Nitrogen losses from a domestic septic tank system on the Darling Plateau in Western Australia

Gerritse, R.G.; Adeney, John A.; Hosking, Jan

doi:10.1016/0043-1354(95)00023-e

Cited by 17 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…It should be noted that while the above sampling strategy does appear limited in spatial and depth resolution, it was based on fundamental knowledge gained from previous field studies on soils and groundwater dynamics in the SB catchment and at nearby sites [ Hammond and Mauger , 1985; Turner and Macpherson , 1990; Dimmock , 1991; George and Conacher , 1993; Gerritse et al , 1995b]. The partially penetrating wells captured the dynamics of the shallow perched aquifer and the soil water samplers allowed us to sample both the unsaturated and saturated zones (depending on the water table position) in the riparian zones, thus providing information on the shallow water flow pathways.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrate attenuation in agricultural catchments: Shifting balances between transport and reaction

Ocampo

Oldham

Sivapalan

2006

Water Resources Research

140

154

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[1] Simultaneous observations, across multiple spatial and temporal scales, are needed to understand the complex interactions between hydrological and biogeochemical processes in catchments and the primary controls on NO 3 À availability and mobility. This paper addresses these issues by using data collected from a detailed field experiment, carried out on two topographically different hillslopes (one steep and the other flat) located within an agricultural catchment in Western Australia. Continuous hydrometric data and measurements of chemical tracers, geochemical parameters, and NO 3 À concentrations taken from the shallow perched aquifer across riparian, midslope, and upland locations were analyzed and interpreted through a simple process-based numerical model of transport and reaction. The NO 3 À concentration data indicated that the temporal and spatial patterns of NO 3 À concentrations within the hillslopes are linked to the state of hydrological connectivity of the three landscape units as the shallow perched aquifer developed during the winter. Significant NO 3 À attenuation occurs within the riparian zones after the transport of NO 3 À from midslope sources begins. Application of a mixing model, which partitions the riparian zones into three water source components, and the numerical model of NO 3 À transport and reaction indicates that different mechanisms, dilution in the steep hillslope and denitrification in the flat hillslope, are responsible for much of the observed NO 3 À attenuation in the riparian zones. In this way, this work highlights the importance of hillslope topography in determining the relative roles of transport and reaction in NO 3 À attenuation and export from riparian zones. The experimental results also supported the use of the Damköhler number, a simple dimensionless number that is a measure of the competition between transport and reaction processes, which allowed a favorable comparison of our findings with previous results published in the literature for different geographical settings.Citation: Ocampo, C. J., C. E. Oldham, and M. Sivapalan (2006), Nitrate attenuation in agricultural catchments: Shifting balances between transport and reaction, Water Resour. Res., 42, W01408,

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrate attenuation in agricultural catchments: Shifting balances between transport and reaction

Ocampo

Oldham

Sivapalan

2006

Water Resources Research

140

154

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“…George and Conacher (1993) found that where perched aquifer develops in deeper soils, they were the only sources of water and solutes responsible for salinity. Shallow perched aquifers have also been found to play an important role in nitrogen losses in hillslopes (Gerritse et al, 1995), and in nitrate (NO À 3 ) discharge from rural catchments in the Darling Range in WA (Turner and Macpherson, 1990). Ocampo et al (2006a) analysed previously collected data from Susannah Brook (SB), an agricultural catchment in WA, and found a marked shift in catchment NO À 3 responses as the season progressed, but they could not explain the hydrological causes of the observed shift.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Hydrological connectivity of upland-riparian zones in agricultural catchments: Implications for runoff generation and nitrate transport

Ocampo

Sivapalan

Oldham

2006

Journal of Hydrology

151

142

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“…Western et al (2001) provided experimental evidence of a nonlinear ''threshold'' response in runoff generation with antecedent moisture conditions influencing and quantifying the patterns of hydrologic connectivity. Shallow groundwater has been found to play an important role in nitrogen losses in hillslopes associated with water connectivity (Gerritse et al 1995). These previous research studies have addressed the issue that factors control the water connectivity in hillslope or watershed, however, how the water connectivity within hillslope affects streamflow or NO 3 --N export at the watershed scale is still not clear.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…There are several factors influencing the water connectivity in hillslopes or watersheds, such as the shallow groundwater table, antecedent soil moisture, climate, soil characteristics, and bedrock topography (Ocampo et al 2006b;Gerritse et al 1995;Western et al 2001). Ocampo et al (2006b) investigated the water connectivity in a Western Australian catchment and stated that the landscape appears to have developed a catenary control through two basic soil units.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water connectivity in hillslope of upland–riparian zone and the implication for stream nitrate-N export during rain events in an agricultural and forested watershed

et al. 2015

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Water connectivity in the hillslopes of the upland-riparian zone has environmental implications for stream nitrate-N (NO 3 --N) export during rain events. This study was conducted to measure the shallow groundwater table over a hillslope with upland, interface, and riparian forest components and measure the stream NO 3 --N concentrations in a 36.6 km 2 agricultural and forested watershed (AFW) in the Shibetsu area of northern Japan from July to November 2009. The groundwater and stream hydrographs at seasonal and rain event scales indicated that the hillslope water connectivity was first established from the riparian forest, and then expanded to the upland after several rain events. The hillslope water connectivity has important implications for NO 3 --N export in the watershed since the NO 3 --N export may primarily be explained by a flushing mechanism. The NO 3 --N export only flushed from riparian forest during the early water connection stage. While in the well water connection stage, the flush of NO 3 --N occurred with the subsurface flow from the upland which had a high shallow groundwater table and displayed higher stream NO 3 --N concentrations. However, lower stream NO 3 --N concentrations occurred during the late water connection stage and indicated that the N source in the upland might be limited due to denitrification and NO 3 --N leaching processes. Nevertheless, it was decided that the hydrology and biogeochemical reactions occurring in the upland controlled the stream NO 3 --N export. A conceptual model was formulated that explained the impacts of the hillslope water connectivity on the watershed stream NO 3 --N export during rain events in early, well, and late water connection stages within the AFW.

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Nitrogen losses from a domestic septic tank system on the Darling Plateau in Western Australia

Cited by 17 publications

References 4 publications

Nitrate attenuation in agricultural catchments: Shifting balances between transport and reaction

Nitrate attenuation in agricultural catchments: Shifting balances between transport and reaction

Hydrological connectivity of upland-riparian zones in agricultural catchments: Implications for runoff generation and nitrate transport

Water connectivity in hillslope of upland–riparian zone and the implication for stream nitrate-N export during rain events in an agricultural and forested watershed

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