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Long-term Persistence of Stream Nitrate Concentrations (Memory Effect) Inferred from Spectral Analysis and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis

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Abstract

Previous research in agricultural catchments showed that past inputs of nitrate continue to influence present observations and future characteristics of nitrate concentrations in stream water for a long period of time. This persistence manifests itself as a “memory effect” with a prolonged response of stream water nitrate levels to reductions of nitrate inputs on the catchment scale. The question we attempt to resolve is whether such a memory effect also exists in mountainous catchments with a snowmelt-dominated runoff regime. We analyzed long-term records (∼20 years) of nitrate-nitrogen concentrations measured in stream at three stations on the upper Váh River (Slovakia). Applying spectral analysis and detrended fluctuation analysis, we found a varying degree of persistence between the three analyzed sites. With increasing catchment area, the fluctuation scaling exponents generally increased from 0.77 to 0.93 (fluctuation exponents above 0.5 are usually considered as a proof of persistence while values close to 0.5 indicate “white” uncorrelated noise). The nitrate-nitrogen signals temporally scaled as a power-low function of frequency (1/f noise) with a strong annual seasonality. This increase in persistence might be attributable to the catchment areas upstream the sampling sites. These results have important implications for water quality management. In areas where reduction of nitrate in surface waters is imposed by legislation and regulatory measures, two catchments with different persistence properties may not respond to the same reduction of sources of nitrogen at the same rate.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Research Fund, Luxembourg (PDR-09-057), and co-funded under the Marie Curie Actions of the European Commission (FP7-COFUND). All empirical data were kindly provided by the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment and Agro-biotechnologies, Centre de Recherche Public—Gabriel Lippmann, 41, rue du Brill, 4422, Belvaux, Luxembourg

    Milan Onderka, Andreas Krein & Lucien Hoffmann

  2. Institute of Hydrology, SAS, Račianska 75, Bratislava, 823 01, Slovakia

    Milan Onderka

  3. Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, Jeséniova 17, Bratislava, 833 15, Slovakia

    Lea Mrafková

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  1. Milan Onderka
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Correspondence to Milan Onderka.

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Onderka, M., Mrafková, L., Krein, A. et al. Long-term Persistence of Stream Nitrate Concentrations (Memory Effect) Inferred from Spectral Analysis and Detrended Fluctuation Analysis. Water Air Soil Pollut 223, 241–252 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-011-0854-1

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