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Subsurface N Retention in Two Mediterranean Wetland-Streams Affected by Agricultural Runoff

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Abstract

We estimated subsurface nitrogen (N) retention efficiency of two Mediterranean wetland-streams affected by agricultural runoff, and analysed the influence of hydrology and physicochemical factors such as N load. Subsurface N retention efficiency was high and greater than the surface N retention quantified in a previous study. The studied wetlands clearly functioned as nitrate-N (NO3 −-N) sinks (96.5 % and 89.8 %), which was the dominant N form. They were usually total organic-N (TON-N) sinks (49.9 % and 21.6 %), but were ammonium-N (NH4 +-N) sinks/sources. Water temperature was an important predictor of NO3 −-N retention efficiency, accounting for 59 % and 34 % of explained variance for both wetlands, respectively. This result highlights the importance of biological processes in NO3 −-N retention. The studied wetlands did not present “saturation symptoms” at high inflow NO3 −-N concentrations (40 mg l−1). These small slope wetlands can be compared to riparian wetlands in terms of NO3 −-N retention efficiency. The contribution of the subsurface component to the wetland N mass removal rate was low (0.01 % and 0.05 %). Both wetlands removed an average of 1.1 and 6.2 μg of NO3 −-N m−2 h−1.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Associated Editor, Brian Caruso and one anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments, which have improved the manuscript. We also thank C. Domínguez for her field and laboratory assistance. Special thanks to G. G. Barberá for helping with the statistic analyses and to H. Warburton for helping with English corrections. This research work has been supported by Project CGL2006-08134 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Education and by a pre-doctoral grant to V. García-García from the CAM (Mediterranean Savings Bank).

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  1. Department of Ecology and Hydrology, Faculty of Biology, University of Murcia, Campus of Espinardo, 30100, Murcia, Spain

    V. García-García, R. Gómez, M. R. Vidal-Abarca & M. L. Suárez

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  1. V. García-García
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  3. M. R. Vidal-Abarca
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Correspondence to V. García-García.

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García-García, V., Gómez, R., Vidal-Abarca, M.R. et al. Subsurface N Retention in Two Mediterranean Wetland-Streams Affected by Agricultural Runoff. Wetlands 33, 597–608 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0416-y

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