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Updated: Jul 16, 2025

Laboratory-determined Phosphorus Flux from Lake Sediments as a Measure of Internal Phosphorus Loading
Published on: March 6, 2014
Streambank erosion and phosphorus loading to surface waters: Knowns, unknowns, and implications for nutrient loss
Andrew J Margenot1,2, Shengnan Zhou2, Richard McDowell3
1Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois, USA.
Abstract:
To monitor and meet water quality objectives, it is necessary to understand and quantify the contribution of nonpoint sources to total phosphorus (P) loading to surface waters. However, the contribution of streambank erosion to surface water P loads remains unclear and is typically unaccounted for in many nutrient loading assessments and policies. As a result, agricultural contributions of P are overestimated, and a potentially manageable nonpoint source of P is missed in strategies to reduce loads. In this perspective, we review and synthesize the results of a special symposium at the 2022 ASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meeting in Baltimore, MD, that focused on streambank erosion and its contributions to P loading of surface waters. Based on discussions among researchers and policy experts, we overview the knowns and unknowns, propose next steps to understand streambank erosion contribution to P export budgets, and discuss implications of the science of streambank erosion for policy and nutrient loss reduction strategies.
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