Traditional studies of stream retention quantify processes at steady-state conditions and low concentrations of nutrients and suspended solids. Consequently, we have a limited understanding of the uptake and fate of materials pulses even though streams convey a large proportion of annual loads in short events. Such pulses include, but are not limited to, floods. For example, we observed pulses of soluble reactive phosphorus (peak>100μg, ambient=20μg) during minor rain events that did not alter discharge in Big Spring Creek, a highly agricultural Wisconsin stream. To further examine pulse fate, we released slugs of tracer-laden (Cl-) dissolved phosphorus and sediment into the stream. At three successive stations in a 750m reach, SRP peaked at 380, 200, and 100μg (ambient=20μg) with a P-only addition, while total suspended solids peaked at 140, 42, and 26mg/L (ambient=8.0mg/L) with a sediment+P addition. Continuous functions of net retention over time yielded total reach losses of 10% added P under the ambient suspended solids condition and 80% added sediment with settling of sorbed P under the elevated suspended solids condition. Our results illustrate the limited retention of pulsed P inputs, and that conditions such as presence/absence of suspended solids strongly affect the degree and form of retention.