Dynamic changes of nitrogen and phosphorus losses in ephemeral runoff processes by typical storm events in Sichuan Basin, Southwest China

This study was carried out in the Xujiawan watershed in Sichuan Province, China. The area is characterized by easy weathering of bedrock (sedimentary sandstone and shale) and vulnerability to erosion due to coarse soil texture and weak soil structure. The objective of this study was to understand the dynamics of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) losses during typical storm events. The results showed that runoff generation was sudden and ephemeral, giving rise to flash floods with sharp, narrow hydrographs and short time lags in this type of agricultural ecosystems. The time lag effect of runoff formation depended on soil conditions before storm events. Suspended solids (SS) concentration peaks occurred at the beginning of the storm flow and decreased as rainfall progressed. Meanwhile, SS losses increased at the beginning of runoff flow, then decreased due to flow volume change. Concentrations of NO3−-N were four times higher than NH4+-N in runoff. NO3−-N concentrations first decreased as runoff volume increased until reaching relatively low concentrations, then increased again as runoff volume decreased. Both NH4+-N and dissolved phosphorus (DP) in runoff remained at low concentrations with a small magnitude of variation. Suspended particulate nitrogen (SN) was the dominant N form. Losses of NO3−-N were higher than NH4+-N in the dissolved nitrogen (DN). Suspended particulate nitrogen losses were several times higher than DN in the early period of runoff formation, but the ratio of SN/DN decreased gradually as rainfall progressed, and by the end of the storm event the rate was lower than 1, indicating DN took the main form after the early physical flush. In the early period of storm events, suspended particulate phosphorus (SP)/DP was above 70 and decreased as rainfall progressed, but remained higher than 1, which showed that SP was the main form of P loss. The transport of N, and particularly P, was intimately linked to sediment in the runoff, indicating an obvious soil erosion-associated nutrient transport, especially in relation to P loss.