Role and ecological impact of groundwater in delivering phospohorus to agricultural streams

加拿大各地的溪流、河流和湖泊都受到包括农业在内的人类活动过量输入磷的威胁。过量的磷导致有害的藻类大量繁殖，损害水生生态系统，并污染饮用水源。这会产生严重的经济、生态和社会影响。尽管大量的经济投资和广泛实施的农业管理措施，旨在尽量减少磷投入到地表沃茨，水质改善一直有限。目前的做法普遍缺乏考虑磷输入地下水，虽然这条途径可能是重要的，并可能在解释管理措施的有限成功发挥关键作用。拟议的项目将结合联合收割机新的实地调查与国家的最先进的计算机建模和用户友好的决策支持工具的发展，以评估的贡献和生态影响的地下水输送磷到农业流。这包括提高对地下水-地表水过渡区（连接农田和溪流）复杂的水文和地球化学相互作用过程的认识，以及评估溪流对地下水磷输入的生态响应。迫切需要新的科学认识和工具，将产生指导农业养分管理计划和政策，旨在恢复和保护加拿大各地的地表沃茨。该项目将汇集大学和政府研究人员、政府机构和一个保护当局，他们将共同努力，建立和应用研究成果，作出知情的管理和政策决定，使加拿大在10年的时间内受益。该研究将涉及一名博士后研究员，四名研究生和九名本科生，他们将获得尖端的多学科培训，并通过与环境管理和政策组织的互动获得宝贵的现实经验。

Streams, rivers and lakes across Canada are threatened by excessive inputs of phosphorus from human activities including agriculture. Excess phosphorus leads to harmful algal blooms, impairs aquatic ecosystems, and contaminates drinking water sources. This has severe economic, ecological and societal implications. Despite large economic investments and widespread implementation of agricultural management practices aimed at minimizing phosphorus inputs to surface waters, water quality improvements have been limited. Current practices generally lack consideration for phosphorus inputs from groundwater although this pathway may be important and may play a key role in explaining the limit success of management practices. The proposed project will combine novel field investigations with state-of-the-art computer modeling and the development of user-friendly decision support tools to evaluate the contribution and ecological impact of groundwater in delivering phosphorus to agricultural streams. This includes advancing understanding on the complex interacting hydrological and biogeochemical processes occurring in the groundwater-surface water transition zone connecting agricultural lands to streams, as well as evaluating the stream ecological response to groundwater phosphorus inputs. The new scientific understanding and tools that will be generated are urgently needed to guide agricultural nutrient management programs and policy aimed at restoring and protecting surface waters across Canada. This project will bring together university and government researchers, government agencies and a conservation authority who will work together to establish and apply the research findings to make informed management and policy decisions that will benefit Canada within a 10-year time frame. The research will involve one postdoctoral fellow, four graduate students and nine undergraduate students who will obtain cutting-edge multidisciplinary training and gain valuable real-world experience through interaction with environmental management and policy organizations.