Evaluating the potential for snowmelt phosphorus losses from perennial forage crops.

ABSTRACT: In cold regions, there is concern that losses of P with snowmelt runoff following freeze and thaw of vegetation may be greater from perennial forages relative to annual crops. We evaluate the drivers of P losses with snowmelt runoff over a network of field-scale small watersheds in Manitoba, Canada, following annual crops (59 site-years), perennial forage (19 site-years), or tillage to terminate a forage (4 site-years). Vegetation type was not significantly related to concentrations of P lost in snowmelt or load (p > 0.05), and 0-5 cm Olsen-P in soil was the best predictor of flow-weighted mean concentrations of total dissolved P (r² = 0.46, p < 0.001) and total P (r² = 0.45, p < 0.001) across the 82 site-years of data. Sites having a recent (10-year) land use history

SUBMITTER: Wilson H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12431946 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature