Solute Transport in Eroded and Rehabilitated Prairie Landforms. 1. Nonreactive Solute

Information regarding solute and water transport as affected by soil properties, topography, and climatic conditions is required to improve and validate transport models. This study evaluated the dissipation of bromide applied to the soil surface in the fall and spring to undisturbed (eroded) and rehabilitated landforms, in which topsoil was moved from depositional areas to the eroded upper slope. Despite large changes in soil properties, the amount and center of mass of bromide remaining in the top 1 m of soil was the same in undisturbed and rehabilitated plots. Approximately 60% of the fall-applied bromide was lost during the winter and early spring, presumably due to leaching and runoff. The center of mass of spring-applied bromide remained at depths of <30 cm. At the end of the experiment, 33% of the spring-applied bromide was detected in soil and 56% in corn plants. These results suggest that little bromide was leached out of the root zone in the spring and that plant uptake was a major route of bromide dissipation during the growing season.