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Denitrification in the river network of a mixed land use watershed: unpacking the complexities

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Abstract

River networks have the potential to permanently remove nitrogen through denitrification. Few studies have measured denitrification rates within an entire river network or assessed how land use affect rates at larger spatial scales. We sampled 108 sites throughout the network of the Fox River watershed, Wisconsin, to determine if land use influence sediment denitrification rates, and to identify zones of elevated sediment denitrification rates (hot spots) within the river network. Partial least squares regression models identified variables from four levels of organization (river bed sediment, water column, riparian zone, and watershed) that best predicted denitrification rates throughout the river network. Nitrate availability was the most important predictor of denitrification rates, while land cover was not always a good predictor of local-scale nitrate concentrations. Thus, land cover and denitrification rate were not strongly related across the Fox River watershed. A direct relationship between denitrification rate and watershed land cover occurred only in the Wolf River sub-watershed, the least anthropogenically disturbed of the sub-watersheds. Denitrification hot spots were located throughout the river network, regardless of watershed land use, with hot spot location being determined primarily by nitrate availability. In the Fox River watershed, when nitrate was abundant, river bed sediment character influenced denitrification rate, with higher denitrification rates at sites with fine, organic sediments. These findings suggest that denitrification occurring throughout an entire river network, from headwater streams to larger rivers, can help reduce nitrogen loads to downstream water bodies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Maya Agata, Alyssa Cooke, Patrik Perner, Bailey Duxbury, Alisha Saley, Devyn Edge, and Samantha Foltz for help with sample collection and analysis. Enrika Hlavacek and Rajesh Thapa provided GIS support. We thank Shirley Yuan, John Manier, and Derek Craig for analyzing our water quality samples. We thank the Oneida Nation and the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin for allowing us access to their lands. This research was funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the U.S. Geological Survey Fisheries and Environments Programs. RM Kreiling also acknowledges the support of the University of New England, Australia. We thank Judd Harvey, Jacques Finlay, and three anonymous reviewers for comments which greatly improved this manuscript. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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  1. Riverine Landscape Research Laboratory, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia

    R. M. Kreiling & M. C. Thoms

  2. Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, U.S. Geological Survey, La Crosse, WI, USA

    R. M. Kreiling, W. B. Richardson & L. A. Bartsch

  3. Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mounds View, MN, USA

    V. G. Christensen

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Kreiling, R.M., Richardson, W.B., Bartsch, L.A. et al. Denitrification in the river network of a mixed land use watershed: unpacking the complexities. Biogeochemistry 143, 327–346 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-019-00565-6

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