Terminology for phosphorus transfer

The transfer of P from agricultural land to water attracts scientists of va ried expertise. The multidisciplinary nature of factors controlling P trans fer has lead to confusions in communication because of inappropriate or amb iguous use of terminology. Therefore, we have attempted to classify termino logy far P transfer into: (i) processes (or modes) (e.g., erosion, leaching , incidental) (ii) pathways (e.g., overland flow, subsurface flow, drainage flow), and (iii) form terms (e.g., those that can be described in soil or water samples). A method elf classifying pathways by scale, plane, and time is suggested and a particular caution is noted for leaching, which is a pr ocess, not a pathway, and runoff (a vaguely defined pathway). Current termi nology for forms in water is confusing because terms such as soluble, disso lved,particulate, inorganic, and organic can be technically incorrect if us ed inappropriately when describing P forms involving membrane filtration an d Murphy-Riley Mo-blue chemistry. We suggest an improved method for describ ing the forms of P in waters, which is operationally defined and states the analytical method and size of filter used.