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Abstract Dam removals are on the increase across the US with Pennsylvania currently leading the nation. While most dam removals are driven by aquatic habitat and public safety considerations, we know little about how dam removals impact water quality and riparian zone processes. Dam removals decrease the stream base level, which results in dewatering of the riparian zone. We hypothesized that this dewatering of the riparian zone would increase nitrification and decrease denitrification, and thus result in nitrogen (N) leakage from riparian zones. This hypothesis was tested for a 1.5 m high milldam removal. Stream, soil water, and groundwater N concentrations were monitored over 2 years. Soil N concentrations and process rates andδ15N values were also determined. Denitrification rates and soilδ15N values in riparian sediments decreased supporting our hypothesis but no significant changes in nitrification were observed. While surficial soil water nitrate‐N concentrations were high (median 4.5 mg N L−1), riparian groundwater nitrate‐N values were low (median 0.09 mg N L−1), indicating that nitrate‐N leakage was minimal. We attribute the low groundwater nitrate‐N to denitrification losses at the lower, more dynamic, groundwater interface and/or dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). Stream water nitrate‐N concentrations were high (median 7.6 mg N L−1) and contrary to our dam‐removal hypothesis displayed a watershed‐wide decline that was attributed to regional hydrologic changes. This study provided important first insights on how dam removals could affect N cycle processes in riparian zones and its implications for water quality and watershed management.
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Quantifying the spatiotemporal variability of nitrate in irrigation water across the Wisconsin Central Sands
Abstract The Wisconsin Central Sands is home to large scale vegetable production on sandy soils and managed with frequent irrigation, fertigation, and widespread nitrogen fertilizer application, all of which make the region highly susceptible to nitrate loss to groundwater. While the groundwater is used as the primary source of drinking water for many communities and rural residences across the region, it is also used for irrigation. Considering the high levels of nitrate found in the groundwater, it has been proposed that growers more accurately account for the nitrate in their irrigation water as part of nitrogen management plans. Our objectives were to 1) determine the magnitude of nitrate in irrigation water, 2) quantify the spatiotemporal variability of nitrate, and 3) determine key predictors of nitrate concentration in the region. We sampled irrigation water from 38 fields across six farms from 2018 to 2020. Across the 3 years of our study, nitrate concentration varied more across space than time. On average, our samples were tested at 19.0 mg L−1nitrate‐nitrogen, or nearly two times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) threshold for safe drinking water, equivalent to 48.1 kg ha−1of applied nitrate‐nitrogen with 25.4 cm (or 10 in.) of irrigation. To better understand the spatiotemporal variability in nitrate levels, week of sampling, year, well depth, well casing, and nitrogen application rate were analyzed for their role as predictor variables. Based on our linear mixed effects model, nitrogen application rate was the greatest predictor of the nitrate concentration of irrigation water (p < 0.05).
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- Award ID(s):
- 1855996
- PAR ID:
- 10473396
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Environmental Quality
- Volume:
- 52
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 0047-2425
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 1102-1114
- Size(s):
- p. 1102-1114
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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