Linking Nitrogen Export to Landscape Heterogeneity: The Role of Infrastructure and Storm Flows in a Mediterranean Urban System

Urban ecosystems are often sources of nonpoint source (NPS) nitrogen (N) pollution to aquatic ecosystems. However, N export from urban watersheds is highly variable. Examples of densely urbanized watersheds are not well studied, and these may have comparatively low export rates. Commonly used metrics of landscape heterogeneity may obscure our ability to discern relationships among landscape characteristics that can explain these lower export rates. We expected that differences not often captured by these metrics in the relative cover of vegetation, structures, and impervious surfaces would better explain observed variation in N export. We examined these relationships during storms in residential watersheds. Contrary to expectations, land cover did not directly predict variation in N or water export. Instead, N export was strongly linked to drainage infrastructure density. Our research highlights the role of fine‐scaled landscape attributes, mainly infrastructure, in explaining patterns of N export from densely urbanized watersheds. Changes to hydrologic flow paths by infrastructure explained more variation in N export than land cover. Our findings support further development of landscape ecological models of urban N export that focus on hydrologic modification by infrastructure rather than traditional landscape measures such as land use, as indicators for evaluating patterns of NPS nitrogen pollution in densely urbanized watersheds.     

Emerging Tools for Continuous Nutrient Monitoring Networks: Sensors Advancing Science and Water Resources Protection

Sensors and enabling technologies are becoming increasingly important tools for water quality monitoring and associated water resource management decisions. In particular, nutrient sensors are of interest because of the well‐known adverse effects of nutrient enrichment on coastal hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and impacts to human health. Accurate and timely information on nutrient concentrations and loads is integral to strategies designed to minimize risk to humans and manage the underlying drivers of water quality impairment. Using nitrate sensors as the primary example, we highlight the types of applications in freshwater and coastal environments that are likely to benefit from continuous, real‐time nutrient data. The concurrent emergence of new tools to integrate, manage, and share large datasets is critical to the successful use of nutrient sensors and has made it possible for the field of continuous monitoring to rapidly move forward. We highlight several near‐term opportunities for federal agencies, as well as the broader scientific and management community, that will help accelerate sensor development, build and leverage sites within a national network, and develop open data standards and data management protocols that are key to realizing the benefits of a large‐scale, integrated monitoring network. Investing in these opportunities will provide new information to guide management and policies designed to protect and restore our nation's water resources.     

Effects of Groundwater-Flow Paths On Nitrate Concentrations Across Two Riparian Forest Corridors1

Speiran, Gary K., 2010. Effects of Groundwater-Flow Paths on Nitrate Concentrations Across Two Riparian Forest Corridors. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(2):246-260. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00427.x Abstract: Groundwater levels, apparent age, and chemistry from field sites and groundwater-flow modeling of hypothetical aquifers collectively indicate that groundwater-flow paths contribute to differences in nitrate concentrations across riparian corridors. At sites in Virginia (one coastal and one Piedmont), lowland forested wetlands separate upland fields from nearby surface waters (an estuary and a stream). At the coastal site, nitrate concentrations near the water table decreased from more than 10 mg/l beneath fields to 2 mg/l beneath a riparian forest buffer because recharge through the buffer forced water with concentrations greater than 5 mg/l to flow deeper beneath the buffer. Diurnal changes in groundwater levels up to 0.25 meters at the coastal site reflect flow from the water table into unsaturated soil where roots remove water and nitrate dissolved in it. Decreases in aquifer thickness caused by declines in the water table and decreases in horizontal hydraulic gradients from the uplands to the wetlands indicate that more than 95% of the groundwater discharged to the wetlands. Such discharge through organic soil can reduce nitrate concentrations by denitrification. Model simulations are consistent with field results, showing downward flow approaching toe slopes and surface waters to which groundwater discharges. These effects show the importance of buffer placement over use of fixed-width, streamside buffers to control nitrate concentrations.     

