Scientist wants to know origin of Bay’s phosphorous

By BRUCE HOTCHKISS
Senior Editor

NEWARK, Del. — A University of Delaware research scientist argues that an efficient nutrient management plan for the Chesapeake Bay cannot be crafted until the origins of the invading nutrients, particularly phosphorous, are known.

Take phosphorous (P), says Dr. Deb Jaisi, an associate professor of environmental biogeochemistry at the university’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

Did it come from runoff of manure or fertilizers? Or did it originate in wastewater, or geological processes such as soil or rock dissolution? Or how about driven into the Bay from the ocean?

Dr. Jaisi noted that the EPA recently finalized stringent rules on total maximum daily load in the Chesapeake Bay with rigorous accountability measures requiring 24 percent phosphorus cutoff by 2025, with at least 60 percent action completed by 2017.

“Under this plan, EPA estimates that 20 percent or about 600,000 acres of cropped land in the watershed, will have to be removed from production and be converted to grassland or forest,” Jaisi said.

READ MORE:  http://www.americanfarm.com/publications/the-delmarva-farmer