Investigating phosphorus interactions with bed sediments in a fluvial environment using a recirculating flume and intact soil cores

Phosphorus uptake by bed sediments in surface drains can reduce phosphorus exports from irrigated land. This paper reports on an investigation into the effects of velocity and water depth on phosphorus uptake by bed sediments, which consisted of eight sequential flow events conducted in a recirculating flume as well as a concurrent experiment using sediment cores. For the heavy clay bed sediment discussed in this paper, velocity and depth of water column had no significant effect on net phosphorus uptake and the rates of phosphorus uptake in either the cores or the recirculating flume. The most significant factor affecting phosphorus uptake was the experiment number which represented the sequential nature of experiments within the flume and increasing phosphorus saturation of the surface sediments. Of the kinetic equations used to describe phosphorus uptake (Elovich, boundary layer and diffusion) the Elovich equation provided the best representation of the results, both in terms of the adj-R2 values and the absence of systematic errors in the residuals. Results suggest that intact soil cores may be used to parameterise rate equations such as the Elovich equation for use in process-based mathematical models of phosphorus transport in fluvial systems.