Field study shows vegetated filter strips reduce sediment and nutrient loss in agricultural runoff, suggesting limited reliability for nutrient reduction.
Afield study utilizing simulated rainfall and bare plots 5.5 m wide by 22 m long was conducted to study the effectiveness of vegetated filter strips 4.6 and 9.2 m long in removing nutrients and sediments from agricultural runoff. Losses of N and P from plots with filters were highly variable as compared to losses from plots with no filters. Generally, nutrient removals appeared to be greater with the longer filters, but decreased as the number of runoff events increased. Mass losses of TSS, TN and TP in surface runoff were reduced by 66%, 0% and 27%, respectively, by 4.6 m (15 ft) long filters. TSS, TN and TP reducfions by 9.2 m (30 ft) long filter strips of the lengths utilized in this study were effective in removing sediment from runoff but should not be relied upon as the primary means to reduce nutrient losses from agricultural areas.
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Magette et al. (1989) studied this question.
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