Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692

DOI 10.1007/s10661-016-5681-9

Export of non-point source suspended sediment, nitrogen,

and phosphorus from sloping highland agricultural fields
in the East Asian monsoon region
Arif Reza & Jaesung Eum & Sungmin Jung &
Youngsoon Choi & Jeffrey S. Owen & Bomchul Kim

Received: 25 July 2016 / Accepted: 2 November 2016

# Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

Abstract Excess sediment and nutrient export from
agricultural fields with steep slopes is a major concern
linked to surface water quality in Korea. In this study,
the export of suspended sediment (SS), total nitrogen
(TN), and total phosphorus (TP) and their event mean
concentrations (EMCs) in surface runoff from a high-
land mixed land use (61% forested, 30% cropped, 9%
other) watershed were quantified. In 2007, the Korean
Ministry of Environment (MoE) declared the study area
as a priority region for non-point source (NPS) pollution
management and initiated various best management
practices (BMPs) in the study watershed. SS, TN, and
TP concentrations in Mandae Stream were monitored
for 5 years (20092013) to evaluate the effectiveness of
BMPs. Average EMCs for SS, TN, and TP were as high
as 986, 3.4 and 0.8 mg/L, respectively. The agricultural
export coefficients of agricultural land in the study
watershed for SS, TN, and TP were 5611, 171, and
6.83 kg/ha/year, respectively. A comparison with results
from other studies shows that both EMCs and agricul-
tural export coefficients in the study watershed were
much higher than most of the results reported for water-
sheds in other regions. The results show that sediment
and nutrient export from intensive agriculture areas with
A. Reza : J. Eum : S. Jung : Y. Choi : B. Kim (*)
Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National
University, Chuncheon 24341, Republic of Korea
e-mail: bkim@kangwon.ac.kr
J. S. Owen
Department of Environmental Science, Hankuk University of
Foreign Studies, Yongin 17035, Republic of Korea
steep slopes continue to be a major concern for the
downstream reservoir, Lake Soyang. Remedial strate-
gies should be directed towards controlling sources of
SS, TN, and TP to improve downstream water quality in
sloping highland agricultural areas in Korea.
Keywords Event mean concentration (EMC) . Non-
point source . Nitrogen . Phosphorus . Monsoon . Korea
Introduction
In many regions, point sources of pollution of sediment
and nutrients have been significantly reduced as a result
of regulatory controls and advances in wastewater treat-
ment and concerns about water quality in freshwater
ecosystems have become focused on reducing non-
point source (NPS) pollution (Van der Molen et al.
1998; Vuorenmaa et al. 2002). NPS pollution is often
episodic and generally influenced by site-specific soil
characteristics such as spatial (topography, land use, and
management practices), meteorological (rainfall
amount, intensity, and timing), and geological variables
(bedrock geology, soil type; Novotny 2003).
In Korea, many studies have been conducted on NPS
pollution from urban and agricultural areas, with fewer
studies on mixed land use sloping highland watersheds
(Kim et al. 2007a, b; Yoon et al. 2010; Memon et al.
2015). Intensive highland agriculture in watersheds with
steep slopes can cause severe soil erosion resulting in
downstream water quality impairment (Arnhold et al.
2014). Therefore, many problems related to excessive
692 Page 2 of 15
export of NPS sediment and nutrients from watersheds
in highland areas have not improved significantly.
Sediment and nutrient export, together with climate
change, is a major threat to aquatic ecosystem health,
and a better understanding of regional and global scale
patterns in rates of sediment and nutrient export is
needed (Paerl et al. 2011). Although algal production
in freshwater systems is often considered to be phos-
phorus (P) limited, more recent efforts have emphasized
that managing both P and nitrogen (N) inputs will be
necessary for controlling harmful algal blooms and oth-
er problems associated with excess sediment and nutri-
ents (Anderson et al. 2002; Heisler et al. 2008). Reduc-
ing NPS pollution represents a challenge because runoff
processes are complex (Rissman and Carpenter 2015).
Better knowledge focused on identifying sources and
quantifying NPS pollution will contribute to efforts to
develop total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and best
management practices (BMPs), especially in locations
which lack extensive long-term studies of sediment and
nutrient export (Gaddis et al. 2014).
In Korea, point sources of pollution have been re-
duced, but the expected improvements in reservoir wa-
ter quality have not been achieved. Moreover, issues
related to water quality deterioration in many multipur-
pose reservoirs have continued. Due to the limited
amount of flat arable land, agricultural land use in
highland areas in Korea has increased and intensified.
To increase production, forested areas on steep slopes
have been converted to agricultural land, resulting in
soil erosion and turbid surface water runoff. For com-
pensating the erosion-induced soil loss, top soil dressing
on dryland fields has become a common practice. More-
over, both organic compost and chemical fertilizer ap-
plication rates in highland agricultural fields are much
higher than the recommended application rates (Kim
et al. 2001). Excess fertilizer use and increased surface
runoff during the East Asian summer monsoon can
result in dramatic export of sediment and nutrients from
watersheds and associated water quality deterioration.
Hence, NPS pollution from upstream highland agricul-
tural watersheds has been identified as a major contrib-
utor to the continued deterioration in water quality of
downstream reservoirs in Korea (Choi 2008).
Lake Soyang, the largest reservoir in Korea, has also
experienced the consequences associated with increased
sediment and nutrient losses from the watershed. Lake
Soyang is primarily used for flood control and the
supply of drinking water to the Seoul metropolitan area.
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
Historically, issues related to water quality in the upper
region of the Lake Soyang watershed were considered
unimportant due to the limited development in the wa-
tershed and generally pristine conditions in large parts of
the watershed. In response to the continuing expansion
of agricultural activities in upstream areas of the Lake
Soyang watershed, sediment and nutrient export from
sloping highland agricultural fields not only has trig-
gered serious water quality problems for Lake Soyang
but has also affected domestic water supplies. In re-
sponse, the Korean Ministry of Environment (MoE)
declared the upstream area of the Lake Soyang water-
shed as a priority NPS pollution management region in
2007 and BMPs were implemented to reduce export of
NPS pollutants. This effort was among the first initia-
tives by the Korean government to manage NPS pollu-
tion. It is imperative to have a comprehensive under-
standing of sediment and nutrient export from the study
watershed, especially during the summer monsoon sea-
son, to evaluate the effectiveness of BMPs.
The specific objectives of this study were to (1)
compare patterns in stream sediment and nutrient con-
centrations during dry periods and rain events, (2) cal-
culate event mean concentrations (EMCs) in stream
water to evaluate the effectiveness of BMPs, and (3)
quantify NPS export of suspended sediment (SS), total
nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) from the high-
land agricultural fields in the upper reaches of the Lake
Soyang watershed using a 5-year record of stream water
discharge and chemistry.
Materials and methods
Watershed characteristics
The Haean watershed is a 6174-ha mixed land use
forest-agricultural highland watershed (longitude
12850 to 12811E and latitude 3813 to 3820N) in
Gangwon Province, Korea (Fig. 1). There are three
major land use types in the watershed (Table 1). The
steep slopes (61% of the watershed) in the forested
mountainous areas and moderately steep slopes (30%
of the watershed) in the dry land agricultural areas and
flat areas (9% of the watershed) were used as rice fields
in the central part of the watershed. The soils of the
watershed are characterized as cambisols, formed from
highly weathered biotite granite (Gwon et al. 1990).
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692 Page 3 of 15 692

