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The application of the ecotone concept in defining nutrient management requirements for the upper Potomac River basin

  • Ecotone recovery and management
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Abstract

The utility of the ecotone concept in nutrient management studies of the Potomac River basin, a large USA watershed, is examined. The MAB hypothesis suggesting that ‘the influence of an ecotone or adjacent system is proportional to the length and scope of the interfaces’ (Naiman et al., 1989) is the major focus of this paper.

The land-riverine ecotone appears to have a major influence on the total nitrogen balance and river export flux of nitrogen for the upper Potomac River basin. A method of converting conventional areal flux units into linear flux rates is suggested.

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Jaworski, N.A. The application of the ecotone concept in defining nutrient management requirements for the upper Potomac River basin. Hydrobiologia 251, 341–349 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00007193

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