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Development of a Reliable Phosphorus Site Index for Assessing the Potential for Phosphorus Losses from Agricultural Lands
Dr. Frank Coale is the PI. The duration of this project is from 1998-2005. The Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998 mandated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrient management planning for nearly all of Maryland’s commercial agricultural operations. During the crafting of the State regulations that implemented the Act, a phosphorus indexing tool (P Index) was identified as the primary method to be used for determining the potential for P losses from agricultural land to waters of the state. At that time, a reliable P Index did not exist.
The objective of this project was to develop a reliable P Index that could be used to assess the potential for P losses from Maryland’s diverse agricultural lands. Our objective was constrained by State regulations that necessitated that a P Index be developed that could be applied dependably on all Maryland farmland regardless of geographic, topographic or hydrological setting. Objective development and testing was further constrained by the very aggressive implementation schedule imposed by the State regulations that required State-approved, P Index-based, nutrient management plans be developed for practically all Maryland farmland within six years of the passage of the Water Quality Improvement Act of 1998. Therefore, our specific objective was to create a reliable, broadly applicable P Index that could be put into practice as expeditiously as possible.
The initial version of the Maryland P Site Index was released in September 2000 as two MCE publications: Soil Fertility Management, SFM-6, was published as a general overview of the P Site Index; and Soil Fertility Management, SFM-7, was the technical users guide for conducting P Site Index evaluations. Revised versions of both publications were released in April 2005. Additionally, a paper was published in the prestigious Journal of Environmental Quality (2002, volume 31, p.1471-1476) that reported the development and deployment of the Maryland P Site Index.
The Maryland P Site Index is currently used for developing all agricultural nutrient management plans in Maryland. Utilization of this management tool is required by current State regulations.
For more information, contact Dr. Frank Coale
Last updated: 04/9/2009
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