Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A.
Soil phosphorus (P) built up due to past management practices, legacy P, in the Lake Okeechobee Watershed (LOW) in south-central Florida, U.S.A., is often discussed as the root cause of lake eutrophication. Improvement of the lake’s water quality requires the identification of critical P sources and...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/9/977 |
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| author | Yogesh P. Khare Rajendra Paudel Ruscena Wiederholt Anteneh Z. Abiy Thomas Van Lent Stephen E. Davis Younggu Her |
| author_facet | Yogesh P. Khare Rajendra Paudel Ruscena Wiederholt Anteneh Z. Abiy Thomas Van Lent Stephen E. Davis Younggu Her |
| author_sort | Yogesh P. Khare |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Soil phosphorus (P) built up due to past management practices, legacy P, in the Lake Okeechobee Watershed (LOW) in south-central Florida, U.S.A., is often discussed as the root cause of lake eutrophication. Improvement of the lake’s water quality requires the identification of critical P sources and quantifying their contributions. We performed a global sensitivity analysis of the Watershed Assessment Model (WAM), a common evaluation tool in LOW environmental planning, using the Morris method. A pre-calibrated WAM setup (Baseline) of the LOW sub-watershed, Taylor Creek Nubbin Slough (TCNS), was used as a test case. Eight scenarios were formulated to estimate the contributions of various P sources. The Morris analysis indicated that total phosphorus (TP) loads were highly sensitive to legacy P in improved pastures, the major land use covering 46.2% of TCNS. The scenario modeling revealed that legacy P, inorganic fertilizers, and other sources contribute 63%, 10%, and 32%, respectively, to the Baseline TP load of 111.3 metric tons/y to the lake. Improved pastures, dairies, citrus, and field crops are the top TP load contributors. Our results have important implications for water quality improvement plans in the LOW and highlighted the need for accurate spatial mapping of legacy P and incorporation of such information in modeling efforts for watersheds demonstrating legacy P problems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:31:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f8ec8a4b162d4fc78b355b0b9b3fd904 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T07:31:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-f8ec8a4b162d4fc78b355b0b9b3fd9042023-11-22T13:53:56ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-09-0110997710.3390/land10090977Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A.Yogesh P. Khare0Rajendra Paudel1Ruscena Wiederholt2Anteneh Z. Abiy3Thomas Van Lent4Stephen E. Davis5Younggu Her6The Everglades Foundation, Science Department, 18001 Old Cutler Road Suite 625, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, USAThe Everglades Foundation, Science Department, 18001 Old Cutler Road Suite 625, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, USAThe Everglades Foundation, Science Department, 18001 Old Cutler Road Suite 625, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, USAThe Everglades Foundation, Science Department, 18001 Old Cutler Road Suite 625, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, USAThe Everglades Foundation, Science Department, 18001 Old Cutler Road Suite 625, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, USAThe Everglades Foundation, Science Department, 18001 Old Cutler Road Suite 625, Palmetto Bay, FL 33157, USATropical Research and Education Center, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Homestead, FL 33031, USASoil phosphorus (P) built up due to past management practices, legacy P, in the Lake Okeechobee Watershed (LOW) in south-central Florida, U.S.A., is often discussed as the root cause of lake eutrophication. Improvement of the lake’s water quality requires the identification of critical P sources and quantifying their contributions. We performed a global sensitivity analysis of the Watershed Assessment Model (WAM), a common evaluation tool in LOW environmental planning, using the Morris method. A pre-calibrated WAM setup (Baseline) of the LOW sub-watershed, Taylor Creek Nubbin Slough (TCNS), was used as a test case. Eight scenarios were formulated to estimate the contributions of various P sources. The Morris analysis indicated that total phosphorus (TP) loads were highly sensitive to legacy P in improved pastures, the major land use covering 46.2% of TCNS. The scenario modeling revealed that legacy P, inorganic fertilizers, and other sources contribute 63%, 10%, and 32%, respectively, to the Baseline TP load of 111.3 metric tons/y to the lake. Improved pastures, dairies, citrus, and field crops are the top TP load contributors. Our results have important implications for water quality improvement plans in the LOW and highlighted the need for accurate spatial mapping of legacy P and incorporation of such information in modeling efforts for watersheds demonstrating legacy P problems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/9/977sensitivity analysisLake Okeechobeewatershed modelinglegacy phosphorus |
| spellingShingle | Yogesh P. Khare Rajendra Paudel Ruscena Wiederholt Anteneh Z. Abiy Thomas Van Lent Stephen E. Davis Younggu Her Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A. Land sensitivity analysis Lake Okeechobee watershed modeling legacy phosphorus |
| title | Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A. |
| title_full | Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A. |
| title_fullStr | Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A. |
| title_short | Watershed Response to Legacy Phosphorus and Best Management Practices in an Impacted Agricultural Watershed in Florida, U.S.A. |
| title_sort | watershed response to legacy phosphorus and best management practices in an impacted agricultural watershed in florida u s a |
| topic | sensitivity analysis Lake Okeechobee watershed modeling legacy phosphorus |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/9/977 |
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