Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial Variability of Sediment Denitrification Across the Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, USA

  • Note
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Ecosystem-wide denitrification estimates generally depend on the degree of spatial variability in the system, but spatial variability is rarely assessed. To model nitrogen removal rates in the Atchafalaya River Basin we first identified trends in background and potential denitrification across this large floodplain. We conducted a laboratory study to quantify background and potential denitrification rates. Background and potential denitrification rates were significantly different. Background rates ranged from ranged from 0–1.35 μg N g−1 d−1 and potential rates ranged from ranged from 26.72–710.47 μg N g−1 d−1, illustrating the existence of denitrification hotspots across the landscape. Background rates were related to soil characteristics (carbon, nitrogen, nitrate), but potential rates appeared to be related to landscape position (spatial coordinates). Background denitrification showed a strong positive correlation with soil nitrate, and a negative correlation with soil nitrogen and soil carbon. Potential denitrification rates showed no significant correlations with any parameters tested. We observed a significant relationship between location and potential denitrification rates, with greater potential downstream than upstream, but not between location and background rates. This suggests that landscape scale studies should include additional qualifiers, such as habitat type and organic matter quality, for more reliable estimates of denitrification rates.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Allison MA, Kineke GC, Gordon ES, Goñi MA (2000) Development and reworking of a seasonal flood deposit on the inner continental shelf off the Atchafalaya River. Cont Shelf Res 20:2267–2294

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowden WB (1987) The biogeochemistry of nitrogen in freshwater wetlands. Biogeochemistry 4:313–348

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brinson MM, Bradshaw HD, Kane ES (1984) Nutrient assimilative capacity of an alluvial floodplain swamp. J Appl Ecol 21:1041–1057

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cirmo C, McDonnell JJ (1997) Linking the hydrologic and biogeochemical controls on nitrogen transport in near-stream zones of temperate forested catchments: a review. J Hydrol 199:88–120

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Craft CB, Casey WP (2000) Sediment and nutrient accumulation in floodplain and depressional freshwater wetlands of Georgia, USA. Wetlands 20:323–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Angelo EM, Reddy KR (1999) Regulators of heterotrophic microbial potentials in wetland soils. Soil Biology and Biogeochemistry 31:815–830

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dodla SK, Wang JJ, DeLaune RD, Cook RL (2008) Denitrification potential and its relation to organic carbon quality in three coastal wetland soils. Sci Total Environ 407:471–480

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Forshay KJ, Stanley EH (2005) Rapid nitrate loss and denitrification in a temperate river floodplain. Biogeochemistry 75:43–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gale PM, Reddy KR, Graetz DA (1993) Nitrogen removal from reclaimed water applied to constructed and natural wetland microcosms. Water Environ Res 65:162–168

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gee GW, Bauder JW (1986) Particle-size analysis. In: Klute A (ed) Methods of soil analysis. Part 1. 2nd ed. Agronomy Monograph 9. ASA and SSSA, Madison, pp 383–411

    Google Scholar 

  • Gergel SE, Carpenter SR, Stanley EH (2005) Do dams and levees impact nitrogen cycling? Simulating the effects of flood alterations on floodplain denitrification. Glob Chang Biol 11:1352–1367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM (1994) Denitrification in freshwater wetlands. Curr Top Wetl Biogeochem 1:15–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Altabet MA, Bohlke JK, Butterbach-Bahl K, David MB, Firestone MK, Giblin AE, Kana TM, Nielsen LP, Voytek MA (2006) Methods for measuring denitrification: diverse approaches to a difficult problem. Ecol Appl 16:2091–2122

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hupp CR (2000) Hydrology, geomorphology and vegetation of Coastal Plain rivers in the southeastern USA. Hydrol Process 14:2991–3010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindau CW, Delaune RD, Collins JW, Bollich PK, Scott LM, Lambremont EN (1998) Methane and nitrous oxide evolution and N-15 and Ra-226 uptake as affected by application of gypsum and phosphogypsum to Louisiana rice. Agric Ecosyst Environ 68:165–173

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McClain ME, Boyer EW, Dent CL, Gergel SE, Grimm NB, Groffman PM, Hart SC, Harvey JW, Johnston CA, Mayorga E, McDowell WH, Pinay G (2003) Biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystems 6:301–312

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Noe GB, Hupp CR (2009) Retention of riverine sediment and nutrient loads by coastal plain floodplains. Ecosystems 12:728–746

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pina-Ochoa E, Alvarez-Cobelas M (2006) Denitrification in aquatic environments: a cross-system analysis. Biogeochemistry 81:111–130

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rabalais NN, Turner RE, Wiseman WJ (2002) Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico, a.k.a. The Dead Zone. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 33:235–263

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts HH (1998) Delta switching: Early responses to the Atchafalaya River diversion. J Coast Res 14:882–899

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryden JC, Dawson KP (1982) Evaluation of the acetylene inhibition technique for field measurements of denitrification in grassland soils. J Sci Food Agric 33:1197–1206

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SAS Institute (2006) Version 9.1.3. SAS Institute, Cary

    Google Scholar 

  • Saunders DL, Kalff J (2001) Nitrogen retention in wetlands, lakes and rivers. Hydrobiologia 44:205–212

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schipper LA, Cooper AB, Harfoot CG, Dyck WJ (1993) Regulators of denitrification in an organic riparian soil. Soil Biol Biochem 25:925–933

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seitzinger SP, Harrison JA, Bohlke JK, Bouwman AF, Lowrance R, Peterson B, Tobias C, Van Drecht G (2006) Denitrification across landscapes and waterscapes: a synthesis. Ecol Appl 16:2064–2090

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sharma S, Szele Z, Schilling R, Munch JC, Schloter M (2006) Influence of freeze-thaw stress on the structure and function of microbial communities and denitrifying populations in soil. Appl Environ Microbiol 72:2148–2154

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stenberg B, Johhansson M, Pell M, Sjodahl-Svensson K, Stenstrom J, Torstensson L (1998) Microbial biomass and activities in soil as affected by frozen and cold storage. Soil Biol Biochem 30:393–402

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (1983) Methods for chemical analysis of water and wastes. Environmental Monitoring and Support Laboratory, Cincinnati

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu YJ (2006) Total nitrogen inflow and outflow from a large river swamp basin to the Gulf of Mexico. Hydrol Sci J 51:531–542

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu YJ (2010) Long-term sediment transport and delivery of the largest distributary of the Mississippi River, the Atchafalaya, USA. In Sediment Dynamics for a Changing Future: Proceedings of the ICCE symposium Warsaw, Poland, 14–18 June 2010. IAHS Publ. 227

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Louisiana Board of Regents Research Competitiveness Subprogram. Thanks to C. Algero, K. Daroca, V. Tobias, and M. Huber for their assistance in the field. Thanks also to two anonymous reviewers and the Editor in Chief of Wetlands for their contributions to this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Amy E. Scaroni & John A. Nyman

  2. School of the Coast and Environment, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Charles W. Lindau

  3. Renewable Natural Resources, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    Amy E. Scaroni

Authors
  1. Amy E. Scaroni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Charles W. Lindau
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. John A. Nyman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amy E. Scaroni.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Scaroni, A.E., Lindau, C.W. & Nyman, J.A. Spatial Variability of Sediment Denitrification Across the Atchafalaya River Basin, Louisiana, USA. Wetlands 30, 949–955 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0091-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-010-0091-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation