ABSTRACT

This chapter reviews the mechanisms controlling phosphorus (P) retention in wetlands, present a conceptual model of P storage in wetlands, and quantify how this model applies to a case study of P storage in the Everglades of south Florida. Wetlands may have some functional ability to remove diffuse phosphorus runoff at low concentrations or may function as a downstream source for nutrients depending on the loading rate of nutrients, season of the year, or wetland type. Soil cores were collected from Water Conservation Areas (WCA) 2A and 3A in June 1989 to assess nutrient loading effects and nutrient accumulation rates in the WCAs from areas receiving agricultural runoff and from unenriched areas. The problem of maximizing long-term high efficiency P retention is based on our lack of understanding of the most efficient pathways which can move P from the water column into a permanent sink. Many wetland soils store N, P, and C through accretion of organic matter.