Effects of nitrogen removal from wastewater on phytoplankton in eutrophic prairie streams

Bergbusch, Nathanael T.; Hayes, Nicole M.; Simpson, Gavin L.; Swarbrick, Vanessa J.; Quiñones‐Rivera, Zoraida J.; Leavitt, Peter R.

doi:10.1111/fwb.13833

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 80 publications

(170 reference statements)

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“…DOC and DIC were analyzed using standard analytic procedures on a Shimadzu model 5000 A total carbon analyzer (Finlay et al, 2009;Webb et al, 2019b). Dissolved nitrogen (TDN, NO x , NH 3 ) and dissolved phosphorus (TDP, SRP) were measured using standard procedures on a Lachat QuikChem 8,500 (APHA-AWWA/WEF 1998; Bergbusch et al, 2021). Chl-a concentration was standard trichromatic spectrophotometric methods (Jeffrey and Humphrey 1975;Finlay et al, 2009).…”

Section: Laboratory Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variability of CO2, CH4, and N2O content and fluxes in small agricultural reservoirs of the northern Great Plains

Jensen

Webb

Simpson

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Inland waters are important global sources, and occasional sinks, of CO2, CH4, and N2O to the atmosphere, but relatively little is known about the contribution of GHGs of constructed waterbodies, particularly small sites in agricultural regions that receive large amounts of nutrients (carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus). Here, we quantify the magnitude and controls of diffusive CO2, CH4, and N2O fluxes from 20 agricultural reservoirs on seasonal and diel timescales. All gases exhibited consistent seasonal trends, with CO2 concentrations highest in spring and fall and lowest in mid-summer, CH4 highest in mid-summer, and N2O elevated in spring following ice-off. No discernible diel trends were observed for GHG content. Analyses of GHG covariance with potential regulatory factors were conducted using generalized additive models (GAMs) that revealed CO2 concentrations were affected primarily by factors related to benthic respiration, including dissolved oxygen (DO), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), stratification strength, and water source (as δ18Owater). In contrast, variation in CH4 content was correlated positively with factors that favoured methanogenesis, and so varied inversely with DO, soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), and conductivity (a proxy for sulfate content), and positively with DIN, DOC, and temperature. Finally, N2O concentrations were driven mainly by variation in reservoir mixing (as buoyancy frequency), and were correlated positively with DO, SRP, and DIN levels and negatively with pH and stratification strength. Estimates of mean CO2-eq flux during the open-water period ranged from 5,520 mmol m−2 year1 (using GAM-predictions) to 10,445 mmol m−2 year−1 (using interpolations of seasonal data) reflecting how extreme values were extrapolated, with true annual flux rates likely falling between these two estimates.

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Section: Laboratory Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal variability of CO2, CH4, and N2O content and fluxes in small agricultural reservoirs of the northern Great Plains

Jensen

Webb

Simpson

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…Water quality in effluent-dependent streams can be quite different from that in natural streams ( Brooks, Riley & Taylor, 2006 ; Hamdhani, Eppehimer & Bogan, 2020 ; Nikel et al, 2021 ). Differences noted in effluent-dominated and effluent-dependent streams include elevated values for water temperatures ( Boyle & Fraleigh, 2003 ; Canobbio et al, 2009 ) and nutrient levels, such as nitrate ( Hur et al, 2007 ; Chen et al, 2009 ), ammonium/ammonia ( Gafny, Goren & Gasith, 2000 ; Bergbusch et al, 2021 ), and phosphate ( Birge et al, 1989 ; Chen et al, 2009 ). Additionally, lower dissolved oxygen levels are frequently observed in stream reaches closest to effluent outfalls ( Birge et al, 1989 ; Matamoros & Rodríguez, 2017 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal and longitudinal water quality dynamics in three effluent-dependent rivers in Arizona

