View article

Reconstructions of past fluvial contamination through the analysis of deep sediment cores are rarely reported in literature. We examined the phosphorus fractions in a deep (2.6 m) sediment core of the Lambro River downstream of the highly anthropized Milan metropolitan area and upstream of the Po river the main Italian watercourse. The core covered the period 1962–2011. Total phosphorus concentrations resulted typical of a strongly impacted environment (4788 mg P kg DW⁻¹ on average) with the highest concentrations related to the 1960s (7639 mg P kg DW⁻¹) reflecting the period of maximum demographic growth. Afterwards, phosphorus concentrations decreased thanks to the infrastructural and legislative initiatives carried out in the 1980s and the 1990s to reduce the impact of urban point sources. Subsequently, total phosphorus concentrations stabilized on values around 3000 mg P kg …