Effects of Agriculture and Urbanization on Quality of Shallow Ground Water in the Arid to Semiarid Western United States, 1993

Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5179

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2007–5179

Table 6. Reactions sensitive to oxidation-reduction conditions that may influence nutrient concentrations in ground water.

[Abbreviations: NH₃, ammonia; NO₃⁻, nitrate; N₂, diatomic nitrogen; OP, orthophosphorus; MOOH, generic-metal oxyhydroxide; M⁺², generic-divalent-metal species; Fe, iron; Mn, manganese]

Redox-sensitive reaction	Comments
Nitrification (NH₃ → NO₃−)	Reaction only occurs in aerobic settings.
Denitrification (NO₃− → N₂)	Reaction only occurs in anaerobic settings.
Adsorption/Desorption OP—MOOH ↔ OP + M⁺²	Hydrous-metal (Fe and Mn) oxides can dissolve under anaerobic conditions, releasing adsorbed orthophosphorus.

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