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Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Nitrogen Mobilization in Residential Lawns

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Abstract

Identifying locations prone to exporting nitrogen (N), also called export control points, within residential landscapes, is key to determining N mitigation strategies. Within residential landscapes, lawns have the potential to act as either a sink of N via uptake and denitrification, or a source of N via additions such as fertilizer. Lawns draining to impervious surfaces are more likely to be sources of N loading to receiving water bodies through directly connected curb and sewer flow paths. We utilized small-scale rainfall experiments to examine whether hydrobiogeochemical measurements of potential denitrification and saturated infiltration rates were predictive of N mobilization, and how potential export control points (locations within the upper quartile of N mobilization values) varied spatially and temporally on residential lawns in Baltimore, Maryland. We found potential denitrification, but not infiltration, was predictive of N mobilization in runoff and leachate, only on fertilized lawns. Potential export control points occurred more often in the late summer and fall and 85% were on fertilized lawns. Applying fertilizer shortly before a rainfall event increased the N mobilization in runoff and leachate by an order of magnitude. Suburban front yards also had more potential export control points compared to backyards, which is notable as front yards are surrounded by impervious surfaces increasing their vulnerability to transporting N to downstream ecosystems. These findings highlight the spatial and temporal variability of N mobilization on lawns. Targeting locations such as vulnerable front yards, or behaviors, such as timing of fertilizer application, may be useful N mitigation strategies.

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Data Availability

Suchy, A.K. and P.M. Groffman. 2023. Seasonal N dynamics and fluxes of nitrogen in leachate and runoff from experimental rainfalls on fertilized and unfertilized lawns in Baltimore County, Maryland ver 2. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/6b6208c3075b9ffe206a7af26f00b93a.

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Acknowledgements

This work is part of a larger project seeking to understand coupled natural-human system dynamics of nitrogen in residential landscapes funded by the National Science Foundation CNH Grant (1615560). B. Glass-Siegel, D. Dillon, J. Mallinoff, A. Phillips, S. Jiang and N. Sonti provided extensive and invaluable help with field work. We would also like to thank L. Martel who provided invaluable support with laboratory analyses. Finally, we would like to extend our deepest thanks to the homeowners who graciously and enthusiastically volunteered their lawns for this study. The findings and conclusions in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Great Lakes Research and Biology Department, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan, 48858, USA

    Amanda K. Suchy

  2. Environmental Sciences Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 85 Saint Nicholas Terrace, New York City, New York, 10031, USA

    Amanda K. Suchy, Peter M. Groffman & Laura Templeton

  3. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, New York, 12545, USA

    Peter M. Groffman

  4. Department of Environmental Science, and Engineering Systems and Environment, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 22904, USA

    Lawrence E. Band & Ruoyu Zhang

  5. Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 16802, USA

    Jonathan M. Duncan

  6. Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, 02881, USA

    Arthur J. Gold

  7. USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Baltimore Field Station, Suite 350, 5523 Research Park Drive, Baltimore, Maryland, 21228, USA

    J. Morgan Grove & Dexter H. Locke

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  1. Amanda K. Suchy
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Correspondence to Amanda K. Suchy.

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Author contributions: AKS PMG LEB JMD AJG JMG DHL conceived of or designed study; AKS LT performed research; AKS analyzed data; LEB JMD AJG RZ contributed new methods or models; AKS wrote the manuscript.

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Suchy, A.K., Groffman, P.M., Band, L.E. et al. Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Nitrogen Mobilization in Residential Lawns. Ecosystems 26, 1524–1542 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-023-00848-y

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