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Impact of phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations on the biological integrity of Wisconsin streams Completed

By Upper Midwest Water Science Center February 10, 2019

The USGS and Wisconsin DNR collected water-quality and biological data from 240 wadeable streams and 40 nonwadeable rivers throughout Wisconsin to evaluate the potential environmental benefits of enforcing nutrient criteria and standards for streams and rivers if they better reflected regionally defined, scientifically defensible thresholds to biotic response.

Photo of a rural wadeable stream in Wisconsin
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
Photo of a rural wadeable stream in Wisconsin.

Problem:

Excessive nutrient (primarily phosphorus and nitrogen) loss from the watershed is associated with water-quality problems in Wisconsin's streams and lakes. Implementation of WDNR's agricultural performance standards and prohibitions should decrease the risk of excessive nutrient loss from croplands and livestock operations. In addition, establishing phosphorus criteria and developing site-specific TMDLs would also reduce the problems caused by excessive nutrient concentrations. Expected water-quality improvements due to the application of phosphorus criteria and other standards may vary due to differences in nutrient responses dependent upon where the site is located. There would be more confidence in the potential environmental benefits of enforcing nutrient criteria and standards for streams and rivers if they reflect regionally defined scientifically defensible thresholds to biotic response. Defined nutrient criteria and thresholds for biotic indices would enable the use of monitoring data to identify rivers and streams affected by excessive nutrients and would be useful to water-resource managers in directing rehabilitation efforts.

 

Objectives and Approach:

The USGS and Wisconsin DNR collected water-quality and biological data from 240 wadeable streams and 40 nonwadeable rivers throughout Wisconsin and described the environmental characteristics of their watersheds to:

  1. Describe how nutrients and biotic-community structure vary in streams and rivers throughout the State;
  2. Determine which environmental characteristics are most strongly related to nutrient concentrations;
  3. Determine reference water-quality and biotic conditions for different areas of the State;
  4. Determine how biotic communities respond to changes in nutrient concentrations;
  5. Determine the best regionalization scheme to describe patterns in reference conditions and responses in water quality and the biotic community;
  6. Identify thresholds or breakpoints in the biological response between nutrient concentrations and biotic indices; and
  7. Provide information for the Wisconsin DNR and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set nutrient criteria for Wisconsin's streams and rivers. 

 
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources personnel collecting fish with electrofishing gear. (Photo by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Web Links:

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Nutrient Criteria Web Page
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/nutrients/index.cfm

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Phosphorus Rules 
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/surfacewater/phosphorus.html

Below are publications associated with this project.

Nutrient Concentrations and Their Relations to the Biotic Integrity of Nonwadeable Rivers in Wisconsin

Excessive nutrient [phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N)] input from point and nonpoint sources is frequently associated with degraded water quality in streams and rivers. Point-source discharges of nutrients are fairly constant and are controlled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. To reduce inputs from nonpoint sources, agricultural p
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, Brian M. Weigel, David J. Graczyk
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Identifying biotic integrity and water chemistry relations in nonwadeable rivers of Wisconsin: Toward the development of nutrient criteria

We sampled 41 sites on 34 nonwadeable rivers that represent the types of rivers in Wisconsin, and the kinds and intensities of nutrient and other anthropogenic stressors upon each river type. Sites covered much of United States Environmental Protection Agency national nutrient ecoregions VII-Mostly Glaciated Dairy Region, and VIII-Nutrient Poor, Largely Glaciated upper Midwest. Fish, macroinverteb
Authors
B.M. Weigel, Dale M. Robertson

Linkages between nutrients and assemblages of macroinvertebrates and fish in wadeable streams: Implication to nutrient criteria development

We sampled 240 wadeable streams across Wisconsin for different forms of phosphorus and nitrogen, and assemblages of macroinvertebrates and fish to (1) examine how macroinvertebrate and fish measures correlated with the nutrients; (2) quantify relationships between key biological measures and nutrient forms to identify potential threshold levels of nutrients to support nutrient criteria development
Authors
L. Wang, Dale M. Robertson, P.J. Garrison

Nutrient concentrations and their relations to the biotic integrity of wadeable streams in Wisconsin

Excessive nutrient (phosphorus and nitrogen) loss from watersheds is frequently associated with degraded water quality in streams. To reduce this loss, agricultural performance standards and regulations for croplands and livestock operations are being proposed by various States. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is establishing regionally based nutrient criteria that can be ref
Authors
Dale M. Robertson, David J. Graczyk, Paul J. Garrison, Lizhu Wang, Gina LaLiberte, Roger Bannerman
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Below are partners associated with this project.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)

  • Overview

    The USGS and Wisconsin DNR collected water-quality and biological data from 240 wadeable streams and 40 nonwadeable rivers throughout Wisconsin to evaluate the potential environmental benefits of enforcing nutrient criteria and standards for streams and rivers if they better reflected regionally defined, scientifically defensible thresholds to biotic response.

