Preliminary study of phosphorus runoff and drainage from a paddy field in the Taihu Basin

An investigation into phosphorus runoff and drainage from a paddy field was carried out at Changshu Agricultural Ecological Station of CAS during the year 2000. According to the preliminary study, some results indicated: (1) Total phosphorus (TP) content of regular irrigation water was 19 times higher than TP content of P0 (zero rate of P fertilization) stand water. This indicates that paddy fields are a potential source of phosphorus pollution by runoff and drainage into the Taihu Lake Basin (TLB); (2) During the first 10 days after phosphate fertilizer application, the TP concentration of stand water in the paddy field was very high, therefore this was the high risk period for Taihu Lake phosphorus contamination; (3) Four mathematical models of P losses from a paddy field in the TLB are developed. These are based on data for the year 2000, but they will be improved as more data is acquired in future years.