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Groundwater denitrification capacity and nitrous oxide flux of former fringing salt marshes filled with human-transported materials

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Abstract

While former salt marsh sites filled with human transported material (HTM) have altered the surface marsh ecosystem, if artificial drainage is absent, subsurface conditions may continue favorable for denitrification, a microbial process reducing nitrogen (N) export to estuaries. We used piezometer networks to evaluate the in situ groundwater denitrification capacity and nitrous oxide (N2O) flux (with 15N-enriched nitrate-N via the push-pull method) in four former fringing salt marshes topped by HTM along the Rhode Island coast, U.S.A. Groundwater at these sites commonly interacted with the buried marsh horizon and the HTM. In situ groundwater denitrification capacity site means ranged from 15.2 to 71.7 μg N kg−1d−1 with no significant differences between sites due to high intrasite variability. The site with the highest and most consistent denitrification capacity also had HTM of the finest texture and highest soluble organic carbon. Three of four sites had minimal N2O flux [mean N2O:(N2O + N2) = 0.082] while the final site had N2O generation rates up to 52.5 μg N kg−1 d−1. The site with the highest N2O contributions also had the lowest ambient groundwater nitrate-N indicating lack of priming for N2O reduction to N2. Former salt marshes with HTM deposits may still have the capacity for substantial groundwater denitrification capacity, similar to that observed in undisturbed salt marshes, but may also contribute substantially to global N2O emissions. For both salt marsh restoration and greenhouse gas mitigation efforts, attention should be given to ensuring that a tidally-driven, fluctuating water table regularly intercepts the buried organic horizons of the filled salt marsh.

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Abbreviations

N:

Nitrogen

NO −3 :

Nitrate

N2O:

Nitrous oxide

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

DOC:

Dissolved organic carbon

HTM:

Human-transported materials

SOC:

Soluble organic carbon

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank David Harris at UC Davis for 15N analysis; David Lewis and Linda Green for analytical support; Peter Groffman for analytical support and review of the manuscript; Tara Watson, Mike St. Pierre, Josh Klement, Chelsea Coker; Sophia Narkiewicz, David Millar, Alison Milliman and Opeyemi Odewale for field and laboratory assistance. This work was supported in part by Rhode Island Sea Grant, under NOAA Grant No. NA40AR4710062 and the Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station (contribution no. 5301). Views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or any of its subagencies. The U.S. Government is authorized to produce and distribute reprints for governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation the may appear hereon.

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  1. Department of Natural Resources Science, University of Rhode Island, 102 Coastal Institute in Kingston, One Greenhouse Road, Kingston, RI, 02881, USA

    Kelly Addy, Art Gold, Mark Stolt & Sean Donohue

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  1. Kelly Addy
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Correspondence to Kelly Addy.

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Addy, K., Gold, A., Stolt, M. et al. Groundwater denitrification capacity and nitrous oxide flux of former fringing salt marshes filled with human-transported materials. Urban Ecosyst 16, 295–311 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-012-0266-z

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