Abstract

ABSTRACT LOSS of soil and plant nutrients resulting from the erosion process is a significant factor in decline of soil productivity. The erosion process is recognized as being selective in both physical and chemical properties. Smaller size particles, particularly clay and silt, adsorb and transport large quantities of nutrients due to their relatively greater specific surface areas. Selectivity of the erosion process is more pronounced for the more numerous but less severe hydrologic events since these events result in a disproportionate amount of smaller particles being transported from a site. Thus, nutrient enrichments are complex and tend to vary inversely with suspended sediment concentrations. We examined soil and nutrient losses from simulated rainstorms on texturally similar soils at three widely separated locations in the upper, mid and lower Mississippi River watershed. Physical characteristics of the sediment, including aggregate size distributions and primary particle size distributions, and selected chemical properties are discussed in relation to soil productivity. Enrichments in sediment of total Kjeldahl nitrogen, organic carbon, cation exchange capacity and available nitrogen are related to sediment characteristics and clay enrichment.

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