Fig. 1 Location of the study watershed in Gangwon Province, Korea

The hydrological characteristics in the Haean water-
shed are dominated by the East-Asian summer monsoon
climate. The summer monsoon climate results in the
potential for severe erosion with nearly 70% of the
annual precipitation occurring from July to August.
During this season, rain events of 100 mm/day occur
as episodic heavy showers (Kim et al. 2000). Approxi-
mately 90% of the annual rainfall occurs during the
cropping season (AprilOctober) (Kettering et al.
2012). During the period from 2004 to 2013, the mean
annual air temperature and mean annual precipitation
were 10.9 C and 1506 mm, respectively.
The study area is one of the largest highland agri-
cultural regions in the Lake Soyang watershed (Kim
et al. 2000). The dominant crops are rice, potato,
radish, cabbage, and bean. Highland agriculture is
prominent at elevations above 600 m, because the
cool summer temperatures provide ideal conditions
for row crops like cabbage. Most importantly, some
areas of the study watershed are characterized by
steep slopes (Table 1). Despite the small agricultural
area in the watershed, rapid expansion of agricultural
land use in areas with steep slopes has resulted in this
area acting as a hot spot for NPS export of sediment
and nutrients to downstream surface waters. The
Mandae Stream is the only outlet of the watershed;
the study stream flows into the Inbuk Stream and then
to the Soyang River and finally into Lake Soyang
(Fig. 1).
Sampling and chemical analysis
The stream water sampling was carried out in the
Mandae Stream, the outlet of the Haean watershed
(Fig. 1). Hourly rainfall data were available from an
automatic weather station located in the watershed op-
erated by the Korea Meteorological Administration.
Stream discharge was estimated using the velocity area
technique. The cross section of the stream bed was

Table 1 Physical characteristics of the Haean watershed

Area (ha) Population density (persons/ha) Elevation (m) Total watershed Topographic slope class (%)
area (%)

Forest Crop Others Very steep slope Moderate to steep slope Mild slope

6174 0.23 3401320 61.1 29.6 9.3 59.4 27.8 12.8

692 Page 4 of 15
surveyed prior to the first rain event, and little alteration
of the bed geometry was found subsequently.
The monitoring program also included a stream water
sampling campaign carried out during the monsoon sea-
son (June to September). The sampling frequency for a
single rain event varied depending on the rainfall amount.
Generally, stream water grab samples were collected at 1-
to 2-h intervals to characterize changes in stream chemis-
try during rain events. The data used for this study include
5 years of stream water quality measurements including
29 rain events during the study period (20092013).
Stream water samples were collected periodically
during the dry periods (nominally October through
May). A minimum of three to four stream grab samples
were collected during the dry periods using the same
sampling procedures as used for the rain event stream
sampling. Grab samples were collected using pre-rinsed
polyethylene bottles. Water samples were kept cool
during transport back to the laboratory at Kangwon
National University.
SS (measured as suspended solids), TN, and TP con-
centrations were measured using standard procedures
(APHA, AWWA, WEF, WPCF 2005). Stream water
samples were divided into two aliquots, one used for
measuring SS and the other acidified to pH 2 with
H2SO4 for TP and TN measurements. SS was measured
after filtration and drying (105 C). TN concentrations
were determined using the cadmium reduction method
after persulfate digestion (APHA, AWWA, WEF, WPCF
2005). TP was measured on unfiltered samples using the
ascorbic acid method (Murphy and Riley 1962).
A laboratory quality control and quality assurance
(QA/QC) program was used to ensure the accuracy and
reproducibility of the stream water measurements in the
field sampling program. QA/QC samples included peri-
odic analysis of field duplicates, filter blanks, and addi-
tional quality control samples. Samples were reanalyzed
if the precision of laboratory duplicate samples was less
than 20%.
EMC calculation
This study used EMC to characterize stream water SS,
TN, and TP concentrations and changes in stream water
quality during rain events. EMC is defined as the flow-
weighted average of the concentration of a water quality
parameter expressed as milligrams per liter (Charbeneau
and Barrett 1998). EMCs of a single event were calcu-
lated by dividing the total mass of a pollutant discharged
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
during a rain event by the total stream discharge for the
event:
n . n
EMC i1 C i Qi t i i1 Qi t i 1
where EMC indicates the event mean concentration
(mg/L), n is the total number of samples during a single
rain event, Qi indicates the stream discharge (m3/s) at
time i, Ci is the corresponding concentration (mg/L) at
time i, and ti is the time window from the middle of one
sample to the middle of the next sample. The trapezoidal
method was used to calculate EMC. EMCs have been
shown to be useful in interpreting complex patterns and
to compare among different events at different times or
sites (Maniquiz et al. 2010).
Annual export of SS, TN, and TP
Annual export of SS, TN, and TP was calculated to
represent the amount of each pollutant transported from
the Haean watershed annually. Because of significant
differences in dry periods and rain event sampling strat-
egies, the export during sampled and non-sampled rain
events and the dry periods was calculated separately and
summed to obtain annual export.
1. Export during sampled rain events
The direct numerical integration method was used to
calculate pollutant export (Richards 1998) during sam-
pled rain events and expressed as
n
E 1 i1 C i Qi t i 2
where E1 is the export during sampled rain event (kg/
event), Ci is the corresponding concentration (mg/L) at
time i, Qi indicates the stream discharge (m3/s) at time i,
ti is the time window from the middle of one sample to
the middle of the next sample, and n is the number of
samples collected during the rain event.
2. Export during non-sampled rain events
Export of SS, TN, and TP during non-sampled rain
events was calculated using the export-discharge (E-Q)
relationship for the study stream (Alexander et al. 1996;
Tomer et al. 2003; Tiemeyer et al. 2006). During the
study period, a total of 118 rain events occurred. Rain
events were separated using a minimum inter-event time
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
(MIT) of 6 h (Dunkerley 2008). Rain events with a
rainfall of 10 mm or more were considered as rain
events, assuming that any rain events with a rainfall
of less than 10 mm did not have any effect on runoff
(Eum 2015). To calculate the export during non-
sampled rain events, data for export and stream
discharge during sampled rain events was plotted
as a straight line on a log-log plot and export was
calculated as
E 2 aQb
where E2 is the export during a non-sampled rain event
(kg/event), a is the intercept and was calculated by using
measured concentrations during a sampled event, b is
the slope and was determined by the relationship be-
tween concentration and stream discharge during high
flow periods, and Q indicates the stream discharge (m3/
event) during non-sampled rain events. The constant b is
also designated as the elasticity coefficient (Alexander
et al. 1996). If b > 1, concentration increases with
increasing discharge; if b < 1, concentration decreases
with increasing discharge (Tomer et al. 2003).
3. Export during dry season
The export during dry season was calculated using
the following equation:
E 3 cQi
Fig. 2 Annual rainfall, stream discharge, and sampled rain events in the Haean watershed (20092013)
Page 5 of 15 692
where E3 is the export during the dry periods (kg/day);
c is the mean concentration of samples collected during
the dry period (mg/L), and Qi indicates the stream
discharge (m3/day) during the dry periods.
SS, TN, and TP export coefficients
Export coefficients have been used to compare the av-
erage amount of a pollutant exported per unit area per
3 time from a particular land use type (Beaulac and
Reckhow 1982). In this study, export of sediment and
nutrients from agricultural areas was calculated by
subtracting the background export from the total annual
export. Sediment and nutrient export from forested land
in the watershed was considered as the background
export. The export from forested land was derived
through monitoring a stream in the forested sub-
watershed (Fig. 1). To calculate agricultural export co-
efficients, the difference between total annual export and
export from forested land was divided by the area of
agricultural land and expressed as
.
AC TEFE A 5
where AC is the agricultural export coefficient (kg/ha/
year), TE is the total annual export from the watershed
(kg/year), FE is the export from forested land (kg/year),
and A is the area (ha) of agricultural land in the water-
4 shed (Jung et al. 2009).
692 Page 6 of 15 Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692

