Abstract
The Chickahominy River, arising near Richmond, Virginia, flows southeast toward Newport News, which impounds the river for much of its water supply. Much of the bottomland between the two cities is flooded for extended periods annually. Sediment-deposition rates estimated from tree rings were used in conjunction with multi-element analyses of sediments and of selected growth rings from oak trees to estimate amounts of trapped sediment and trace elements. Mean rates of deposition at eight study sites range from 0.7 to 5.7 mm/yr and are related to stream gradient, stream power, percent wetland, hydroperiod, and land use. Deposition rates are highest downstream from the confluence of upper basin tributaries near Richmond, where stream power is low and there is a high percentage of emergent/shrub-scrub wetlands; rates decrease, along downstream reaches toward the Chickahominy reservoir. Tree-ring data suggest that mean sedimentation rates were greater during the last 50 years than during the previous 3-year period, possibly because of urban expansion in the upper basin. Sites nearest the urban area have the highest rates of sedimentation and the highest concentrations of most trace elements in sediments. Trace elements concentrated in sediment include zinc, lead, chromium, copper, nickel, tin, and cadmium. Concentrations in tree rings of zinc, copper, nickel, and lead were generally proportional to those in sediment at a site, and some inter-site correlations were also observed. Unusually high concentrations of zinc were detected in some tree rings, including some that formed before 1950. Concentrations of zinc and lead in the most recently formed rings of those trees suggest that sediment concentrations of those elements may have declined relative to earlier periods. The trapping of substantial amounts of sediment and trace elements by these forested wetlands demonstrates their importance in the maintenance of water-quality.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Armentano, T.V. and G.M. Woodwell. 1975. Sedimentation rates in a Long Island marsh determined by Pb-210 dating. Limnology and Oceanography 20:452–456.
Boto, K.G. and W.H. Patrick, Jr. 1979. Role of wetlands in the removal of suspended sediments. p. 479–489.In P.E. Greeson et al. (eds.) Wetland Functions and Values: State of Our Understanding American Water Resources Association, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Brockway, C.E. 1977. Vegetative buffer strips for sediment retention in irrigation runoff. p. 236–244.In Water Management for Irrigation and Drainage. American Society for Civil Engineering, New York, NY, USA.
Carter, V. 1986. An overview of the hydrologic concerns related to wetlands in the United States. Canadian Journal of Botany 64: 364–374.
Cleaveland, M.K. 1980. Dating tree rings in eastern United States, dendrology in the eastern deciduous forest biome. p. 110–124.In Pbl. FWS-2-80. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Cooper, J.R., J.W. Gilliam, G.B. Daniels, and W.P. Robarge. 1987. Riparian areas as filters for agricultural sediment. Soil Science Society of America Journal 51:416–420.
Conner, W.H. and J.W. Day. 1991. Variations in vertical accretion in a Louisiana Swamp. Journal of Coastal Research 7:617–622.
Costa, J.E. 1975. Effects of agriculture on erosion and sedimentation in the Piedmont Province, Maryland. Geological Society of America Bulletin 86:1281–1286.
Cowardin, L.M., V. Carter, F.C. Golet, and E.T. LaRoe. 1979. Classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats of the United States. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC, USA. FWS/OBS-79/31.
DeLaune, R.D., R.J. Buresh, and W.H. Patrick, Jr. 1978. Sedimentation rates determined by 137 Cs dating in a rapidly accreting salt marsh. Nature 275:532–533.
Hack, J.T. 1973. Stream profile analysis and stream-gradient index. U.S. Geological Survey Journal of Research 1:421–429.
Hupp, C.R. 1992. Riparian vegetation recovery patterns following stream channelization: a geomorphic perspective. Ecology 73:1209–1226.
Hupp, C.R. and D.E. Bazemore. 1993. Temporal and spatial patterns of wetland sedimentation, West Tennessee. Journal of Hydrology 141:179–196.
Hupp, C.R. and E.E. Morris. 1990. A dendrogeomorphic approach to measurement of sedimentation in a forested wetland. Black Swamp, Arkansas. Wetlands 10:107–124.
Jacobson, R.B. and D.J. Coleman. 1986. Stratigraphy and recent evolution of Maryland Piedmont flood plains. American Journal of Science 286:617–637.
Johnston, C.A., G.D. Bubenzer, G.B. Lee, F.W. Madison, and J.R. McHenry. 1984. Nutrient trapping, by sediment deposition in a seasonally flooded lakeside wetland. Journal of Environmental Quality 13:283–290.
Karr, J.R. and J.J. Schlosser. 1978. Water resources and the landwater interface. Science 201:229–234.
Kleiss, B.A., E.E. Morris, J.F. Nix, and J.W. Barko. 1989. Modification of riverine water quality by an adjacent bottomland hardwood wetland. p. 429–438.In D.W. Fisk (ed.) Wetlands: Concerns and Successes. American Water Resources Association Proceedings, Bethesda, MD, USA.
LaBaugh, J.W. 1986. Wetland ecosystem studies from a hydrologic perspective. Water Resources Bulletin 22:1–10.
Lowrance, R., R. Todd, J. Fail, Jr., O. Hendrickson, Jr., R. Leonard, and L. Asmussen. 1984. Riparian forests as nutrient filters in agricultural watersheds. BioScience 34:374–377.
Lowrance, R., J.K. Sharpe, and J.M. Sheridan. 1986. Long-term sediment deposition in the riparian zone of a coastal plain watershed. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 41:266–271.
McClenahen, J.R., J.P. Vimmerstedt, and A.J. Scherzer. 1989. Elemental concentrations in tree rings by PIXE: statistical variability, mobility, and effects of altered soil chemistry Canadian Journal of Forest Research 19:880–888.
Mitsch, W.J., G.L. Dorge, and J.R. Wiemhoff. 1979. Ecosystem dynamics and a phosphorus budget of an alluvial swamp in southern Illinois. Ecology 60:1116–1124.
Oschwald, W.R. 1972. Sediment-water interactions. Journal of Environmental Quality 1:360–366.
Osterkamp, W.R. 1989. Sediment storage and movement on the South High Plains of Texas as indicated by Beryllium-10: sediment and the environment. p. 173–182.In International Association of Hydrological Science Publication 184.
Osterkamp, W.R., C.R. Hupp, and J.C. Blodgett. 1986. Magnitude and frequency of debris flows and areas of hazard on Mount Shasta, Northern California. U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1396-C. Washington, DC, USA.
Phillips, J.D. 1989a. Nonpoint source pollution control effectiveness of riparian forests along a coastal plain river. Journal of Hydrology 110:221–237.
Phillips, J.D. 1989b. Fluvial sediment storage in wetlands. Water Resources Bulletin 25:867–873.
Phipps, R.L. 1985. Collecting, preparing, cross-dating, and measuring tree increment cores. U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 85-4148. Washington, DC, USA.
Puckett, L.J., M.D. Woodside, B. Libby, and M.R. Schening. 1993. Sinks for trace metals, nutrients, and sediments in wetlands of the Chickahominy River near Richmond, Virginia. Wetlands 13: (in press).
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Trimble, S.W. 1974. Man-induced soil erosion on the southern Piedmont, 1700–1970. Soil Conservation Society of America. Ankeny, Iowa, USA.
Vroblesky, D.A. and T.M. Yanosky. 1990. Use of tree-ring chemistry to document historical ground-water contamination events. Ground Water 28:677–684.
Vroblesky, D.A., T.M. Yanosky, and F.R. Siegel. 1992. Increased concentrations of potassium in the heartwood of trees in response to ground-water contamination. Environmental Geology and Water Science 19:71–74.
White, K.D. and M.E. Tittlebaum. 1985. Metal distribution and contamination in sediments. Journal of Environmental Engineering 11:161–175.
Winter, T.C. 1981. Uncertainties in estimating the water balance of lakes. Water Resources Bulletin 17:82–115.
Wolman, M.G. 1967. A cycle of sedimentation and erosion in urban river channels. Geografiska Annaler 49A:385–395.
Yanosky, T.M. and D.A. Vroblesky. 1992. Relation of nickel concentrations in tree rings to ground-water contamination. Water Resources Research 28:2077–2083.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hupp, C.R., Woodside, M.D. & Yanosky, T.M. Sediment and trace element trapping in a forested wetland, Chickahominy River, Virginia. Wetlands 13, 95–104 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160869
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03160869