Phosphorus mass balance and input load estimation from the wet and dry periods in tropical semiarid reservoirs

Abstract

The dynamics of total phosphorus (TP) in 18 strategic reservoirs of the high-density reservoir network of the Brazilian semiarid was evaluated during the wet and dry periods for the past 12 years. Seasonal overlying concentrations presented no significant differences for about 90% of the reservoirs (p>0.05). This was attributed to a trade-off between the hydrological/limnological processes occurring in the two seasons. Then, a transient complete-mix mass balance model was applied with particular adaptations for the tropical semiarid reservoirs to estimate the TP load for each season. Because of the relatively well-mixed conditions and high hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen concentrations during the wet season, the wet load was assumed to represent the external TP load. On the other hand, because of the absence of reservoir inflow during the dry season, phosphorus release under anoxic sediment conditions and wind-induced resuspension under shallow water depths, the dry load was assumed to reflect the internal TP load. The maximum external loads were related to peak inflows, notably after drought periods. Consistently, the largest internal loads were obtained during the drought periods, when the reservoirs were shallower and more prone to phosphorus release and resuspension. By comparing the impact of the two input load types, the wet period load was predominant in 72% of the reservoirs. The areal phosphorus loads ranged from 0.66 to 7.29 gP m2 year−1, which were consistent with the literature, despite the very high density of reservoirs. Finally, power-law curves including data for all studied reservoirs were adjusted between the dry period load and volume, dry and wet period loads, wet period load and inflow, and total load and catchment area, resulting in satisfactory R2 (0.84–0.98).