Results and discussion
Summary of the sampled rain events
A total of 29 rain events were sampled during the
study period (Fig. 2), and characteristics of the indi-
vidual rain event are shown in Table 2. The rainfall
amount (RA), maximum rainfall intensity (MRI), av-
erage rainfall intensity (ARI), and antecedent dry
days (ADD) during the monitoring period ranged
from 17 to 210 mm, 3.5 to 32.5 mm/h, 0.9 to
12 mm/h, and 0 to 47 days, respectively. The sum of
rainfall amount monitored in this study accounted for
41.3% of the total rainfall in the Haean watershed.

Table 2 Rain events sampled using intensive stream sampling for days (ADD), and calculated EMCs (event mean concentrations)
this study (rain event, rainfall amount (RA), maximum rainfall for SS, TN, and TP in Mandae Stream
intensity (MRI), average rainfall intensity (ARI), antecedent dry

Year Sampling date Rain event RA (mm) MRI (mm/h) ARI (mm/h) ADD (day) SS (mg/L) TN (mg/L) TP (mg/L)

2009 July 9 1 167 29.0 12.0 4 4082 2.3 1.5

July 1113 2 149 18.0 5.0 2 1747 2.1 1.2
July 14 3 135 14.5 6.4 1 1745 1.8 0.9
Aug 1112 4 210 21.0 8.7 4 3006 3.2 1.5
2010 May 1819 5 69 12.5 2.7 6 1367 5.2 1.6
May 2324 6 43 6.0 1.3 4 285 3.9 0.5
July 23 7 42 6.5 1.8 5 513 3.8 0.6
July 1618 8 91 8.0 2.2 11 765 3.6 0.8
Aug 67 9 43 12.5 1.3 1 235 3.2 1.3
Aug 2526 10 117 21.0 3.3 1 386 3.2 0.5
Sep 2 11 74 13.5 4.1 3 353 3.2 0.5
2011 May 910 12 64 9.5 1.3 3 529 4.1 0.6
June 2324 13 83 14.0 3.1 14 2409 3.3 2.2
June 2526 14 89 8.5 2.8 0 1011 3.3 0.9
June 27 15 17 3.5 0.9 0 116 3.6 0.2
June 2930 16 151 18.0 3.9 1 2626 3.1 1.6
July 78 17 37 7.5 2.6 4 212 3.4 0.3
2012 June 30 18 29 8.5 4.8 47 1358 4.2 1.3
July 11 19 18 4.0 1.1 4 120 5.3 0.2
July 1920 20 71 17.0 2.3 3 425 3.2 0.7
Aug 15 21 89 32.5 5.2 2 633 3.2 0.5
Aug 30 22 48 11.0 2.3 1 582 3.4 0.4
Sep 1617 23 62 5.5 2.1 2 345 4.0 0.5
2013 May 2728 24 50 7.0 1.4 8 787 3.5 0.5
July 2 25 40 10.5 2.8 4 1219 2.6 0.6
July 79 26 112 20.0 4.0 0 274 4.0 0.3
July 10 27 19 8.5 1.7 1 428 3.6 0.4
July 1113 28 197 32.0 2.5 1 841 3.3 0.8
July 1517 29 61 7.0 1.1 1 205 2.9 0.2
Mean 82 13.3 3.3 5 986 3.4 0.8
Standard error 9.8 1.5 0.5 2 181 0.1 0.1
Minimum 17 3.5 0.9 0 116 1.8 0.2
Maximum 210 32.5 12.0 47 4082 5.3 2.2
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692 Page 7 of 15 692

Seasonal patterns in stream water quality Table 4 Descriptive statistics for SS, TN, and TP in Mandae
Stream during the rain events (20092013)

Large variations in concentrations of sediment and nu- SS (mg/L) TN (mg/L) TP (mg/L)

