Abstract
Interactions between ground water flow paths and water chemistry were studied in the riparian zone of a small headwater catchment near Toronto, Ontario. Significant variations in oxygen — 18 and chloride indicated the presence of distinct sources of water in the ground water flow system entering the near-stream zone. Shallow ground water at the upland perimeter of the riparian zone had nitrate-N, chloride and dissolved oxygen concentrations which ranged between 100–180 µg L−1, 1.2–1.8 mg L−1 and 4.6–9.1 mg L−1 respectively. Concentrations of nitrate — N in deep ground water flowing upward beneath the riparian wetland were < 10 µg L−1, whereas chloride and dissolved oxygen ranged between 0.6–0.9 mg L−1 and 0.4–2.2 mg L−1 respectively. Ammonium — N concentrations (20–60 µg L−1) were similar in shallow and deep ground water. Ground water was transported through the wetland to the stream by three hydrologic pathways. 1) Shallow ground water emerged as springs near the base of the hillslope producing surface rivulets which crossed the riparian zone to the stream. 2) Deep ground water flowed upward through organic soils and entered the rivulets within the wetland. 3) Deep ground water reached the stream as bed and bank seepage. Springs were higher in nitrate and chloride than rivulets entering the stream, whereas bank seeps had lower concentrations of nitrate and chloride and considerably higher ammonium concentrations than the rivulets. These contrasts in nitrate and chloride concentrations were related to initial differences in the ion chemistry of shallow and deep ground water rather than to element transformations within the riparian wetland. Differences in ammonium concentration between seeps and rivulets were caused by immobilization of ammonium in the substrates of aerobic rivulets, whereas little ammonium depletion probably occurred in deep ground water flowing upward through reduced subsurface organic soils around the stream perimeter.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bowden, W. B., 1986. Nitrification, nitrate reduction and nitrogen immobilization in a tidal freshwater marsh sediment. Ecology 67: 88–99.
Carter, V. & R. P. Novitski, 1988. Some comments on the relation between ground water and wetlands. The Ecology and Management of Wetlands (eds) D. D. Hook, W. H. McKee, H. K. Smith, J. Gregory, V. G. Burrell, M. R. DeVoe, R. E. Sojka, S. Gilbert, R. Banks, L. H. Stolzy, C. Brooks, J. D. Matthews & T. H. Shear. Croom Helm, London, 1: 68–86.
Environment Canada, 1979. Analytical Methods Manual. Inland Waters Directorate, Water Quality Branch, Ottawa, Canada.
Gilliam, R. W. & J. A. Cherry, 1978. Field evidence of denitrification in shallow groundwater flow systems. Wat. Pollut. Res. Can. 13: 53–71.
Hill, A. R. & J. Warwick, 1987. Ammonium transformations in springwater within the riparian zone of a small woodland stream. Can. J. Fish. aquat. Sci. 44: 1948–1956.
Howard, K. W. F. & P. Beck, 1986. Hydrochemical interpretation of groundwater flow systems in Quaternary sediments of southern Ontario. Can. J. Earth Sci. 23: 938–947.
Hynes, H. B. N., 1983. Groundwater and stream ecology. Hydrobiologia 100: 93–99.
Lee, D. R., 1980. Groundwater-solute influx. Limnol. Oceanogr. 25: 183–186.
Likens, G. E., 1984. Beyond the shoreline: a watershed-ecosystem approach. Verh. int. Ver. Limnol. 22: 1–22.
Lowrance, R. R., R. L. Todd & L. E. Asmussen, 1984. Nutrient cycling in an agricultural watershed: I. Phreatic movement. J. envir. Qual. 13: 22–27.
Patrick, W. H., 1982. Nitrogen transformations in submerged soils. Nitrogen in Agricultural Soils (ed.) F. J. Stevenson, Agronomy Monograph No. 22, American Society of Agronomy Inc.: 449–465.
Peterjohn, W. T. & D. L. Correll, 1984. Nutrient dynamics in an agricultural watershed: observations on the role of a riparian forest. Ecology 65: 1466–1475.
Reddy, K. R. & W. H. Patrick, Jr., 1984. Nitrogen transformations and loss in flooded soils and sediments. CRC Crit. Rev. Envir. Control 13: 273–309.
Roulet, N. T., 1989. Groundwater flux in a headwater wetland in southern Ontario. Ontario Wetlands: Inertia or momentum. (eds) M. J. Bardecki & N. Patterson, Federation of Ontario Naturalists, Don Mills: 301–308.
Sibul, U., K. T. Wang & D. Vallery, 1977. Ground water resources of the Duffins Creek-Rouge River Drainage Basins. Water Resources Report 8, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Toronto, Canada 77 pp.
Sklash, M. G. & R. N. Farvolden, 1979. The role of groundwater in storm runoff. J. Hydrol. 43: 45–65.
Technicon, 1977. Nitrate and nitrite in water and seawater. Industrial Method 158–71 WIA. Technicon Industrial systems, Tarrytown, N.Y.
Technicon, 1978. Ammonia in water and seawater. Industrial Method 154–71 W/B. Technicon Industrial System, Tarrytown, N.Y.
Toth, J., 1963. A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. J. Geophys. Res. 68: 4795–4812.
Walling, D. E., 1971. Streamflow from instrumented catchments in S. E. Devon. Exeter Essays in Geography (eds) K. J. Gregory & W. L. D. Ravenhill, Exeter Press Exeter, England 55–81.
Warwick, J. & A. R. Hill, 1988. Nitrate depletion in the riparian zone of a small woodland stream. Hydrobiologia 231–240.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hill, A.R. Ground water flow paths in relation to nitrogen chemistry in the near-stream zone. Hydrobiologia 206, 39–52 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00018968
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00018968