% per year, and TN flux decreased 0.1% per year. TP and TN flux increased in the second basin. Variances of improvement between the two basins are likely attributable to differences in contemporary point source loading and legacy nutrient pools from non-point source inputs 20 years or more before the analysis period. The long-lasting impacts of legacy nutrients also emphasize a need for investments in technologies and practices that can withdraw nutrients from enriched soil and water.

查看原文本刊更多论文

奥基乔比湖两个集水区十年来的营养物质管理和趋势

尽管多年来人们一直在努力改善水质，但有害藻华仍然是一种长期存在的现象，对全球许多地区的环境、经济和社会造成了破坏性影响。在本研究中，我们通过分析奥基乔比湖（LO）流域两个上游流域 20 年的流量和营养物数据，评估了导致南佛罗里达州（美国）有害藻华的营养物污染的复杂性。该研究采用了一种成熟的高级回归方法，即时间、排水量和季节加权回归法（WRTDS），作为分析框架来研究营养物管理方法对水质趋势的影响。WRTDS 方法得出了总磷（TP）和总氮（TN）的浓度和通量趋势，然后将其与流域内现有和历史营养管理记录进行比较。这项研究的结果突显了在改善水质方面的进展差异。在两个流域中的一个，养分管理措施仅对 TP 和 TN 通量趋势产生微弱影响，TP 通量每年下降 2%，TN 通量每年下降 0.1%。第二个流域的 TP 和 TN 通量则有所增加。两个流域之间的改善差异可能是由于当代点源负荷和分析期 20 年或更早之前非点源输入的遗留营养库的差异造成的。遗留养分的长期影响也强调了对可从富集的土壤和水中提取养分的技术和实践进行投资的必要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Resources Environmental Science-Nature and Landscape Conservation

CiteScore

7.20

自引率

6.10%

发文量

审稿时长

11 weeks

期刊介绍： Resources (ISSN 2079-9276) is an international, scholarly open access journal on the topic of natural resources. It publishes reviews, regular research papers, communications and short notes, and there is no restriction on the length of the papers. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical research in as much detail as possible. Full experimental and methodical details must be provided so that the results can be reproduced. There are, in addition, unique features of this journal: manuscripts regarding research proposals and research ideas will be particularly welcomed, electronic files or software regarding the full details of the calculation and experimental procedure, if unable to be published in a normal way, can be deposited as supplementary material. Subject Areas: natural resources, water resources, mineral resources, energy resources, land resources, plant and animal resources, genetic resources, ecology resources, resource management and policy, resources conservation and recycling.