Hamdhani

Eppehimer

Quanrud

et al. 2023

PeerJ

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Effluent-fed streams, which receive inputs from wastewater treatment plants, are becoming increasingly common across the globe as urbanization intensifies. In semi-arid and arid regions, where many natural streams have dried up due to over extraction of water, many streams rely completely on treated effluent to sustain baseflow during dry seasons. These systems are often thought of as ‘second-class’ or highly disturbed stream ecosystems, but they have the potential to serve as refuges for native aquatic biota if water quality is high, especially in areas where few natural habitats remain. In this study, we investigated seasonal and longitudinal water quality dynamics at multiple sites across six reaches of three effluent-dependent rivers in Arizona (USA) with the objective (1) to quantify changes in effluent water quality due to distance traveled and season/climate and (2) to qualify whether water quality conditions in these systems are sufficient to support native aquatic species. Study reaches ranged in length from 3 to 31 km and in geographic setting from low desert to montane conifer forest. We observed the lowest water quality conditions (e.g., elevated temperature and low dissolved oxygen) during the summer in low desert reaches, and significantly greater natural remediation of water quality in longer vs. shorter reaches for several factors, including temperature, dissolved oxygen and ammonia. Nearly all sites met or exceeded water quality conditions needed to support robust assemblages of native species across multiple seasons. However, our results also indicated that temperature (max 34.2 °C), oxygen levels (min 2.7 mg/L) and ammonia concentrations (max 5.36 mg/L N) may occasionally be stressful for sensitive taxa at sites closest to effluent outfalls. Water quality conditions may be a concern during the summer. Overall, effluent-dependent streams have the capacity to serve as refuges for native biota in Arizona, and they may become the only aquatic habitat available in many urbanizing arid and semi-arid regions.

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“…The global degradation of fresh waters through eutrophication and the proliferation of toxic cyanobacterial blooms is often attributable to excessive nutrient loading (Glibert, 2020; Paerl et al., 2016; Taranu et al., 2015). As a result, eutrophication‐ and bloom‐mitigation strategies have attempted to reduce nutrient inputs to lakes, succeeding primarily when improved water‐treatment infrastructure has regulated discrete nutrient inputs (Bergbusch et al., 2021; Hamilton et al., 2016; Schindler et al., 2016). By contrast, diffuse nutrient sources are more difficult to regulate, in part owing to the large spatial scales of some biogeochemical disturbances (e.g., agriculture), and potential effects of intervening waterbodies on transmission of nutrients to downstream lakes (Bunting et al., 2016; Donald et al., 2015; Maheaux et al., 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of a century of land‐use change on the eutrophication of large, shallow, prairie Lake Manitoba in relation to adjacent Lake Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada)

Gushulak,

Mezzini,

Moir

et al. 2023

Freshwater Biology

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Evaluation of large lake response to centennial changes in land use and climate can be complicated by high spatial and hydrological complexity within their catchments, particularly in regions of low relief. Furthermore, large lakes can exhibit abrupt changes in structure and function that obscure causes of eutrophication. We provide the first quantification of historical trends in lake production, cyanobacterial abundance, sediment geochemistry and diatom composition since c. 1800 in Lake Manitoba, the 29th largest lake in the world, and compared them to Lake Winnipeg, a morphologically similar, adjacent basin with a 10‐fold larger catchment and an abrupt increase in production around 1990. Before 1900, Lake Manitoba was mesotrophic, with low sedimentary concentrations of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, cyanobacteria and algal pigments, as well as assemblages of low‐light‐adapted benthic diatoms. Analysis of pigment time‐series with hierarchical generalised additive models revealed that Lake Manitoba eutrophied during 1900–1930 as a consequence of the development of intensive agriculture within its local catchment, but thereafter exhibited stable cyanobacterial densities with limited expansion of N2‐fixing cyanobacteria despite persistent eutrophication. Lake Manitoba did not undergo an abrupt change as seen in Lake Winnipeg. These findings suggest that catchment size had little influence on water quality degradation and that nutrient influx from proximal agricultural sources was sufficient to initially degrade these large prairie lakes. The abrupt change in Lake Winnipeg around 1990 required additional intensification of local land use that did not occur in the Lake Manitoba catchment.

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Effects of nitrogen removal from wastewater on phytoplankton in eutrophic prairie streams

Cited by 7 publications

References 80 publications

Seasonal variability of CO2, CH4, and N2O content and fluxes in small agricultural reservoirs of the northern Great Plains

Seasonal variability of CO2, CH4, and N2O content and fluxes in small agricultural reservoirs of the northern Great Plains

Seasonal and longitudinal water quality dynamics in three effluent-dependent rivers in Arizona

Impacts of a century of land‐use change on the eutrophication of large, shallow, prairie Lake Manitoba in relation to adjacent Lake Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada)

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