The Bly Creek ecosystem study: Phosphorus transport within a euhaline salt marsh basin, North Inlet, South Carolina
Dame, R.F.; Wolaver, T.G.; Williams, T.M.; Spurrier, J.D.; Miller, A.B. (1990). The Bly Creek ecosystem study: Phosphorus transport within a euhaline salt marsh basin, North Inlet, South Carolina. Neth. J. Sea Res. 27(1): 73-80
In: Netherlands Journal of Sea Research. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ): Groningen; Den Burg. ISSN 0077-7579; e-ISSN 1873-1406, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Dame, R.F.
- Wolaver, T.G.
- Williams, T.M.
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- Spurrier, J.D.
- Miller, A.B.
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| Abstract |
Phosphorus transport through the tidal creek linking the Bly Creek basin (North Inlet, South Carolina) and the surrounding water body was studied on 34 tidal cycles between 20 June 1983 and 19 June 1984. Annual estimates of phosphorus input to the basin via streamwater, groundwater, and rainwater were made. Inputs of PO4 into the basin via streamwater, groundwater, and rain totalled 19.6 kg p·y-1; PO4 export from the basin was not significant. Within the basin, the salt marsh was shown to be an important sink for PO4 (207 kg p·y-1) while the oyster reef community exported a statistically insignificant 7.7 kg p·y-1. The data suggest that the source of the PO4 to the salt marsh is the water column or benthic sediments of the tidal creek. The salt marsh was a significant sink for particulate phosphorus, but those uptakes were less than the error on the insignificant fluxes into the basin via the water column. The oyster reef community was a statistically significant sink for total phosphorus (98 kg p·y-1). |
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