Isotopic signals of summer denitrification in a northern hardwood forested catchment

Wexler, Sarah K, Goodale, Christine L, McGuire, Kevin J, Bailey, Scott W and Groffman, Peter M (2014) Isotopic signals of summer denitrification in a northern hardwood forested catchment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 111 (6). pp. 16413-16418. ISSN 1091-6490

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Abstract

Despite decades of measurements, the nitrogen balance of temperate forest catchments remains poorly understood. Atmospheric nitrogen deposition often greatly exceeds streamwater nitrogen losses; the fate of the remaining nitrogen is highly uncertain. Gaseous losses of nitrogen to denitrification are especially poorly documented and are often ignored. Here, we provide isotopic evidence (δ15NNO3 and δ18ONO3) from shallow groundwater at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest indicating extensive denitrification during midsummer, when transient, perched patches of saturation developed in hillslopes, with poor hydrological connectivity to the stream, while streamwater showed no isotopic evidence of denitrification. During small rain events, precipitation directly contributed up to 34% of streamwater nitrate, which was otherwise produced by nitrification. Together, these measurements reveal the importance of denitrification in hydrologically disconnected patches of shallow groundwater during midsummer as largely overlooked control points for nitrogen loss from temperate forest catchments.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	nitrogen cycle,denitrification,stable isotopes,forested watershed,streamwater chemistry
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	26 Oct 2017 05:05
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2022 03:17
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/65261
DOI:	10.1073/pnas.1404321111

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