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FIELD TESTING OF MITIGATION OPTIONS FOR
PHOSPHORUS AND SEDIMENT (MOPS)
CJ Stevens and JN Quinton
Department of Environmental Science, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 1PZ, UK,
E-mail: C.Stevens@lancaster.ac.uk
SUMMARY
Diffuse phosphorus (P) pollution contributes to the eutrophication of surface waters
and is a serious problem in the UK. Losses of P associated with soil particles are
often linked to soil erosion. There are already a wide range of options for reducing
soil erosion and the subject has received considerable research effort. However, less
is known about the effectiveness of these methods for reducing P losses. To address
this gap, the Mitigation Options for Phosphorus and Sediment (MOPS) project
focuses on a range of treatments with potential for mitigating P losses associated
with combinable crops. Field experiments have been established at three contrasting
sites in the UK. At each site a number of different treatments are being investigated
including cultivation techniques, tramline management, cover crops and vegetative
barriers. These treatments reflect different levels of intervention. The project will
also consider the financial costs associated with adopting these different mitigation
options.
INTRODUCTION
Diffuse P pollution, predominantly from agricultural sources (including fertiliser and
animal waste), is a serious problem in the UK and contributes to the eutrophication of
waterways and standing water bodies. Surface waters in the UK are strongly limited
by P and even small additions can cause eutrophication. P occurs naturally within
soils, but high inputs in the form of organic and inorganic fertilisers from agricultural
crops have resulted in considerably higher levels of soil P than are utilised by the
crop plants. Inputs in the form of fertiliser and manure are between 20 and 50 kg ha/
year (Haygarth et al., 1998) and (Haygarth et al., 2005) have shown that total losses
of P from soils are estimated to be approximately 1 kg/ha/year.
Phosphorus binds to soil particles and losses of P associated with soil particles are
often linked to soil erosion. As a result of the research effort since the 1930s there
are a wide range of effective mitigation options for reducing soil erosion. However,
much less is known about how effective these mitigation options are for reducing the
P losses associated with sediment.
The Mitigation Options for Phosphorus and Sediment (MOPS) project focuses on a
range of treatments with potential for reducing P losses associated with combinable
crops. The treatments being investigated reflect different levels of intervention and
are suitable for inclusion under Cross Compliance and the Entry Level Stewardship
scheme or Higher Tier options. All the treatments have the aim of reducing sediment
losses by reducing overland flow velocity, protecting the soil surface or managing
soil structure.
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