The relationship between total phosphorus retention, landscape positio
n of wetlands, and surrounding land-use patterns was explored with the
goal of identifying easily determined landscape parameters as indicat
ors of a wetland's role in water quality maintenance. Sediment cores w
ere collected from 14 wetland sites chosen to represent a range of wet
land types, wetland position, and surrounding land-use patterns in a s
mall coastal Virginia watershed. Sediment accumulation rates and total
phosphorus retention rates were analyzed using Cs-137 dating and acid
extraction techniques. Both sediment accumulation rates and total pho
sphorus retention rates were found to be comparable to previously repo
rted values for similar wetland types. The landscape analysis did not
support the hypothesis that total phosphorus retention would vary with
landscape setting and/or wetland type. The wetlands sampled may repre
sent landscape parameters too similar to detect any significant differ
ences. Alternatively, the findings may indicate that in small coastal
watersheds, most wetlands perform total phosphorus retention functions
to the same level. The management implications of this latter conclus
ion may be that headwater wetlands are particularly important for wate
r quality functions.