trients in the Mandae Stream were observed during the
monitoring period. As expected, dramatic differences n 340 340 340
were found in stream water concentrations between the Mean 854.1 3.43 0.70
dry periods and rain events during the monsoon season. Median 254.0 3.31 0.29
SS, TN, and TP concentrations in the Mandae Stream Minimum 6.9 0.17 0.03
during the dry periods are shown in Table 3. Stream Maximum 12,115 9.88 6.48
water SS concentrations ranged from 0.21 to 105.29 mg/ Standard deviation 1595.4 1.08 0.99
L. TN and TP concentrations ranged from 2.72 to 7.92 95% CI uppera 1024.3 3.54 0.81
and 0.01 to 0.19 mg/L, respectively. 95% CI lowera 683.9 3.31 0.60
The overall statistics for all rain event samples are
n number of samples
shown in Table 4. In the intensive stream samples during a
Upper and lower limits of 95% confidence interval
rain events, stream water SS concentrations varied from
6.9 to 12,115 mg/L. TN and TP concentrations ranged concentrations of NO3-N tended to be diluted during the
from 0.17 to 9.88 and 0.03 to 6.48 mg/L, respectively rainy season (cf. Pionke et al. 1999). Thus, a dilution
(Table 4). The maximum SS and TP concentrations were effect during rain events explains the inverse relation-
observed in rain events during the monsoon season. In ship between TN and stream discharge.
general, a close relationship between stream discharge and
SS or TP concentration was found for most sampled rain Event mean concentrations
events (Fig. 3). Similar to other studies, the maximum SS
and TP concentrations were found before the peak dis- Descriptive statistics for EMCs for SS, TN, and TP
charge (Li et al. 2011; Hu and Huang 2014). Due to first during the intensive sampling period are shown in Table 2.
flush effect, particulate P was the predominant form of The average EMC for SS in Mandae Stream was
transported P during rainfall events, associated with soil 986 181 mg/L. The EMCs for TN and TP were
erosion (Sharpley et al. 1993; Haygarth and Jarvis 1999). 3.4 0.1 and 0.8 0.1 mg/L, respectively. Some ex-
In contrast, TN tended to increase with decreasing tremely high EMCs were found in Mandae Stream during
discharge in the Mandae Stream. In fact, TN was near rain events (Table 2). To highlight the importance of the
the lowest concentrations at the time of peak discharge. rain event samples, EMCs in this study were compared
This may be because the largest component of total N with EMCs reported in similar studies from diverse loca-
transported through Mandae Stream was dissolved N, tions around the region. The EMCs in Mandae Stream
mainly as nitrate (NO3) (Kettering et al. 2012). The (this study) are often among the highest EMCs (Table 5).
Notably, some of the EMCs in this study are higher
Table 3 Descriptive statistics for SS, TN, and TP in Mandae than the EMCs reported in the other studies even for
Stream during the dry periods (20092013) urban areas, despite that the Haean watershed is mostly
large areas of forested land mixed with some intensive
SS (mg/L) TN (mg/L) TP (mg/L)
agricultural areas. Moreover, a comparison of EMCs in
n 73 73 73 this study with data available from earlier studies in the
Mean 18.08 4.88 0.06 study area also reveals the ineffectiveness of BMPs in
Median 10.90 5.00 0.05 controlling sediment and nutrient export. The responsi-
Minimum 0.21 2.72 0.01
ble agencies implemented various BMPs in the study
Maximum 105.29 7.92 0.19
area including constructing vegetated filter strips, con-
crete drain channels, gabion walls, sediment traps, and
Standard deviation 23.04 1.09 0.04
stabilizing slopes to minimize export of NPS pollutants
95% CI uppera 23.50 5.13 0.06
from 2008. Monitoring began to evaluate the effective-
95% CI lowera 12.70 4.62 0.05
ness of the BMPs from 2009. However, most of the
n number of samples BMPs implemented in the watershed were not targeted
a
Upper and lower limits of 95% confidence interval towards controlling sources of NPS pollution. Lack of
692 Page 8 of 15
Fig. 3 Examples of typical
changes in stream chemistry in
Mandae Stream during rain
events (20092013): aJuly 12
13, 2009; b May1819, 2010; c
July 1920, 2012
coordination between MoE and the Ministry of Food,
Agriculture, Forest, and Fishery (MoFAFF) and the lack
of support for research on the effectiveness of BMPs are
the main reasons for the limited effectiveness of BMPs
in controlling sources of sediment and nutrients in the
Haean watershed. The EMCs from this study offer
strong evidence that the surface runoff from the Haean
watershed exports alarming amounts of SS, TN, and TP
with the potential to exacerbate eutrophication in the
downstream reservoir, Lake Soyang.
It is the land use practices that are causing the serious
export of sediment and nutrients, and these practices may
be having an impact on hydrology as well. It is clear that
increased stream discharge during heavy rain events re-
sults in increased NPS-derived sediment and nutrients
from the Haean watershed. However, few detailed mech-
anistic studies of surface and sub-surface hydrological
processes have been conducted in the Haean watershed.
Table 6 shows the correlation coefficients for EMCs for
SS and nutrients in Mandae Stream. Stream water SS
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
concentrations were strongly correlated with all the rain-
fall runoff variables. For stream water TP, a significant
positive relationship was shown for RA, MRI, ARI, and
ADD. In contrast, the inverse relationship between TN
and rainfall runoff variables (Table 6) is likely explained
by dilution of sub-surface runoff during rain events (Kim
et al. 2006; Yoon et al. 2010).
Annual export, seasonal distribution, and export
coefficient of pollutants
Annual export of SS, TN, and TP was calculated using
the E-Q equation for SS, TN, and TP to calculate export
for non-sampled rain events. Figure 4 shows the E-Q
relationships for SS, TN, and TP in this study. The
following E-Q equations were used, and the R2 values
show a reasonable fit to a linear relationship:
SS 0:004Q1:37 ; R2 0:72 p < 0:0001; n 29 6
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692 Page 9 of 15 692

Table 5 Compilation of stream water EMCs (event mean concentration) for SS, TN, and TP from selected studies, highlighting watersheds
in the summer monsoon region and this study

Watershed Land use SS TN TP Reference

Haean, Korea Forest-agriculture 1164082 1.815.28 0.172.19 This study

289445 2.773.02 0.310.42 Jung et al. 2012
Nagara, Japan Forest-agriculture 52.9 1.43 0.29 Sa 2004
Daegokchon, Korea Forest-agriculture 61170 1.272.61 0.091.77 Kim et al. 2007a, b
Sansuchon, Korea Forest-agriculture 3195 0.571.31 0.030.28
Seomjin, Korea Forest-agriculture 2204 1.833.11 0.030.33 Kwak et al. 2008
Imsil, Korea Forest-agriculture 3283 1.924.38 0.080.36
Rokutanda, Japan Forest-agriculture 29.9 1.16 0.32 Lee 2008
Jawoon, Korea Forest-agriculture 40.2714 2.736.36 0.090.66 Jung et al. 2009
Song, Korea Forest-agriculture 432169 2.627.65 0.182.21 Kwak et al. 2012
Siheshui, China Forest-agriculture 15.218.1 1.702.08 0.150.21 Hu and Huang 2014
Geum River, Korea Mixed forest 2.5730.1 0.392.71 0.020.08 Yoon et al. 2010
Corpus Christi Bay, USA Mixed use 1107 0.704.40 0.010.57 Baird et al. 1996
Neuse, USA Mixed use 733491 1.2916.1 0.262.14 Line et al. 2002
Guangzhou, China Mixed use 49.6171.3 1.3312.06 0.080.47 Gan et al. 2008
Kranji, Singapore Mixed use 66263 1.094.41 0.080.95 Chua et al. 2009
Fitzroy River, Australia Mixed use 353612 1.091.63 0.420.63 Packett et al. 2009
Jamuna River, India Mixed use 45.1198.1 0.270.35 0.070.09 Sharma et al. 2012
Yamada, Japan Mixed use - 11.9633.12 0.953.86 Kato et al. 2009

TN 0:023Q0:86 ; R2
0:95 p < 0:0001; n 29
TP 0:00001Q1:31 ; R2
0:79 p < 0:0001; n 29
The sum of sampled rain events, non-sampled rain
events, and dry periods export represented the annual
export of NPS SS, TN, and TP in this study, respectively
(Table 7). The highest annual export of SS and TP was
found in 2009 because the number and duration of heavy
rain events were higher than in other years during the
study period. Meteorological factors such as rainfall
7 amount and intensity largely influenced TN export. For
example, during the study period, 2012 was the driest year
and the maximum TN export was measured that year.
The seasonal distribution of SS, TN, and TP export is
shown in Table 8. The average export of SS, TN, and TP
8
during rainy days (June to September) represented 95.1,
13.5, and 79.8% of the total export, respectively. The
export during rainy days, especially for SS and TP,
accounts for a large fraction of annual export. This
pattern agrees with the results from previous studies in
other regions, even without the intense rainfall during
the summer monsoon (Rissman and Carpenter 2015).

