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A comparison of NEWS and SPARROW models to understand sources of nitrogen delivered to US coastal areas

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Abstract

The relative contributions of different anthropogenic and natural sources of in-stream nitrogen (N) cannot be directly measured at whole-watershed scales. Hence, source attribution estimates beyond the scale of small catchments must rely on models. Although such estimates have been accomplished using individual models, there has not yet been a comparison of N source attribution predictions at large spatial scales. We compared results from two models applied to the continental US: Nutrient Export from WaterSheds (NEWS) and SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watersheds (SPARROW). NEWS and SPARROW predictions for total N delivery to the US coastal zone were 373 and 429 kg N km−2 year−1, respectively, for the contemporary period. Despite differences in how inputs were represented and defined by the models, NEWS and SPARROW both identified the same single-largest N sources for 67 % of the surface area that drains to the US coastal zone. When only anthropogenic sources were considered, agreement increased to 78 % of surface area. Fertilizer and crop N-fixation were dominant in the Mississippi River Basin, where the bulk of agricultural lands are located. Sewage and population-related sources were most important in urban areas and natural N (primarily N-fixation on non-agricultural land) was most important in the Pacific Northwest. Attribution to fertilizer plus crop N-fixation, atmospheric deposition, and sewage and population-related sources was generally greater by SPARROW than NEWS, and the reverse was true for manure and natural sources. Nonetheless, both models agreed in attributing 62–81 % of N delivered to the coastal zone in the continental US to human activities.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Richard Smith for a helpful review of this manuscript and, along with Richard Alexander, for providing SPARROW data. Three anonymous reviewers provided comments that greatly improved this paper. The information in this document was funded by the National Academies of Science Research Associateship Program and the US Environmental Protection Agency. It has been subjected to review by the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory’s Western Ecology Division and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents reflect the views of the Agency, nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Research Council, National Academies of Science, Washington, DC, 20001, USA

    Michelle L. McCrackin

  2. School of the Environment, Washington State University, Vancouver Campus, Vancouver, WA, 98686, USA

    Michelle L. McCrackin & John A. Harrison

  3. Western Ecology Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 200 SW 35th Street, Corvallis, OR, 97333, USA

    Jana E. Compton

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Correspondence to Michelle L. McCrackin.

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McCrackin, M.L., Harrison, J.A. & Compton, J.E. A comparison of NEWS and SPARROW models to understand sources of nitrogen delivered to US coastal areas. Biogeochemistry 114, 281–297 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9809-x

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