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Stream denitrification across biomes and its response to anthropogenic nitrate loading

Nature volume 452, pages 202–205 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Anthropogenic addition of bioavailable nitrogen to the biosphere is increasing1,2 and terrestrial ecosystems are becoming increasingly nitrogen-saturated3, causing more bioavailable nitrogen to enter groundwater and surface waters4,5,6. Large-scale nitrogen budgets show that an average of about 20–25 per cent of the nitrogen added to the biosphere is exported from rivers to the ocean or inland basins7,8, indicating that substantial sinks for nitrogen must exist in the landscape9. Streams and rivers may themselves be important sinks for bioavailable nitrogen owing to their hydrological connections with terrestrial systems, high rates of biological activity, and streambed sediment environments that favour microbial denitrification6,10,11. Here we present data from nitrogen stable isotope tracer experiments across 72 streams and 8 regions representing several biomes. We show that total biotic uptake and denitrification of nitrate increase with stream nitrate concentration, but that the efficiency of biotic uptake and denitrification declines as concentration increases, reducing the proportion of in-stream nitrate that is removed from transport. Our data suggest that the total uptake of nitrate is related to ecosystem photosynthesis and that denitrification is related to ecosystem respiration. In addition, we use a stream network model to demonstrate that excess nitrate in streams elicits a disproportionate increase in the fraction of nitrate that is exported to receiving waters and reduces the relative role of small versus large streams as nitrate sinks.

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Figure 1: Observed stream NO 3 - metrics by adjacent land use.
Figure 2: Relationships between NO 3 - uptake velocity and concentration.
Figure 3: Observed stream denitrification rates by adjacent land use.
Figure 4: Simulated upper and lower limits on biotic removal of NO 3 - from stream water within a fifth-order network.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this research was provided by the National Science Foundation. We thank N. Ostrom for assistance with stable isotope measurements of N2 and N2O, and W. Wollheim for initial development of the model that we modified to estimate denitrification rates from field data. We thank M. Mitchell, B. Roberts and E. Bernhardt for their comments on earlier versions of the paper. We thank the NSF LTER network, US Forest Service, National Park Service and many private landowners for permission to conduct experiments on their lands. Partial support to P.J.M. during manuscript preparation was provided by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research under contract with UT-Battelle.

Author Contributions P.J.M. coordinated the stream 15N experiments and analysed the compiled experimental data sets. A.M.H. and G.C.P conducted the stream network modelling. P.J.M., A.M.H. and G.C.P. wrote major portions of the manuscript. S.K.H. established sampling protocols and coordinated the 15N analysis of dissolved N2 samples. Except for A.M.H., all authors listed to J.R.W. were joint project Principal Investigators and contributed to the conceptual and methodological development of the project and analysis of data. Authors listed from C.P.A. to S.M.T. coordinated field experiments and analysed data from one or more biomes. All authors discussed the results and commented on the manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Jake J. Beaulieu, Richard W. Sheibley & Daniel J. Sobota

    Present address: Present addresses: US Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio 45268, USA (J.J.B.); US Geological Survey, Tacoma, Washington 98402, USA (R.W.S.); School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, Vancouver Campus, Vancouver, Washington 98686, USA (D.J.S.).,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA,

    Patrick J. Mulholland

  2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, USA,

    Patrick J. Mulholland & Lee W. Cooper

  3. Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA,

    Ashley M. Helton, Geoffrey C. Poole & Judy L. Meyer

  4. Eco-metrics, Inc., Tucker, Georgia 30084, USA,

    Geoffrey C. Poole

  5. Department of Zoology and Physiology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA,

    Robert O. Hall

  6. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, Michigan 49060, USA,

    Stephen K. Hamilton, Amy J. Burgin & Jonathan M. O’Brien

  7. Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA,

    Bruce J. Peterson & Suzanne M. Thomas

  8. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA,

    Jennifer L. Tank, Clay P. Arango, Jake J. Beaulieu & Laura T. Johnson

  9. Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA,

    Linda R. Ashkenas, Stanley V. Gregory & Daniel J. Sobota

  10. Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, USA,

    Clifford N. Dahm & Chelsea L. Crenshaw

  11. Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas 66506, USA,

    Walter K. Dodds

  12. Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, New York 12545, USA,

    Stuart E. G. Findlay

  13. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA,

    Nancy B. Grimm & Richard W. Sheibley

  14. Pacific Northwest Research Station, US Forest Service, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA,

    Sherri L. Johnson

  15. Department of Natural Resources, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA,

    William H. McDowell & Jody D. Potter

  16. Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA,

    H. Maurice Valett, Jackson R. Webster & B. R. Niederlehner

  17. Department of Biology, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306, USA,

    Melody J. Bernot

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  1. Patrick J. Mulholland
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Patrick J. Mulholland.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

This file contains Supplementary Methods and Supplementary Discussion with additional references; Supplementary Figures and Legends 1-3; and Supplementary Tables 1-3. The Supplementary Methods include more detailed 15N experiment methods and stream network model development. The Supplementary Discussion presents NO3- removal over a standardized stream reach, effects of land use and stream size on uptake rates, and limitations of the data and stream network modeling results. The Supplemental Figure 1 shows study site locations, Figure 2 shows the stream network model structure, and Figure 3 shows the location and hydrography of the Little Tennessee River network used in model simulations. The Supplementary Table 1 presents physical and chemical characteristics and NO3- uptake and denitrification rates determined for all streams in the 15N experiments, Table 2 includes definitions of model terms, and Table 3 presents the methods used to derive model parameters. (PDF 535 kb)

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Mulholland, P., Helton, A., Poole, G. et al. Stream denitrification across biomes and its response to anthropogenic nitrate loading. Nature 452, 202–205 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06686

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