Phosphorus Transport along the Cropland–Riparian–Stream Continuum in Cold Climate Agroecosystems: A Review

Phosphorus (P) loss from cropland to ground and surface waters is a global concern. In cold climates (CCs), freeze–thaw cycles, snowmelt runoff events, seasonally wet soils increase P potential while limiting removal effectiveness of riparian buffer zones (RBZs) other practices. While RBZs can help reduce particulate transfer streams, attenuation dissolved forms more challenging. Moreover, transport studies often focus on either or exclusively rather than spanning the natural cropland–RBZ–stream gradient, defined here as continuum. Watershed models agronomic site indices are commonly used identify critical source areas; however, RBZ effects usually not included. addition, coarse resolution watershed may capture finer-scale soil factors affecting mobilization. It clear that microtopography hydrology closely linked important drivers release in overland flow. Combining light detection ranging (LiDAR) based digital elevation with process-based show promise for mapping modeling risk cropland-RBZ better mechanistic understanding processes controlling mobile species across regions needed. Broader predictive approaches integrating hydro-biogeochemical real-time hydroclimatic data assessment tools also hold improving CCs.