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Phosphorus-leaching from litterfall in wetland catchments of the Swan Coastal Plain, southwestern Australia
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Phosphorus-leaching from litterfall in wetland catchments of the Swan Coastal Plain, southwestern Australia

S. Qiu, A.J. McComb and R.W. Bell
Hydrobiologia, Vol.472(1/3), pp.95-105
2002
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Abstract

Many wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain in southwestern Australia have catchments with significant areas of native vegetation. The dynamics of P release from their litter and its significance as a P source for wetlands have not been previously investigated. Litterfall of common plant species were collected before the local rainy season, and examined for P leaching properties under inundated conditions. Inundation of ‘intact’ litter materials for 24 hours leached 30±7.5% (95% confidence level) of this Tot-P in litter, measured by anion exchange membrane extraction. This increased to 46.9% of ‘apparent’ P release at 115 days. The released P was incorporated into microbial biomass during leaching so modifying leachate concentrations. Using liquid chloroform ‘fumigation’ it was estimated that 36.2 ± 15.6% (95% confidence level) of Tot-P leached during the 115-day inundation was in the microbial biomass pool, not directly measured by AEM extraction. P leaching during initial and prolonged inundation correlated with litter Ca, Mg and total base concentration, but the initial Tot-P concentration of litter was the best predictor for P leaching, in both short-term and prolonged inundation (R2 = 0.80 and 0.93, p < 0.0001). The high P leaching rate during 24 hours suggested that P from litter during ‘first storm’ events could produce a significant P flux from local catchments and contribute nutrients to downstream wetlands.

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#2 Zero Hunger
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#15 Life on Land

Source: InCites

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Citation topics
3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology
3.45 Soil Science
3.45.112 Soil Carbon Dynamics
Web Of Science research areas
Marine & Freshwater Biology
ESI research areas
Plant & Animal Science
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