[Organic phosphorus forms in the sediments in the downstream channel of North Canal River watershed]
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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Measuring Phosphorus Release in Laboratory Microcosms for Water Quality Assessment
Published on: July 22, 2019
Nan Li1, Bao-Qing Shan, Hong Zhang
1Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China. linan.2005@163.com
Abstract:
Bowman-Cole modified organic phosphorus fractionation system was used for the analysis of the phosphorus (P) forms in the sediments in North Canal River. The results showed that the average concentrations variation of total phosphorus (TP), and total organic phosphorus (TOP) in the sediments were 654.9-1285.4 mg x kg(-1) and 241.6-501.1 mg x kg(-1), respectively. TOP accounted for 34.08%-41.86% of TP which was much higher than other regions. The vertical distribution of OP forms changed greatly with the depth in the sediments. Labile organic P (LOP) increased at first (0-10 cm depth) but decreased gradually (10-40 cm). On the contrary, moderately labile organic P (MLOP) showed a degressive trend and nonlabile organic P (NOP) was no change with the depth. MLOP was the major part of TOP which was about 39.03%-85.72% of TOP, and was much higher than LOP (7.73%-24.13%) and NOP (10.14%-35.64%). The dynamic of MLOP in the sediments should be attended because it's easy to transform to LOP resulting in a strong influence on the water quality.
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