Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2006NJ100B

Nitrate removal in urban wetlands: examining the roles of vegetation, soils, and hydrology in the creation of hot spots and hot moments of denitrification

Institute: New Jersey
Year Established: 2006 Start Date: 2006-03-01 End Date: 2007-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $5,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $10,893

Principal Investigators: Monica Palta, Joan Ehrenfeld

Project Summary: Provisions of abundant water, high soil fertility, and removal of excessive nutrients have made floodplain systems lucrative areas for settlement of human populations, and river floodplains have often been at the epicenter of agricultural and urban expansion. Metropolitan development increases the extent of impervious surface and thus the increases the volume of surface runoff entering urban waterways. The combined effect of urban hydrologic alterations results in an urban stream syndrome, characterized by flashier hydrographs, elevated concentrations of nutrients and contaminants, altered channel morphology and stability, and reduced biotic richness. The ability of riparian floodplain areas to remove nutrients from surface water is of particular importance in the northeastern United States, where atmospheric N deposition is high. The phenomenon of hydrologic drought has been linked to riparian zones serving as sources rather than sinks for NO3- in urban watersheds. The study proposed here provides an opportunity to examine the factors mediating hot spots and hot moments of denitrification at a well-defined spatiotemporal scale.