Factors Influencing Prymnesium parvum Population Dynamics During Bloom Initiation: Results from In-lake Mesocosm Experiments1

Roelke, Daniel L., Leslie Schwierzke, Bryan W. Brooks, James P. Grover, Reagan M. Errera, Theodore W. Valenti, Jr., and James L. Pinckney, 2010. Factors Influencing Prymnesium parvum Population Dynamics During Bloom Initiation: Results from In-Lake Mesocosm Experiments. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(1):76-91. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2009.00392.x Abstract: The alga Prymnesium parvum forms large fish-killing blooms in many Texas lakes. In some of these lakes, however, P. parvum occurs but does not develop blooms. In this study, we investigated factors that may influence bloom initiation by conducting a series of in-lake experiments involving mixing of waters from Lake Whitney, which has a history of P. parvum blooms, with waters from Lake Waco where no blooms have occurred. In all experiments, the addition of Lake Waco waters resulted in a poorer performance of P. parvum. Various experimental treatments and field data show that differences in grazing, pathogens, nutrients, and salts between the two lakes were not likely factors that contributed to this observation. Industrial and agricultural contaminants, allelochemicals and algicidal chemicals were not measured as a part of this research. However, anthropogenic contaminants other than nutrients were not observed at levels exceeding water quality standards in Lake Waco in recent years. On the other hand, nuisance cyanobacteria are common in Lake Waco, where Microcystis sp. and Anabaena sp. were abundant during the initiation of our experiments, both taxa are known to produce chemicals with allelopathic properties. In addition, the emergent field of algal-heterotrophic bacteria interactions suggests that chemicals produced by heterotrophic bacteria should not be overlooked. Further research focusing on the chemical interactions between cyanobacteria and P. parvum, as well as the potential role of algicidal bacteria, in the initiation of P. parvum blooms is necessary, as it may be important to the management of these blooms.     

东湖典型区域间隙水中营养盐的时空分布

以富营养化程度严重的浅水湖泊东湖为研究对象,通过持续采样调查,分析并比较了3个典型采样点柱状沉积物间隙水中营养盐的垂直分布和季节变化特征,结果表明东湖沉积物间隙水中营养盐浓度最高值一般出现在-5 cm以上,-5～-10 cm之间有一个快速降低的过程,-10～-26 cm之间趋于稳定,但也有小幅的波动;冬季间隙水中营养盐浓度明显低于其他季节,夏秋两季略高。分析认为沉积物间隙水中营养盐浓度受附近污染源直接影响较大,与上覆水水质有一定相关性,但不显著。间隙水中营养盐的季节变化主要因为冬季污染排放减少加速了间隙水中营养盐向上覆水的扩散、减少了水中营养盐在沉积物表层的沉积,以及温度降低导致微生物活动减少进而降低了有机物的矿化分解量。并且认为常规疏浚深度就可以有效移除东湖表层污染严重的沉积物     

三峡库区香溪河流域非点源营养盐输出变化的试验研究

综合三峡库区香溪河流域土地利用结构和水系特点,在三大支流出口处设置常规水质监测断面,于干流响滩处设置水文控制断面,通过断面水质水量监测,利用数字滤波法解析径流多源和污染多源,研究上游来流点源和非点源营养盐输出负荷变化。结果表明：受农业非点源污染影响,TN是高岚河（0788 mg/L）＞古夫河（0712 mg/L）＞南阳河（0567 mg/L）;南阳河受磷矿企业点源输入的影响,TP是南阳河（0323 mg/L）＞高岚河（0074 mg/L）＞古夫河（0053 mg/L）;断面流量与降雨量的相关系数〖WTBX〗R〖WTBZ〗2=0720 2;TN和TP非点源年负荷输出分别占总量的61%和40%的, 20100607次降雨径流监测分析发现此次降雨汇流期间营养盐TN和TP输出的非点源贡献率分别达752%和709%;营养盐负荷主要受径流量影响,TN和TP输出负荷与流量的相关系数分别是0963 6和0978 9     

Accretion of Nutrients and Sediment by a Constructed Stormwater Treatment Wetland in the Lake Tahoe Basin

This unique study evaluates the cumulative 16‐year lifetime performance of a wetland retention basin designed to treat stormwater runoff. Sediment cores were extracted prior to basin excavation and restoration to evaluate accretion rates and the origin of materials, retention characteristics of fine particulate matter, and overall pollutant removal efficiency. The sediment and organic layers together accreted 3.2 cm of depth per year, and 7.0 kg/m²/yr of inorganic material. Average annual accretion rates in g/m²/yr were as follows: C, 280; N, 17.7; P, 3.74; S, 3.80; Fe, 194; Mn, 2.68; Ca, 30.8; Mg, 30.7; K, 12.2; Na, 2.54; Zn, 0.858; Cu, 0.203; and B, 0.03. The accretion of C, N, P and sediment was comparable to nonwastewater treatment wetlands, overall, and relatively efficient for stormwater treatment wetlands. Comparison of particle size distribution between sediment cores and suspended solids in stormwater runoff indicated the wetland was effective at removing fine particles, with sediment cores containing 25% clay and 56% silt. A majority of the accretion of most metals and P could be attributed to efficient trapping of allochthonous material, while over half the accretion of C and N could be attributed to accumulation of autochthonous organic matter. Stormwater treatment was shown to be effective when physical properties of a retention basin are combined with the biological processes of a wetland, although sediment accretion can be relatively rapid.     

