Phosphorus Partitioning in a Storm Water Pond

Abstract

Abstract Storm water ponds are commonly employed to trap sediments, nutrients and other pollutants in non-point runoff. Aquatic macrophytes are thought to offer enhanced nutrient control via nutrient uptake and other processes. This study sampled and compared the phosphorus contents of water, sediment, and a dominant macrophyte, Stuckenia pectinata (Sago Pond Weed), in a storm water detention pond in the fall of 2013 and 2014. Phosphorus concentrations [ug P (g material)−1] were much higher in macrophyte tissues than in sediment and water, but the areal amounts of phosphorus (mg P m−2) bound in these three forms were ranked differently: sediment>>water>macrophyte, with macrophyte-bound P accounting for only <1–2% of total P in this pond. Macrophyte management may, therefore, have only marginal effectiveness in nutrient control by storm water detention ponds, although macrophytes support a variety of other ecosystem services.