Measurement and modelling of phosphorus transport from arable land

An elevated level of phosphorus (P) is often identified as main cause of eutrophication in lakes (Schindler, 1977). Eutrophication is defined as a process where the natural aquatic environments are enriched with nutrients in such amounts that it results in changes in the community of organisms and a declined water quality, with an increased production of algae and macrophytes (Vollenweider and Kerekes, 1982). The degradation of the increased amount of biomass can lead to oxygen depletion of bottom waters and dead lake bottoms. The relative contribution of P from agriculture increased when P removal was introduced in municipal wastewater treatment plants, and P transport from arable land is now the main source of P (Rekolainen et al., 1997)