Surface runoff can transport dissolved phosphorus into surface waters. Grassland areas that have been heavily enriched with phosphorus and fertilised with liquid manure are particularly problematic.
Lysimeters are cylindrical containers filled with natural soil. The water percolating into the soil can be collected at the bottom of these containers. Agroscope’s lysimeters are used to study the water- and mass balance of agricultural soils.
Soil erosion is not only a soil-physical problem and damages soil fertility, but can also lead to water pollution if phosphorus is transported into water bodies with the eroded soil material.
For the ‘National Action Plan for Risk Reduction and Sustainable Use of Plant-Protection Products’ (AP PPP), PPP routes of entry into surface waters via erosion, surface runoff, leaching, tile-drainage runoff and farmyard runoff are identified.