河流筑坝拦截的水环境响应——来自地球化学的视角

大规模筑坝拦截是当前世界河流普遍面临的共同趋势,"蓄水河流"在物理、化学及生物等多层次上区别于天然河流和湖泊,改变了河流水文、河流物质转化和输送通量以及河流生态环境.因此,认识和了解水库建成后河流一水库体系水环境演化的关键过程是评价水坝的水环境影响的基础.广泛综述国内外最近的一些涉及水库效应的研究成果,并结合作者对乌江流域梯级水库的初步研究,从蓄水河流水文情势改变、生源要素(磷和硅为例)形态和通量变化、温室气体释放、水生生态系统演替几个方面进行分析.认为,水能开发的巨大经济效益和面临的潜在生态风险之间的平衡关系需要进一步详尽的分析研究.     

Incorporating Uncertainty Into the Ranking of SPARROW Model Nutrient Yields From Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin Watersheds1

Abstract: Excessive loads of nutrients transported by tributary rivers have been linked to hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Management efforts to reduce the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico and improve the water quality of rivers and streams could benefit from targeting nutrient reductions toward watersheds with the highest nutrient yields delivered to sensitive downstream waters. One challenge is that most conventional watershed modeling approaches (e.g., mechanistic models) used in these management decisions do not consider uncertainties in the predictions of nutrient yields and their downstream delivery. The increasing use of parameter estimation procedures to statistically estimate model coefficients, however, allows uncertainties in these predictions to be reliably estimated. Here, we use a robust bootstrapping procedure applied to the results of a previous application of the hybrid statistical/mechanistic watershed model SPARROW (Spatially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes) to develop a statistically reliable method for identifying “high priority” areas for management, based on a probabilistic ranking of delivered nutrient yields from watersheds throughout a basin. The method is designed to be used by managers to prioritize watersheds where additional stream monitoring and evaluations of nutrient‐reduction strategies could be undertaken. Our ranking procedure incorporates information on the confidence intervals of model predictions and the corresponding watershed rankings of the delivered nutrient yields. From this quantified uncertainty, we estimate the probability that individual watersheds are among a collection of watersheds that have the highest delivered nutrient yields. We illustrate the application of the procedure to 818 eight‐digit Hydrologic Unit Code watersheds in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River basin by identifying 150 watersheds having the highest delivered nutrient yields to the Gulf of Mexico. Highest delivered yields were from watersheds in the Central Mississippi, Ohio, and Lower Mississippi River basins. With 90% confidence, only a few watersheds can be reliably placed into the highest 150 category; however, many more watersheds can be removed from consideration as not belonging to the highest 150 category. Results from this ranking procedure provide robust information on watershed nutrient yields that can benefit management efforts to reduce nutrient loadings to downstream coastal waters, such as the Gulf of Mexico, or to local receiving streams and reservoirs.     

Development of a Quantitative Pasture Phosphorus Management Tool Using the SWAT Model1

Abstract: Assessment tools to evaluate phosphorus loss from agricultural lands allow conservation planners to evaluate the impact of management decisions on water quality. Available tools to predict phosphorus loss from agricultural fields are either: (1) qualitative indices with limited applicability to address offsite water quality standards, or (2) models which are prohibitively complex for application by most conservation planners. The purpose of this research was to develop a simple interface for a comprehensive hydrologic/water quality model to allow its usage by farmers and conservation planners. The Pasture Phosphorus Management (PPM) Calculator was developed to predict average annual phosphorus (P) losses from pastures under a variety of field conditions and management options. PPM Calculator is a vastly simplified interface for the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model that requires no knowledge of SWAT by the user. PPM Calculator was validated using 33 months of data on four pasture fields in northwestern Arkansas. This tool has been extensively applied in the Lake Eucha/Spavinaw Basin in northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas. PPM Calculator allows conservation planners to take advantage of the predictive capacity of a comprehensive hydrologic water quality model typically reserved for use by hydrologists and engineers. This research demonstrates the applicability of existing water quality models in the development of user friendly P management tools.