Abstract
Lake Tenkiller located in Oklahoma, USA is a large midcontinent reservoir in a eutrophic state due to excess phosphorus (P) loads. Poultry waste application within the Illinois River Watershed in northeast Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas has been identified as a major contributor to overall P loads within Lake Tenkiller. In this study, Groundwater Loading Effects of Agricultural Management Systems (GLEAMS) was applied to evaluate the effect of poultry waste application on P loads to Lake Tenkiller. Historical P loads to Lake Tenkiller during 1951–2000 have increased from approximately 166,000 kg/year to more than 295,000 kg/year with the Illinois River at Tahlequah subwatershed increasing from 68% to 78% of total P loads over that period. Increased poultry waste application based on poultry growth rates could increase P load to Lake Tenkiller from 311,000 kg/year to more than 528,000 kg/year. Cessation of poultry waste application and addition of buffers along streams could reduce P loads to approximately 92,000 kg/year for cessation of poultry waste application alone and about 89,000 kg/year for cessation of poultry waste application with buffers. One possible strategy to reduce P load to Lake Tenkiller is to cease applying poultry waste application, especially in the portion of the Illinois River above the Tahlequah USGS gage station.
Highlights
IntroductionNonpoint source pollution is generated from land and highly depends on rainfall, so it may be difficult to accurately quantify major sources, estimate amounts, and control
Pollution is divided into point and nonpoint source pollution based on its pathway
About 70% of total P loads originate from the portion of the Illinois River Basin above the Tahlequah USGS gauge, and change of P load to Lake
Summary
Nonpoint source pollution is generated from land and highly depends on rainfall, so it may be difficult to accurately quantify major sources, estimate amounts, and control. Nonpoint source pollution has received significant attention and has been considered a key source of numerous water quality problems. Phosphorus (P) is an important cause of eutrophication and often a limiting factor in algal blooms in lakes and reservoirs. Many researchers have explored the relationship between P loading from watersheds and chlorophyll-a concentration in lakes and reservoirs [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Poultry operations have a higher confined animal unit density than other livestock production systems, and the concentration of P in poultry manure is greater than in other livestock manure [7]
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