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Long-term monitoring of riparian water tables and groundwater chemistry began in 2000 along four first or second order steams in and around the Gwynns Falls watershed in Baltimore City and County, MD. One site (Oregon Ridge) is in the completely forested Pond Branch catchment that serves as a ""reference"" study area for the Baltimore LTER (BES). Two sites (Glyndon, Gwynbrook) were in suburban areas of the watershed; one just upstream from the Glyndon BES long-term stream monitoring site in the headwaters of the Gwynns Falls, and one along a tributary that enters the Gwynns Falls just above the Gwynnbrook BES long-term stream monitoring site farther downstream. The final, urban site (Cahill) was along a tributary to the Gwynns Falls in Leakin Park in the urban core of the watershed. Water table data and more detailed descriptions of soils, vegetation, stream channel properties and microbial processes at these sites can be found in Groffman et al. (2002, Environmental Science and Technology 36:4547-4552) and Gift et al. (2010, Restoration Ecology 18:113-120).
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This content will become publicly available on December 8, 2025
Long‐term changes in riparian connectivity and groundwater chemistry in an urban watershed
Hydrologic alterations associated with urbanization can weaken connections between riparian zones, streams, and uplands, leading to negative effects on the ability of riparian zones to intercept pollutants carried by surface water runoff and groundwater flow such as nitrate and phosphate. We analyzed the monthly water table as an indicator of riparian connectivity, along with groundwater NO3 and PO4concentrations, at four riparian sites within and near the Gwynns Falls Watershed in Baltimore, MD, from 1998 to 2018. The sites included one forested reference site (Oregon Ridge), two suburban riparian sites (Glyndon and Gwynnbrook), and one urban riparian site (Cahill) with at least two locations and four monitoring wells, located 5 m from the center of the stream, at each site. Results show an increase in connectivity as indicated by shallower water tables at two of the four sites studied: Glyndon and Cahill. This change in connectivity was associated with decreases in NO3 at Glyndon and increases in PO4 at Glyndon, Gwynnbrook, and Cahill. These changes are consistent with previous studies showing that shallower water table depths increase anaerobic conditions, which increase NO3 consumption by denitrification and decrease PO4 retention. The absence of change in the forested reference site, where climate would be expected to be the key driver, suggests that other drivers, including best management practices and stream restoration projects, could be affecting riparian water tables at the two suburban sites and the one urban site. Further research into the mechanisms behind these changes and site‐specific dynamics is needed.
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- PAR ID:
- 10559105
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Environmental Quality
- ISSN:
- 0047-2425
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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