Linking transport pathways and phosphorus distribution in a loamy soil: a case study from a North-Eastern German Stagnosol.

Heterogeneous flow pathways through the soil determine the transport of dissolved and particle-bound nutritional elements like phosphorus (P) to ground and surface waters. This study was designed to understand the spatial patterns of P in agriculturally used soils and the mechanisms causing P accumulation and depletion at the centimetre scale. We conducted dye tracer experiments using Brilliant Blue on a loamy Stagnosol in North-Eastern-Germany.