Influence of cultivation methods on suspended solids and
phosphorus concentrations in surface runoff on clayey
sloped fields in boreal climate
Markku Puustinen
*
, Jari Koskiaho, Kimmo Peltonen
Finnish Environment Institute, P.O. Box 140, FIN-00251 Helsinki, Finland
Received 11 September 2003; received in revised form 8 July 2004; accepted 26 August 2004
Abstract
Methods for decreasing agricultural phosphorus (P) loadings to surface waters are needed to achieve good water quality. To
reliably find out the efficiency of different methods in changing hydrological conditions, long-term experiments are of
invaluable importance. Here the effects of various cultivation methods on total suspended solids (TSS) and P concentrations in –
and the volume of – plough layer runoff (PLR) were studied in a sloping experimental field in southwest Finland during a 9-year
period. Yearly means of PLR and flow-weighted mean concentrations from the treatment plots were compared with a control,
winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) treatment (WW), of which the values assigned were equal to 1. No major differences were
found in PLR for cultivation methods up and down slope, except for the cross-ploughing treatment (0.49). Normal ploughing and
cultivation treatments produced the highest TSS concentrations (1.38 and 1.18, respectively), whereas values between 0.44 and
0.53 were measured for three treatments with reduced (or no) tillage. Particle-bound P (PP) concentrations closely followed
those of TSS. Dissolved reactive P (DRP) showed contrasting behaviour, with the greatest treatment effects from the three
reduced tillage treatments (1.58–2.29). This study showed that by changing over from intensive autumn tillage to permanent
vegetation cover, erosion and PP loss were markedly decreased. Methods employing no autumn tillage and leaving an
undisturbed soil surface during winter showed particularly high reductions in loading. The simultaneous increase in DRP loss is
an undeniable drawback that should be resolved separately. This study, as a part of a wider complex of integrated studies, will be
utilized in a decision-making tool for the assessments of loading effects and load reduction possibilities in terms of cultivation
methods.
# 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Agriculture; Erosion; Nutrients; Water pollution; Runoff
1. Introduction
Nutrient loading originating from agriculture has
been monitored by the environmental authorities in
small basins since the 1960s in Finland and reported at 5–
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Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 105 (2005) 565–579
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +358 9 40300354;
fax: +358 9 40300390.
E-mail address: markku.puustinen@ymparisto.fi
(M. Puustinen).
0167-8809/$ – see front matter # 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.agee.2004.08.005