Table 6 Correlation coefficients for EMCs (event mean concentration) and rainfall runoff variables

Rainfall amount Discharge Maximum rainfall intensity Average rainfall intensity Antecedent dry days

SS 0.66* 0.53* 0.48* 0.82* 0.82*

TN 0.48* 0.55* 0.41** 0.49* 0.49*
TP 0.48* 0.34 0.36* 0.47** 0.47**

*p < 0.01; **p < 0.05

692 Page 10 of 15
Fig. 4 Export-discharge relationships for a SS, b TN, and c TP in
Mandae Stream
Thus, except for TN, the summer monsoon accounts for
a major portion of annual SS and TP export from the
Haean watershed and has a significant role in controlling
water quality in the downstream reservoir, Lake Soyang.
Agricultural export coefficients were calculated
to compare SS, TN, and TP export from the agri-
cultural area in the Haean watershed to the export
in other watersheds. The agricultural export coef-
ficients for SS, TN, and TP were 5611, 171, and
6.83 kg/ha/year, respectively (Table 9). To under-
stand the magnitude of sediment and nutrient
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
export in a regional context, estimated sediment
and nutrient export coefficients (in kg/ha/year) in
the Haean watershed were compared with other
watersheds in several locations, especially in the
East-Asian monsoon region (Table 9). For many
coefficients, the export per unit area for the Haean
watershed was much higher than the export coef-
ficients reported for either forest or agricultural
watersheds. These elevated export coefficients for
SS, TN, and TP from the study watershed reflects
not only the agricultural land use in the watershed
but also steep slopes, erodible soils, and farming
practices in the watershed. Moreover, the higher
EMCs and export coefficients for the Haean wa-
tershed highlight the intensive highland agriculture
activities in the study area, despite the general
dominance of forest land cover within the region
(Tables 5 and 9).
Agricultural practices in highland fields
Generally, in highland agricultural fields, high-
value horticultural row crops such as potato, rad-
ish, cabbage, and soy are cultivated (Kim et al.
2007a, b). Conventional tillage and seedbed prep-
aration, with no surface cover until seedlings de-
velop, are common agricultural practices in high-
land agricultural fields. Moreover, at the time of
seed bed preparation, soil is mulched with thin
plastic sheets. The rainy season (monsoon) begins
before the seedlings develop full canopy, and be-
cause of their low ground cover, serious soil ero-
sion can occur from these fields. Furthermore,
more than 25% of the total agriculture lands were
located on areas with steep slopes and the soils are
subjected to severe erosion. Because huge amounts
of soil have been lost from the agricultural fields,
farmers in the study watershed apply top soil
dressing (surface application of additional soil to
crop fields) on their fields to compensate the ero-
sion losses. Another purpose of soil dressing is to
improve soil quality, particularly to obtain a clay
content of 15% when soil characteristics are not
ideal for growing crops such as Chinese cabbage,
radish, and potato (Park et al. 2010). Typically, top
dressing applications in highland agricultural fields
are conducted every 2 to 3 years, but sometimes
applied more frequently. Local studies on top soil
applications have found that the soil depth of the
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692 Page 11 of 15 692

Table 7 Calculated SS, TN, and TP export during sampled rain events, non-sampled rain events, and dry periods and annual export in the
Haean watershed (20092013)

Year Rainy event export (kg) Dry period export (kg) Annual export (kg)

Sampled rain events Non-sampled rain events

SS TN TP SS TN TP SS TN TP SS TN TP

2009 9,697,199 23,119 12,876 6,073,807 29,648 5559 733,096 312,511 2774 16,504,101 365,278 21,208
2010 2,186,671 14,973 3178 5,586,281 29,497 5166 532,472 249,815 2733 8,305,424 294,285 11,077
2011 4,718,102 15,869 4290 9,055,236 44,005 8270 288,227 299,185 2721 14,061,565 359,060 15,280
2012 1,797,639 10,959 1915 3,993,428 20,285 3664 459,265 337,540 1551 6,250,332 368,785 7130
2013 3,728,583 19,047 3456 2,739,923 19,315 2651 572,887 262,564 3107 7,041,394 300,926 9215
Average 4,425,639 16,794 5143 5,489,735 28,550 5062 517,189 292,323 2577 10,432,563 337,667 12,782

soil dressing in highland agricultural fields can
range from 10 to 50 cm (Park et al. 2004). The
amount of soil in the top soil dressing could reach
3080 t/ha which is vulnerable to soil erosion
(Park 2006). Continued expansion of agricultural
activity in areas with steep slopes and top soil
dressing are main concerns for reducing soil ero-
sion and lowering sediment losses from the Haean
watershed.
The importance of timing and rates of fertilizer ap-
plication in controlling NPS runoff of sediment and
nutrients is well known (Carpenter et al. 1998). Long-
term overfertilization of soils is recognized as the major
contributor to excess N and P concentrations in surface
runoff and groundwater (Ritter and Shirmohammadi
2000). In Korea, the challenges of overuse of fertilizers
and surface water eutrophication have received some
attention and yet there are few indications of improve-
ment towards developing long-term solutions (Hwang
and Choi 2007; Kim et al. 2007a, b). Moreover, organic
compost and chemical fertilizer use in Korea has con-
tinued to increase. In recent years, fertilizer usage in
Korea increased from 332 kg/ha/year in 2009 to
481 kg/ha/year in 2012, an annual increase of 9.71%
(World Bank 2015).
Table 8 Seasonal distribution of SS, TN, and TP total annual
export in the Haean watershed during the dry periods and rain
events
SS (%) TN (%) TP (%)
Though the use of chemical fertilizers in the Haean
watershed has been declining since 2008 (Yanggu
County Office 2009, 2014), still the amount of fertilizer
used is too high compared to many regions (OECD
2008). In addition, excessive use of organic compost is
a common practice in the agricultural areas in the Haean
watershed. Ideally, fertilizer application rates should
vary from site to site and be based on soil characteristics
and nutrient content. N and P fertilizer in highland
agricultural fields in the Haean watershed is likely
overused by as much as 1.5 and 4.6 times higher than
the recommended rates based on soil testing (Kettering
et al. 2012; Reza 2016). The overall efficiency of ap-
plied fertilizers has been estimated to be less than 50%
for N and about 10% for P, with the remaining portion
volatilized (in the case of N fertilizer), exported to
groundwater or surface water and transported to down-
stream (Baligar et al. 2001). The results of this intensive
field study highlight not only the challenges of excess
use of both organic compost and chemical fertilizers and
the general oversupply of crop nutrients and unsustain-
able soil additions but also the importance of introduc-
ing more effective BMPs including reduced tillage and
no-tillage and applying crop residue covers which are
targeted towards controlling sources of SS, TN, and TP
in the Haean watershed.
Conclusions

