Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

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.

References

  1. Vitousek, P. M. et al. Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: Sources and consequences. Ecol. Appl. 7, 737–750 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Galloway, J. N. et al. Nitrogen cycles past, present, and future. Biogeochemistry 70, 153–226 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Aber, J. D. et al. Nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems. Bioscience 48, 921–934 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bouwman, A. F., Van Drecht, G., Knoop, J. M., Beusen, A. H. W. & Meinardi, C. R. Exploring changes in river nitrogen export to the world’s oceans. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 19 GB1002 10.1029/2004GB002314 (2005)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Johnes, P. J. & Butterfield, D. Landscape, regional and global estimates of nitrogen flux from land to sea: Errors and uncertainties. Biogeochemistry 57, 429–476 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Schlesinger, W. H., Reckhow, K. H. & Bernhardt, E. S. Global change: The nitrogen cycle and rivers. Water Resource Res. 42 W03S06 10.1029/2005WR004300 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Howarth, R. W. et al. Riverine inputs of nitrogen to the North Atlantic Ocean: fluxes and human influences. Biogeochemistry 35, 75–139 (1996)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Boyer, E. W. et al. Riverine nitrogen export from the continents to the coasts. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 20 GB1S91 10.1029/2005GB002537 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Van Breemen, N. et al. Where did all the nitrogen go? Fate of nitrogen inputs to large watersheds in the northeastern USA. Biogeochemistry 57, 267–293 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Seitzinger, S. P. et al. Denitrification across landscapes and waterscapes: a synthesis. Ecol. Appl. 16, 2064–2090 (2006)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Hedin, L. O. et al. Thermodynamic constraints on nitrogen transformations and other biogeochemical processes at soil–stream interfaces. Ecology 79, 684–703 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  12. Stream Solute Workshop. Concepts and methods for assessing solute dynamics in stream ecosystems. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 9, 95–119 (1990)

  13. Dodds, W. K. et al. N uptake as a function of concentration in streams. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 21, 206–220 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. O’Brien, J. M., Dodds, W. K., Wilson, K. C., Murdock, J. N. & Eichmiller, J. The saturation of N cycling in Central Plains streams: 15N experiments across a broad gradient of nitrate concentrations. Biogeochemistry 10.1007/s10533–007–9073–7 (2007)

  15. Hall, R. O. & Tank, J. L. Ecosystem metabolism controls nitrogen uptake in streams in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Limnol. Oceanogr. 48, 1120–1128 (2003)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Mulholland, P. J. et al. Effects of light on NO3- uptake in small forested streams: diurnal and day-to-day variations. J. N. Am. Benthol. Soc. 25, 583–595 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Christensen, P. B., Nielsen, L. P., Sørensen, J. & Revsbech, N. P. Denitrification in nitrate-rich streams: Diurnal and seasonal variation related to benthic oxygen metabolism. Limnol. Oceanogr. 35, 640–651 (1990)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  18. Piña-Ochoa, E. & Alvarez-Cobelas, M. Denitrification in aquatic environments: A cross-system analysis. Biogeochemistry 81, 111–130 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Alexander, R. B., Smith, R. A. & Schwarz, G. E. Effect of stream channel size on the delivery of nitrogen to the Gulf of Mexico. Nature 403, 758–761 (2000)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Peterson, B. J. et al. Control of nitrogen export from watersheds by headwater streams. Science 292, 86–90 (2001)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  21. Seitzinger, S. P. et al. Nitrogen retention in rivers: Model development and application to watersheds in the northeastern USA. Biogeochemistry 57, 199–237 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Wollheim, W. M., Vörösmarty, C. J., Peterson, B. J., Seitzinger, S. P. & Hopkinson, C. S. Relationship between river size and nutrient removal. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L06410 (2006)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. McIsaac, G., David, M. B., Gertner, G. Z. & Goolsby, D. A. Nitrate flux in the Mississippi River. Nature 414, 166–167 (2001)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. Hill, J., Nelson, E., Tilman, D., Polasky, S. & Tiffany, D. Environmental, economic, and energetic costs and benefits of biodiesel and ethanol biofuels. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 103, 11206–11210 (2006)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Tilman, D., Cassman, K. G., Matson, P. A., Naylor, R. & Polasky, S. Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature 418, 671–677 (2002)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. Foley, J. A. et al. Global consequences of land use. Science 309, 570–574 (2005)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Beman, J. M., Arrigo, K. R. & Matson, P. A. Agricultural runoff fuels large phytoplankton blooms in vulnerable areas of the ocean. Nature 434, 211–214 (2005)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  28. Newbold, J. D., Elwood, J. W., O’Neill, R. V. & Van Winkle, W. Measuring nutrient spiraling in streams. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 38, 860–863 (1981)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Webster, J. W. & Valett, H. M. in Methods in Stream Ecology (eds Hauer, F. R. & Lamberti, G. A.) 169–186 (Elsevier, New York, 2006)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Mulholland, P. J. et al. Stream denitrification and total nitrate uptake rates measured using a field 15N isotope tracer approach. Limnol. Oceanogr. 49, 809–820 (2004)

    Article  CAS  ADS  Google Scholar 

  31. Sigman, D. M. et al. Natural abundance-level measurement of the nitrogen isotopic composition of oceanic nitrate: an adaptation of the ammonia diffusion method. Mar. Chem. 57, 227–242 (1997)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Hamilton, S. K. & Ostrom, N. E. Measurement of the stable isotope ratio of dissolved N2 in 15N tracer experiments. Limnol. Oceanogr. Methods 5, 233–240 (2007)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

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

Authors
  1. Patrick J. Mulholland
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ashley M. Helton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Geoffrey C. Poole
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Robert O. Hall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Stephen K. Hamilton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Bruce J. Peterson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Jennifer L. Tank
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Linda R. Ashkenas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Lee W. Cooper
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Clifford N. Dahm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Walter K. Dodds
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Stuart E. G. Findlay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Stanley V. Gregory
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Nancy B. Grimm
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Sherri L. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. William H. McDowell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  17. Judy L. Meyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  18. H. Maurice Valett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  19. Jackson R. Webster
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  20. Clay P. Arango
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  21. Jake J. Beaulieu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  22. Melody J. Bernot
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  23. Amy J. Burgin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  24. Chelsea L. Crenshaw
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  25. Laura T. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  26. B. R. Niederlehner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  27. Jonathan M. O’Brien
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  28. Jody D. Potter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  29. Richard W. Sheibley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  30. Daniel J. Sobota
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  31. Suzanne M. Thomas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

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)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

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

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06686

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing