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Nutrient Transformation and Retention by Coastal Prairie Wetlands, Upper Gulf Coast, Texas

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Abstract

Coastal prairie wetlands (CPWs) are small, rain-fed depressions and flats that, together with their catchments, occupy approximately 40 % of the landscape around Galveston Bay, Texas, USA. Many CPWs are unregulated because they are perceived as “isolated” and a significant nexus has not been established. Results from sampling of precipitation and surface water of 12 CPWs revealed that CPWs had lower concentrations of nitrate- nitrogen (mean 18 μg L-¹) than precipitation (342 μg L-¹). A similar trend was observed for ammonia-N. Organic nutrient concentrations were several times higher in wetlands than in precipitation. Based on water budgets for six CPWs, net annual nutrient export rates indicate that CPWs are strong sinks for inorganic N and P; moderate sinks for organic N and P, and sources of dissolved organic carbon. Capture, storage, transformation, and pulsed releases of nutrients to Galveston Bay and its tributaries emphasize the role of CPWs in regulating water quality on a landscape scale. These finding demonstrate a nexus with navigable waters.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Stephen Johnston and the Galveston Bay Estuary Program, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas General Land Office, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Association of American Geographers Anne White Fund for funding this research. We thank Nicholas Enwright and Dr. Bruce Hunter of the University of North Texas for GIS support and graphics; and Andy Sipocz, Dr. John Jacobs, Wes Miller, Mark Kramer, Jim Herrington, Jamie Schubert and others for sharing their knowledge of coastal prairie wetlands. We thank Dow Chemical, Armand Bayou Nature Center, Don Wilcox and other landowners that allowed us access to their CPWs. We are particularly grateful for the dedication and continual support provided by Adam Clapp and Joe Yelderman, who conducted the hydrologic monitoring that made these calculations possible. Finally, we thank CRASR and Baylor University for supporting this project in numerous ways.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97388, Waco, TX, 76798, USA

    Margaret G. Forbes, Jeffrey Back & Robert D. Doyle

  2. Department of Biology, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97388, Waco, TX, 76798, USA

    Margaret G. Forbes, Jeffrey Back & Robert D. Doyle

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  1. Margaret G. Forbes
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  2. Jeffrey Back
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Correspondence to Margaret G. Forbes.

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Forbes, M.G., Back, J. & Doyle, R.D. Nutrient Transformation and Retention by Coastal Prairie Wetlands, Upper Gulf Coast, Texas. Wetlands 32, 705–715 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0302-z

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