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Long-term trends in nitrate and chloride in streams in an exurban watershed

Urban Ecosystems (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

The lines between natural areas and human habitats have blurred as urbanization continues, creating a need for the study of ecosystems at all levels of development. This need is particularly acute for exurban environments, which have low population density but are rapidly changing and have a dynamic mix of natural and human-dominated features. We examined long-term (1998–2018) trends in nitrate and chloride concentrations and fluxes in forested and exurban streams in Baltimore County, Md USA. Concentrations and fluxes of nitrate and chloride were an order of magnitude higher in the exurban stream than the forested stream and were increasing even though snowfall and road salt use did not increase over the study period. In the forested stream, concentrations and fluxes of chloride increased from 1998 to 2008, but decreased from 2008 to 2018 due to unquantified factors. Concentrations of nitrate decreased in the forested stream, likely due to decreases in atmospheric deposition. These decreases in atmospheric deposition, and efforts to reduce fertilizer use by county governments, do not appear to have affected nitrate concentrations and fluxes in the exurban watershed. Any efforts to reduce the concentrations and fluxes of chloride and nitrate in exurban streams will likely benefit substantially from further understanding of the mechanisms underlying the temporal patterns.

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Acknowledgements

This work was performed as part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, a long-term ecological research project funded by the National Science Foundation Long-Term Ecological Research Program (DEB 1027188). Thank you to the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and the National Science Foundation (DBI 1559769) for supporting the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in 2020 which allowed Emma Castiblanco to conduct research. We thank the numerous field technicians and volunteers who have braved a range of weather conditions to perform stream monitoring for the Baltimore Ecosystem Study. We also thank Lisa Martel and the staff of the Cary Institute Analytical Facility for the analysis, processing, and QA/QC of all of the water quality data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Haverford College, 19401, Haverford, PA, USA

    Emma S. Castiblanco & Peter M. Groffman

  2. Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Box AB, 12545, Millbrook, NY, USA

    Emma S. Castiblanco, Peter M. Groffman & Emma Rosi

  3. City University of New York Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, 10031, New York, NY, USA

    Peter M. Groffman & Amanda K. Suchy

  4. Department of Ecosystem Science & Management, Pennsylvania State University, 16802, University Park, PA, USA

    Jonathan Duncan

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

    Lawrence E. Band

  6. U.S. Geological Survey, 21228, Catonsville, MD, USA

    Edward Doheny & Gary T. Fisher

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

    Amanda K. Suchy

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  1. Emma S. Castiblanco
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Correspondence to Peter M. Groffman.

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Castiblanco, E.S., Groffman, P.M., Duncan, J. et al. Long-term trends in nitrate and chloride in streams in an exurban watershed. Urban Ecosyst (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-023-01340-0

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Key terms

  • Nitrate
  • Chloride
  • Salt
  • Exurban
  • Watershed
  • Long-term