Dry periods 4.9 86.5 20.2 This study focused on stream water SS, TN, and
Rain events 95.1 13.5 79.8 TP measurements during dry periods and rainy
(monsoon) season to quantify the export of NPS
692 Page 12 of 15 Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692

Table 9 Compilation of agricultural export coefficients for SS, TN, and TP from selected studies, highlighting streams in the summer
monsoon region and this study

Site SS (kg/ha/year) TN (kg/ha/year) TP (kg/ha/year) Reference

Haean, Korea 5611 171 6.83 This study

Korean EPA Rice field 72 23.9 2.22 Ministry of Environment (MoE) 1995
Dry field 293 34.5 0.88
Non-point source, Korea 333 1.30 0.10 Ministry of Environment (MoE) 2000
Meiji, Japan 32.3 1.16 Takahashi et al. 2002
Hosokawa, Japan 20.6 0.86
Dry field, USA 0.3218.7 0.245.01 Harmel et al. 2006
Kasumigaura, Japan Rice field 2.40 0.10 Sudo and Onuma 2000
Dry field 2.34 0.12
Imsil, Korea 133 4.41 0.56 Kwak et al. 2008
Seomjin River, Korea 199 5.52 5.19
Johnstone River, Australia 1170 11.4 2.20 Hunter and Walton 2008
Jawoon, Korea 119 7.85 Jung et al. 2009
Inbuk, Korea 1046 7.65 0.97 Jung et al. 2012
Dong River, Korea 6369 29.6 4.71
Se River, Korea 9251 43 6.84
Song, Korea 12,503 26.7 9.33 Kwak et al. 2012
Cayuga, USA 8.3 0.52 Haith et al. 2012
Rokutanda, Japan 1016 11.3 7.26 Lee et al. 2014
Siheshui, China 545 32.1 2.29 Hu and Huang 2014

