Hello,
I am looking at permeable/leaky dams and trying to ascertain if they play any part in reducing nutrient load within the water course.
I have seen various methods of testing but unsure what to go for? The Labs are not really geared up for water analysis so, field testing with be used then some basic lab work.
What methods or suggestions do people have? Am I looking at the wrong things, something better to look for than N and P?
Thanks in advance
https://www.sciencedirect.com/search?qs=field%20testing%20methods%20of%20N%20and%20P%20in%20streams&show=25&sortBy=relevance&offset=25
Hi Chris,
I recommend measuring total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) instead of dissolved forms, as being more integrative of the nutrient balance and retention than just dissolved forms. You can select methods from “APHA, AWWA, WPCF, 2005. Standard methods for the examination of water and waste water, twenty first ed. Washington DC.”. Basically, a digestion (acid or alkaline, depending on your target) must be performed to hydrolyze all N and P into dissolved forms, then the resulting hydrolyzed form (nitrate or ammonium for TN, orthophosphate for TP) is measured spectrophotometrically after reaction with the adequate reagents using the standardized procedures also collected in APHA (2005).
Antonio Camacho thanks for your input, I will see if we have the facitlites to perform this. Good point about measuring the TP and TN instead of the dissolved forms. Thank you.
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