Multipond Systems: A Sustainable Way to Control Diffuse Phosphorus Pollution

Abstract Diffuse pollution from agricultural land is one of the main causes for lake eutrophication. Multipond systems, an ancient invention in China, are composed of many tiny ponds and ditches, scattered in agricultural fields. After a long period of research in an experimental watershed in Liuchahe, it was found that multipond systems constitute diffuse pollution control. They have a large capacity for water storage and serve to control the export of water, suspended matter, and phosphorus. Multipond systems significantly reduce runoff velocity. Sediments and phosphorus retained in the Liuchahe watershed were 14.38 · 106 and 7016 kg yr−1, respectively (area 691.6 ha). Irrigation provides an effective way to recycle and remove phosphorus. The use of multipond systems is a sustainable way to recycle valuable nutrients and reduce their discharge and thus pollution of downstream lakes.

[1]  C. Richardson,et al.  Mechanisms Controlling Phosphorus Retention Capacity in Freshwater Wetlands , 1985, Science.

[2]  A. Sharpley,et al.  Hydrologic Controls on Phosphorus Loss from Upland Agricultural Watersheds , 1998 .

[3]  B. Joern,et al.  Phosphorus loss in agricultural drainage: historical perspective and current research , 1998 .

[4]  A. Sharpley,et al.  Agricultural phosphorus and water quality: sources, transport and management , 1998 .

[5]  V. Novotny,et al.  Water Quality: Prevention, Identification and Management of Diffuse Pollution , 1996 .

[6]  W. J. Gburek,et al.  Flow and nutrient export patterns for an agricultural hill-land watershed , 1996 .

[7]  C. Yin,et al.  Nutrient retention by multipond systems: mechanisms for the control of nonpoint source pollution , 1998 .

[8]  P. F. Pratt,et al.  Methods of Analysis for Soils, Plants, and Waters , 1982 .

[9]  D. Correll.  THE ROLE OF PHOSPHORUS IN THE EUTROPHICATION OF RECEIVING WATERS: A REVIEW , 1998 .

[10]  T. C. Daniel,et al.  Agricultural Phosphorus and Eutrophication: A Symposium Overview , 1998 .

[11]  Jun-ichi Ebina,et al.  Simultaneous determination of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in water using peroxodisulfate oxidation , 1983 .

[12]  Hans Brix,et al.  Functions of Macrophytes in Constructed Wetlands , 1994 .

[13]  M. Korn.  The dike-pond concept: sustainable agriculture and nutrient recycling in China , 1996 .

[14]  L. A. Smock.  Spatial and temporal variation in organic matter storage in low-gradient, headwater streams , 1990 .

[15]  S. Chapman,et al.  Methods in plant ecology , 1977 .

[16]  J. Heijnen,et al.  pH: Keyfactor in the Biological Phosphorus Removal Process , 1994 .

[17]  H. Stefan,et al.  Low‐Velocity Measurement in Water , 1986 .

[18]  N. Caraco.  Disturbance of the phosphorus cycle: A case of indirect effects of human activity. , 1993, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[19]  C. Ouyang,et al.  Effects of flow velocity changes on nitrogen transport and conversion in an open channel flow , 1996 .

[20]  Thomas Gumbricht,et al.  Nutrient removal processes in freshwater submersed macrophyte systems , 1993 .

[21]  T. C. Daniel,et al.  Managing Agricultural Phosphorus for Protection of Surface Waters: Issues and Options , 1994 .

[22]  L. Sommers,et al.  Determination of Total Phosphorus in Soils: A Rapid Perchloric Acid Digestion Procedure1 , 1972 .