pollutants from a mixed land use watershed with
an area used for intensive agriculture activities.
The mean EMCs for SS, TN, and TP were 986,
3.4 and 0.8 mg/L, respectively. The mean agricul-
tural export coefficients of SS, TN, and TP were
5611, 171, and 6.83 kg/ha/year, respectively. Com-
paring the results of the present study with results
from other studies shows that EMCs and agricul-
tural export coefficients in the Haean watershed
are much higher than the EMCs and export coef-
ficients in most studies. The results also demon-
strate that EMCs for SS and TP were significantly
and positively correlated with rainfall amount, av-
erage rainfall intensity, and antecedent dry days.
The EMCs for TN was inversely related with
rainfall runoff variables, probably resulting from
dilution effects during heavy rain events, with the
exception of rain events immediately following N
fertilizer application.
The results of this study clearly identify episodic
export of SS and TP from the Haean watershed, espe-
cially during the monsoon season. Minimizing sediment
and nutrient export from areas with intensive
agricultural activity by implementing source control
BMPs must be part of effective strategies to reduce
SS, TN, and TP export from watersheds in highland
agricultural areas.
Acknowledgements This study was supported by the Korean
Ministry of Environment and Kangwon National University. This
study was supported by the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Research Fund.
References
Alexander, R. B., Murdoch, P. S., & Smith, R. A. (1996).
Streamflow-induced variations in nitrate flux in tributaries
to the Atlantic coastal zone. Biogeochemistry, 33(3), 149
177. doi:10.1007/BF02181070.
Anderson, D. M., Glibert, P. M., & Burkholder, J. M. (2002).
Harmful algal blooms and eutrophication: nutrient sources,
composition, and consequences. Estuaries, 25(4), 704726.
doi:10.1007/BF02804901.
APHA, AWWA, WEF, & WPCF (2005). Standard methods for
the examination of water and wastewater (21st ed.).
Washington, DC: American Public Health Association.
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
Arnhold, S., Lindner, S., Lee, B., et al. (2014). Conventional and
organic farming: soil erosion and conservation potential for
row crop cultivation. Geoderma, 219, 89105. doi:10.1016/j.
geoderma.2013.12.023.
Baird, C., Jennings, M., Ockerman, D., & Dybala, T. (1996).
Characterization of nonpoint sources and loadings to the
Corpus Christi Bay National Estuary Program Study Area.
Texas: Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.
Baligar, V. C., Fageria, N. K., & He, Z. L. (2001). Nutrient use
efficiency in plants. Communications in Soil Science and
Plant Analysis, 32(78), 921950. doi:10.1081/CSS-
100104098.
Beaulac, M. N., & Reckhow, K. H. (1982). An examination of
land use-nutrient export relationships. Journal of the
American Water Resources Association, 18(6), 10131024.
doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.1982.tb00109.x.
Carpenter, S. R., Caraco, N. F., Correll, D. L., Howarth, R. W.,
Sharpley, A. N., & Smith, V. H. (1998). Nonpoint pollution
of surface waters with phosphorus and nitrogen. Ecological
Applications, 8(3), 559568.
Charbeneau, R. J., & Barrett, M. E. (1998). Evaluation of methods
for estimating stormwater pollutant loads. Water Environment
Research, 70(7), 12951302. doi:10.2307/25045155.
Choi, J. Y. (2008). Nonpoint source pollution management for the
multipurpose dam watersheds. Water Science and
Technology, 57(11), 18351841. doi:10.2166/wst.2008.271.
Chua, L. H., Lo, E. Y., Shuy, E. B., & Tan, S. B. (2009). Nutrients
and suspended solids in dry weather and storm flows from a
tropical catchment with various proportions of rural and
urban land use. Journal of Environmental Management,
90(11), 36353642. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.07.001.
Dunkerley, D. (2008). Identifying individual rain events from
pluviograph records: a review with analysis of data from an
Australian dryland site. Hydrological Processes, 22(26),
50245036. doi:10.1002/hyp.7122.
Eum, J. (2015). Runoff characteristics of NPS from agricultural
watershed and water quality simulations with crop change.
PhD Dissertation, Kangwon National University. (in Korean
with English abstract).
Gaddis, E. J. B., Voinov, A., Seppelt, R., & Rizzo, D. M. (2014).
Spatial optimization of best management practices to attain
water quality targets. Water Resources Management, 28(6),
14851499. doi:10.1007/s11269-013-0503-0.
Gan, H., Zhuo, M., Li, D., & Zhou, Y. (2008). Quality character-
ization and impact assessment of highway runoff in urban
and rural area of Guangzhou, China. Environmental
Monitoring and Assessment, 140(13), 147159.
doi:10.1007/s10661-007-9856-2.
Gwon, Y. S., Lee, H. H., Han, U., Kim, W. H., Kim, D. J., Kim, D.
I., & Yeom, S. J. (1990). Terrain analysis of haean basin in
terms of earth science. Journal of the Korean Earth Science
Society, 11(3), 236236 (in Korean with English abstract).
Haith, D. A., Hollingshead, N., Bell, M. L., Kreszewski, S. W., &
Morey, S. J. (2012). Nutrient loads to Cayuga Lake, New
York: watershed modeling on a budget. Journal of Water
Resources Planning and Management, 138(5), 571580.
doi:10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000198.
Harmel, D., Potter, S., Casebolt, P., Reckhow, K., Green, C., &
Haney, R. (2006). Compilation of measured nutrient load
data for agricultural land uses in the United States. Journal
Page 13 of 15 692
of the American Water Resources Association, 42(5), 1163
1178. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2006.tb05292.x.
Haygarth, P. M., & Jarvis, S. C. (1999). Transfer of phosphorus
from agricultural soil. Advances in Agronomy, 66, 195249.
doi:10.1016/S0065-2113(08)60428-9.
Heisler, J., Glibert, P. M., Burkholder, J. M., et al. (2008).
Eutrophication and harmful algal blooms: a scientific con-
sensus. Harmful Algae, 8(1), 313. doi:10.1016/j.
hal.2008.08.006.
Hu, H., & Huang, G. (2014). Monitoring of non-point source
pollutions from an agriculture watershed in South China.
Water, 6(12), 38283840. doi:10.3390/w6123828.
Hunter, H. M., & Walton, R. S. (2008). Land-use effects on fluxes
of suspended sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus from a river
catchment of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Journal of
H y d r o l o g y, 3 5 6 ( 1 ) , 1 3 1 1 4 6 . d o i : 1 0 . 1 0 1 6 / j .
jhydrol.2008.04.003.
Hwang, D. H., & Choi, J. Y. (2007). Optimum management
scheme to control nonpoint pollution in Korea. Water
Science and Technology, 56(1), 171179. doi:10.2166
/wst.2007.449.
Jung, S., Eum, J. S., Jang, C. W., Choi, Y. S., & Kim, B. C. (2012).
Characteristics of nonpoint source pollution and relationship
between land use and nutrient concentrations in the Han
River watershed. Journal of Korean Society on Water
Environment, 28(2), 255268 (in Korean with English
abstract).
Jung, S., Jang, C., Kim, J. K., & Kim, B. (2009). Characteristics of
water quality in storm runoffs from intensive highland agri-
culture area. Journal of Korean Society on Water Quality,
25(1), 102111 (in Korean with English abstract).
Kato, T., Kuroda, H., & Nakasone, H. (2009). Runoff characteris-
tics of nutrients from an agricultural watershed with intensive
livestock production. Journal of Hydrology, 368(1), 7987.
doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2009.01.028.
Kettering, J., Park, J. H., Lindner, S., Lee, B., Tenhunen, J., &
Kuzyakov, Y. (2012). N fluxes in an agricultural catchment
under monsoon climate: a budget approach at different
scales. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 161, 101
111. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2012.07.027.
Kim, B., Choi, K., Kim, C., Lee, U. H., & Kim, Y. H. (2000).
Effects of the summer monsoon on the distribution and
loading of organic carbon in a deep reservoir, Lake Soyang,
Korea. Water Research, 34(14), 34953504. doi:10.1016
/S0043-1354(00)00104-4.
Kim, G., Chung, S., & Lee, C. (2007a). Water quality of runoff
from agricultural-forestry watersheds in the Geum River
Basin, Korea. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment,
134(13), 441452. doi:10.1007/s10661-007-9635-0.
Kim, J. S., Oh, S. Y., & Oh, K. Y. (2006). Nutrient runoff from a
Korean rice paddy watershed during multiple storm events in
