Characterization and Comparison of Stream Nutrients, Land Use, and Loading Patterns in Maryland Coastal Bay Watersheds
![Land use figure](https://ian.umces.edu/site/assets/files/13282/characterization-and-comparison-of-stream-nutrients-land-use-and-loading-patterns-in-maryland-coastal-bay-watersheds.200x0.png)
This paper, published in
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 221(1-4): 255–273, discusses land use and its relation to nutrient concentrations and loading via streams in the Maryland Coastal Bays. The most significant correlation was with the land area of feeding operations. A similar relationship was also found with anthropogenic land area (cropland + urban + feeding operations). Wetland area was positively associated with hydric soils. Watersheds with the most crop agriculture had the highest nitrogen export coefficients, while the highest phosphorus export was in a watershed containing a non-operational chicken hatchery. This suggests that agricultural development, especially animal feeding operations, and landscape characteristics are important factors to understand nutrient loading.