Field work
We explored several approaches of implementing nutrient management strategies for Jackfish Lake. The bulk of water quality data for the watershed was acquired from Saskatchewan water security agency (WSA). Unfortunately, there was limited sampling conducted this year due to the limited time and economical budget constraints. Regardless, sampling was conducted over the summer of 2019 using the global water future (GWF) nutrient app by Diego Costa from the University of Saskatchewan. Only two water quality parameters mainly nitrate and phosphate, were sampled using the app
Experimental design
Water Samples were taken onshore in the epilimnion region of the lake (Boehrer & Schultze, 2008). Water is evenly mixed in this region and shown to be reasonably representative of the water quality of a lake (Ontario Ministry of Environment, 2009). For phosphorus measurement, 5 ml of water sample was mixed with two solutions and allowed to settle for three minutes for colors to develop. Phosphorus concentrations were detected by taking a picture of the vial next to the reference sticker background. Nitrate was measured in situ by dipping the litmus paper in a water sample. Again, the test paper was left to settle for 30 seconds before taking a picture next to the desired reference card sticker. Georeferenced results for both nitrate and phosphate were displayed instantly on the app.
Description of instrumentation
Sampling was conducted over the summer of 2019 using the global water future (GWF) nutrient app by Diego Costa from the University of Saskatchewan. Only two water quality parameters mainly nitrate and phosphate, were sampled using the app. The nutrient monitoring kit contained apparatus for sampling nitrate and phosphate concentration in a water body. A test strip litmus paper and reference card sticker were included for sampling nitrate, while two solutions, a vial, and reference sticker used for the phosphate sampling. The measurement range of the app is between 0–10 mg/l for phosphate, and 0-50 mg/l for nitrate. There was no additional instrumentation used in taking water samples. All sample tests were conducted in the absence of rainfall.
Results
Table 1: Results of 2019 Experiment
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Conclusions
Color interpolation was based on the Delta E approach with linear biases correction. The result from the app shows a reasonable relative error of 30% for both nitrate and phosphate (Costa et al., 2019). Note lighting is critical in getting optimum nutrient concentration result. biases correction.