Seasonal Patterns of Nitrification and Denitrification in a Natural and a Restored Salt Marsh

Thompson, Suzanne P.; Paerl, Hans W.; Go, Malia

doi:10.2307/1352322

Cited by 85 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…On the whole, denitrification is influenced by multiple interacting variables (Seitzinger 1988, Thompson 1995, Cornwell et al 1999, Piña-Ochoa & Ál -varez-Cobelas 2006, Silvennoinen et al 2008), which may result in an inherent variability under identical experimental conditions. The present study showed that there is a significantly higher contribution of Spartina maritima marshes to N removal during winter.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nitra te concentration, availability of easily degradable organic carbon, oxygen availability, temperature, light, and wa ter retention time are some of the physical-chemical factors influencing denitrification rates in these eco systems (Thompson 1995, Cornwell et al 1999, Piña-Ochoa & Álvarez-Cobelas 2006, Silvennoinen et al 2008. Indirectly, sulfide concentration may also affect denitrification: for sulfide concentrations within a certain range, nitrification is suppressed, which consequently affects denitrification (Seitzinger 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Denitrification: an ecosystem service provided by salt marshes

Sousa¹,

Lillebø²,

Risgaard-Petersen³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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We hypothesized that denitrification rates, as an N removal process, would be enhanced in salt marsh rhizosediments as compared to sediments without vegetation (bare mudflats). Denitrification rates (measured by the 15 N-isotope pairing technique), potential nitrification, and nutrient fluxes were seasonally quantified in a Spartina maritima salt marsh and in adjacent bare mudflats. Potential nitrification rates were significantly higher in autumn and winter, but there were no significant differences between the bare mudflats and S. maritima vegetated sediment. Seasonally, denitrification rates in vegetated sediments under dark conditions were significantly higher in winter (676 ± 497 µmol N 2 m −2 h −1 , mean ± SD), whereas bare mudflats showed a maximum rate of 151 ± 24 µmol N 2 m −2 h −1 in summer. The high denitrification rates recorded in winter may be due to many abiotic and biotic factors, namely higher potential nitrification and nitrate availability in the water column, lower competition for nitrogen within the sediment, and less competition between plants, microphytobenthos, and nitrifiers, especially in dark conditions. Hence, during winter, there was a higher contribution of S. maritima marshes to N removal through denitrification, highlighting the role of the marshes in this ecosystem service. As a whole, considering the seasonal variations of the studied processes, it cannot be concluded whether or not annual denitrification was significantly different between the vegetated sediment and the bare mudflats.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Denitrification: an ecosystem service provided by salt marshes

Sousa¹,

Lillebø²,

Risgaard-Petersen³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…in Massachusetts, USA , the United Kingdom (Abd. Aziz & Nedwell 1986), coastal Louisiana, USA (DeLaune et al 1989), coastal North Carolina, USA (Thompson et al 1995), NW France (Bouchard & Lefeuvre 2000), Venice, Italy (Eriksson et al 2003), and Portugal (Caçador et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Denitrification in salt marsh sediments is largely a coupled process with nitrification because the reactive N must be in the form of NO 3 − to be removed from the system as N 2 . As ambient NO 3 − concentrations tend to be low, denitrifiers rely on nitrification to transform readily abundant NH 4 + to limiting NO 3 − via NO 2 − , Thompson et al 1995, Hamersley & Howes 2002, Dollhopf et al 2005. The second process is dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), a microbially mediated pathway that transforms NO 3 − into NH 4 + via either fermentive processes or, more commonly, the oxidation of reduced sulfur (Brunet & Garcia-Gil 1996, An & Gardner 2002, Burgin & Hamilton 2007.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of long-term fertilization on salt marsh tidal creek benthic nutrient and N<sub>2 gas fluxes

Vieillard¹,

Fulweiler²

2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Salt marsh ecosystems serve as critical nutrient filters by removing reactive nitrogen (N) through denitrification. We examined the influence of long-term fertilization on N transformation and removal in a salt marsh tidal creek ecosystem fringing the Plum Island Sound estuary in northern Massachusetts, USA. Sediment oxygen demand was within the range of other marsh systems (1271.9 to 7855.0 µmol m −2 h −1) and was not significantly different between the fertilized and reference creek. Net N 2 fluxes ranged from net N fixation of −402.7 µmol N 2 -N m −2 h −1 in the reference creek to net denitrification of 524.9 µmol N 2 -N m −2 h −1 in the fertilized creek. Net N 2 flux and nitrate uptake were significantly higher in the fertilized creek, and in both creeks, net denitrification appeared to be nitrate limited. We calculated rates of dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and found it to be significantly higher in the fertilized creek, representing 45 and 11% of the total nitrate uptake in the fertilized and reference creeks, respectively. Additionally, there was a strong relationship between ammonium and nitrite fluxes in both creeks. These results suggest that DNRA may outcompete denitrification at high nitrate concentrations. Increased anthropogenic nutrient loading may therefore have a detrimental effect on the N removal capacity of salt marsh ecosystems.

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“…Affected strongly by tidal flooding and by riverine runoff, marsh areas act as an important bioprocessor of nitrogen species (Aziz and Nedwell, 1986) which play many critical ecological and economic roles (Boorman, 1990). Although the nitrogen cycle in NorthWest Atlantic Coast and Western Europe temperate salt marshes (Kaplan et al, 1979;Aziz and Nedwell, 1986;Koch et al, 1992;Thompson, 1995;Eriksson et al, 2003) has been studied extensively, our understanding of the dynamic of sub-arctic marsh environments is still incomplete, specially during winter time when sea ice covers littoral 5 areas. There is still lack of knowledge about biogeochemical processes in these icy environments, especially the nitrogen cycle and the rate of microbial-mediated nitrogen transformations such as denitrification.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%