Groundwater Nitrate Removal

in Riparian Zones

General Background:

•  Riparian buffer zones are lands that border streams, rivers, lakes, and estuaries. They are transition zones between the upland and surface water.
•  Riparian buffer zones are important locations for groundwater nitrate removal. Riparian buffers may remove nitrate before it enters streams and other tributaries to coastal waters. Click here to view a PDF diagram of the N cycle in riparian zones.

What has been our contribution?

Gold et al. 2001
•  At our riparian sites, high groundwater nitrate removal rates were restricted to hydric soils.
• Sites located on outwash and organic/alluvial deposits have high potential for nitrate-enriched groundwater to interact with biologically active zones.
• In till deposits, surface seeps limit groundwater nitrate removal.

Addy et al. 2002
• New method to provide useful insights into spatial and temporal patterns of groundwater denitrification in riparian zones.

Kellogg et al. 2005
• High denitrification rates observed in hydric soils, down to 3m within 10 m of the stream in both alluvial and glacial outwash settings, argue for the importance of both settings in evaluating the significance of riparian wetlands in catchment-scale N dynamics.
• At deeper depths, rates were significantly higher closer to the stream where the subsoil often contains organically enriched deposits that indicate fluvial geomorphic processes.

For our complete publication listing and more information on on-going projects and papers in press, please visit our publications page.