the growing season. Journal of Hydrology, 327(1), 128139.
doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.11.062.
Kim, B., Park, J. H., Hwang, G., Jun, M. S., & Choi, K. (2001).
Eutrophication of reservoirs in South Korea. Limnology, 2(3),
223229. doi:10.1007/s10201-001-8040-6.
Kim, S. J., Yang, J. E., Park, C. S., Jung, Y. S., & Cho, B. O.
(2007b). Effects of winter cover crop of ryegrass (Lolium
multiflorum) and soil conservation practices on soil erosion
and quality in the sloping uplands. Journal of Applied
Biological Chemistry, 50(1), 2228.
692 Page 14 of 15
Kwak, S. J., Bhattrai, B. D., Kim, E. J., Lee, C. K., Lee, H. J., &
Heo, W. M. (2012). Characteristics of non-point pollution
discharge on stormwater runoff from Lake Doam watershed.
Korean Journal of Limnology, 45(1), 6271 (in Korean with
English abstract).
Kwak, D. H., Yoo, S. J., Kim, J. H., Lim, I. H., Kwon, J. Y., &
Chung, P. G. (2008). Characteristics of non-point pollutant
discharge from upper watershed of Seomjin Dam during
rainy season. Journal of Korean Society of Water and
Wastewater, 22(1), 3948 (in Korean with English abstract).
Lee, H. (2008). A study of runoff characteristics of pollutants and
estimation of annual loading from small agricultural water-
shed in Koyama Lake. PhD Dissertation, Tottori University.
Lee, H., Masuda, T., Yasuda, H., & Hosoi, Y. (2014). The pollutant
loads from a paddy field watershed due to agricultural activ-
ity. Paddy and Water Environment, 12(4), 439448.
doi:10.1007/s10333-013-0399-6.
Li, J., Li, H., Shen, B., & Li, Y. (2011). Effect of non-point source
pollution on water quality of the Weihe River. International
Journal of Sediment Research, 26(1), 5061.
Line, D. E., White, N. M., Osmond, D. L., Jennings, G. D., &
Mojonnier, C. B. (2002). Pollutant export from various land
uses in the Upper Neuse River Basin. Water Environment
Research, 74(1), 100108. doi:10.2175/106143002
X139794.
Maniquiz, M. C., Choi, J., Lee, S., Cho, H. J., & Kim, L. H.
(2010). Appropriate methods in determining the event mean
concentration and pollutant removal efficiency of a best
management practice. Environmental Engineering
Research, 15(4), 215223. doi:10.4491/eer.2010.15.4.215.
Memon, S., Paule, M. C., Lee, B. Y., Umer, R., Sukhbaatar, C., &
Lee, C. H. (2015). Investigation of turbidity and suspended
solids behavior in storm water run-off from different land-use
sites in South Korea. Desalination and Water Treatment,
53(11), 30883095. doi:10.1080/19443994.2014.922312.
Ministry of Environment (MoE), Korea (2000). Report on non-
point source best management practicesLake Paldang wa-
tershed. (in Korean with English abstract).
Ministry of Environment (MoE), Korea (1995). Report on non-
point source pollution research. (in Korean with English
abstract).
Murphy, J., & Riley, J. P. (1962). A modified single solution
method for the determination of phosphate in natural waters.
Analytica Chimica Acta, 27, 3136. doi:10.1016/S0003-
2670(00)88444-5.
Novotny, V. (2003). Water quality: diffuse pollution and watershed
management. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley.
OECD (2008). Environmental performance of agriculture at a
glance. OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/9789264046788-en.
Packett, R., Dougall, C., Rohde, K., & Noble, R. (2009).
Agricultural lands are hot-spots for annual runoff polluting
the southern Great Barrier Reef lagoon. Marine Pollution
Bulletin, 58(7), 976986. doi:10.1016/j.
marpolbul.2009.02.017.
Paerl, H. W., Hall, N. S., & Calandrino, E. S. (2011). Controlling
harmful cyanobacterial blooms in a world experiencing an-
thropogenic and climatic-induced change. Science of the
Total Environment, 409(10), 17391745. doi:10.1016/j.
scitotenv.2011.02.001.
Park, H. (2006). Environmental damage and control measures by
highland agriculturestudy on system improvement. MSc
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
Dissertation, Kangwon National University. (in Korean with
English abstract).
Park, J. H., Duan, L., Kim, B., Mitchell, M. J., & Shibata, H.
(2010). Potential effects of climate change and variability on
watershed biogeochemical processes and water quality in
Northeast Asia. Environment International, 36(2), 212225.
doi:10.1016/j.envint.2009.10.008.
Park, C. S., Jung, Y. S., Joo, J. H., & Yang, J. E. (2004). Soil
characteristics of the saprolite piled upland fields at highland
in Gangwon Province. Korean Journal of Soil Science and
Fertilizer, 37(2), 6673 (in Korean with English abstract).
Pionke, H. B., Gburek, W. J., Schnabel, R. R., Sharpley, A. N., &
Elwinger, G. F. (1999). Seasonal flow, nutrient concentra-
tions and loading patterns in stream flow draining an agricul-
tural hill-land watershed. Journal of Hydrology, 220(1), 62
73. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(99)00064-5.
Reza, A. (2016). Non-point source pollutant export and phospho-
rus budget in a sloping highland agricultural watershed
under the influence of monsoon climate. PhD Dissertation,
Kangwon National University.
Richards, R. P. (1998). Estimation of pollutant loads in rivers and
streams: a guidance document for NPS programs. Project report
prepared under Grant X998397-01-0, US Environmental
Protection Agency, Region VIII, Denver, 108. http://www.bae.
ncsu.edu/programs/extension/wqg/issues/loadestimation.pdf.
Accessed 31 May 2016.
Rissman, A. R., & Carpenter, S. R. (2015). Progress on nonpoint
pollution: barriers & opportunities. Daedalus, 144(3), 3547.
doi:10.1162/DAED_a_00340.
Ritter, W. F., & Shirmohammadi, A. (Eds.) (2000). Agricultural
nonpoint source pollution: watershed management and hy-
drology. Boca Raton, Fl: Lewis Publishers.
Sa, S. (2004). Runoff characteristics of particulate matter and its
influence on shallow lake water quality. PhD Dissertation,
Tottori University.
Sharma, D., Gupta, R., Singh, R. K., & Kansal, A. (2012).
Characteristics of the event mean concentration (EMCs) from
rainfall runoff on mixed agricultural land use in the shoreline
zone of the Yamuna River in Delhi, India. Applied Water
Science, 2(1), 5562. doi:10.1007/s13201-011-0022-1.
Sharpley, A. N., Daniel, T. C., & Edwards, D. R. (1993).
Phosphorus movement in the landscape. Journal of
Production Agriculture, 6(4), 492500. doi:10.2134
/jpa1993.0492.
Sudo, R., & Onuma, K. (2000). Water quality of Lake
Kasumigaura and its non-point source pollutants.
Environmental Conservation Engineering, 29, 509515 (in
Japanese with English abstract).
Takahashi, J., Yoshinaga, I., Hasebe, H., & Shiratani, E. (2002).
Effects of hydrological factors on the estimation of storm
runoff loading in a large river watershed. Japan Agricultural
Research Quarterly, 36(1), 3744.
Tiemeyer, B., Kahle, P., & Lennartz, B. (2006). Nutrient losses from
artificially drained catchments in north-eastern Germany at
different scales. Agricultural Water Management, 85(1), 47
57. doi:10.1016/j.agwat.2006.03.016.
Tomer, M. D., Meek, D. W., Jaynes, D. B., & Hatfield, J. L.
(2003). Evaluation of nitrate nitrogen fluxes from a tile-
drained wate rs hed in central Iowa. Journal of
Environmental Quality, 32(2), 642653. doi:10.2134
/jeq1998.00472425002700010002x.
Environ Monit Assess (2016) 188:692
Van der Molen, D. T., Breeuwsma, A., & Boers, P. C. M. (1998).
Agricultural nutrient losses to surface water in the
Netherlands: impact, strategies, and perspectives. Journal of
Environmental Quality, 27(1), 411.
Vuorenmaa, J., Rekolainen, S., Lepist, A., Kenttmies, K., &
Kauppila, P. (2002). Losses of nitrogen and phosphorus from
agricultural and forest areas in Finland during the 1980s and
1990s. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 76(2),
213248. doi:10.1023/A:1015584014417.
World Bank (2015). World development indicators: agricultural
inputs. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.CON.FERT.
ZS. Accessed 28 Jan 2016.
Page 15 of 15 692
Yanggu Statistical Yearbook (2009). http://www.yanggu.go.
kr/twb_bbs/bbs_read.php?gid=1&bcd=01_03_06_02_00
&bn=4&pg=1=. Accessed 15 Jan 2016.
Yanggu Statistical Yearbook (2014). http://www.yanggu.go.
kr/twb_bbs/bbs_read.php?gid=1&bcd=01_03_06_02_00
&bn=11&pg=1=. Accessed 15 Jan 2016.
Yoon, S. W., Chung, S. W., Oh, D. G., & Lee, J. W. (2010).
Monitoring of non-point source pollutants load from a mixed
forest land use. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 22(6),
801805. doi:10.1016/s1001-0742(09)60180-7.