    Photo of a rural wadeable stream in Wisconsin
    Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
    Photo of a rural wadeable stream in Wisconsin.

    Problem:

    Excessive nutrient (primarily phosphorus and nitrogen) loss from the watershed is associated with water-quality problems in Wisconsin's streams and lakes. Implementation of WDNR's agricultural performance standards and prohibitions should decrease the risk of excessive nutrient loss from croplands and livestock operations. In addition, establishing phosphorus criteria and developing site-specific TMDLs would also reduce the problems caused by excessive nutrient concentrations. Expected water-quality improvements due to the application of phosphorus criteria and other standards may vary due to differences in nutrient responses dependent upon where the site is located. There would be more confidence in the potential environmental benefits of enforcing nutrient criteria and standards for streams and rivers if they reflect regionally defined scientifically defensible thresholds to biotic response. Defined nutrient criteria and thresholds for biotic indices would enable the use of monitoring data to identify rivers and streams affected by excessive nutrients and would be useful to water-resource managers in directing rehabilitation efforts.

     

    Objectives and Approach:

    The USGS and Wisconsin DNR collected water-quality and biological data from 240 wadeable streams and 40 nonwadeable rivers throughout Wisconsin and described the environmental characteristics of their watersheds to:

    1. Describe how nutrients and biotic-community structure vary in streams and rivers throughout the State;
    2. Determine which environmental characteristics are most strongly related to nutrient concentrations;
    3. Determine reference water-quality and biotic conditions for different areas of the State;
    4. Determine how biotic communities respond to changes in nutrient concentrations;
    5. Determine the best regionalization scheme to describe patterns in reference conditions and responses in water quality and the biotic community;
    6. Identify thresholds or breakpoints in the biological response between nutrient concentrations and biotic indices; and
    7. Provide information for the Wisconsin DNR and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set nutrient criteria for Wisconsin's streams and rivers. 

     
    Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources personnel collecting fish with electrofishing gear. (Photo by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Web Links:

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Nutrient Criteria Web Page
    http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/criteria/nutrients/index.cfm

    Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Phosphorus Rules 
    http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/surfacewater/phosphorus.html

  • Publications

    Below are publications associated with this project.

    Nutrient Concentrations and Their Relations to the Biotic Integrity of Nonwadeable Rivers in Wisconsin

    Excessive nutrient [phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N)] input from point and nonpoint sources is frequently associated with degraded water quality in streams and rivers. Point-source discharges of nutrients are fairly constant and are controlled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (USEPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. To reduce inputs from nonpoint sources, agricultural p
    Authors
    Dale M. Robertson, Brian M. Weigel, David J. Graczyk
    By
    Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

    Identifying biotic integrity and water chemistry relations in nonwadeable rivers of Wisconsin: Toward the development of nutrient criteria

    We sampled 41 sites on 34 nonwadeable rivers that represent the types of rivers in Wisconsin, and the kinds and intensities of nutrient and other anthropogenic stressors upon each river type. Sites covered much of United States Environmental Protection Agency national nutrient ecoregions VII-Mostly Glaciated Dairy Region, and VIII-Nutrient Poor, Largely Glaciated upper Midwest. Fish, macroinverteb
    Authors
    B.M. Weigel, Dale M. Robertson

    Linkages between nutrients and assemblages of macroinvertebrates and fish in wadeable streams: Implication to nutrient criteria development

    We sampled 240 wadeable streams across Wisconsin for different forms of phosphorus and nitrogen, and assemblages of macroinvertebrates and fish to (1) examine how macroinvertebrate and fish measures correlated with the nutrients; (2) quantify relationships between key biological measures and nutrient forms to identify potential threshold levels of nutrients to support nutrient criteria development
    Authors
    L. Wang, Dale M. Robertson, P.J. Garrison

    Nutrient concentrations and their relations to the biotic integrity of wadeable streams in Wisconsin

    Excessive nutrient (phosphorus and nitrogen) loss from watersheds is frequently associated with degraded water quality in streams. To reduce this loss, agricultural performance standards and regulations for croplands and livestock operations are being proposed by various States. In addition, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is establishing regionally based nutrient criteria that can be ref
    Authors
    Dale M. Robertson, David J. Graczyk, Paul J. Garrison, Lizhu Wang, Gina LaLiberte, Roger Bannerman
    By
    Water Resources Mission Area, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
  • Partners

    Below are partners associated with this project.

    Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)