Effectiveness of natural riparian buffers to reduce subsurface nutrient losses to incised streams

Keith E. Schilling; Peter Jacobson

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2013.11.005

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Effectiveness of natural riparian buffers to reduce subsurface nutrient losses to incised streams

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Effectiveness of natural riparian buffers to reduce subsurface nutrient losses to incised streams

Keith E. Schilling and Peter Jacobson

Catena (Giessen), Vol.114, pp.140-148

03/01/2014

DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2013.11.005

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Abstract

Perennial vegetation borders many incised, perennial streams and rivers in southern Iowa and is assumed to provide a natural riparian buffer against subsurface nutrient losses from shallow groundwater. Questions remain about the effectiveness of these systems near incised channels that cut through nutrient-rich Holocene alluvium underlying the riparian corridors. In this study, riparian groundwater nutrient concentrations were evaluated near an incised stream under four perennial land cover types common to southern Iowa with the objectives to assess how groundwater quality differed by i) distance away from an incised stream and ii) perennial land cover type. Groundwater samples were collected from riparian wells installed 1m, 20m and 40m from an incised channel under four replicated land covers (cool season grass, warm season grass, woods, pasture) on six occasions across the growing season. Results indicate that channel incision lowers water tables in the near-stream zone and maintains more aerobic conditions but did not result in enhanced nitrogen mineralization or leaching to groundwater. Average concentrations of nitrate-nitrogen, phosphorus and dissolved organic carbon were 0.3mg/l, 0.2mg/l and 6mg/l, respectively, with variations due mainly to land cover type and geomorphology. Study results suggest that nutrient losses from perennial buffers in the region do not greatly impact regional water N and P loads although average concentrations in riparian groundwater may exceed proposed stream nutrient criteria. Abstract Copyright (2014) Elsevier, B.V.

alluvium

aquatic environment

atmospheric precipitation

Camp Creek Member

carbon

Cenozoic

channels

clastic sediments

clay

DeForest Formation

denitrification

discharge

drainage patterns

ecosystems

environmental effects

environmental management

erosion features

floodplains

fluvial features

forests

geomorphology

grasses

grasslands

ground water

Gunder Member

Holocene

Hydrogeology

hydrology

Illinoian

incised valleys

Iowa

Jasper County Iowa

land cover

land management

land use

landscapes

leaching

loam

loess

Midwest

mineralization

monitoring

nitrates

nitrogen

nutrients

observation wells

organic carbon

organic compounds

organic phosphorus

phosphorus

Pleistocene

Quaternary

riparian environment

Roberts Creek Member

sediments

silt

soil profiles

soils

Southern Iowa Drift Plain

statistical analysis

streams

temperature

United States

unsaturated zone

upper Pleistocene

vegetation

Walnut Creek

water management

water table

watersheds

Details

Title: Subtitle: Effectiveness of natural riparian buffers to reduce subsurface nutrient losses to incised streams
Creators: Keith E. Schilling - Iowa Geological and Water Survey, 109 Trowbridge Hall, Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
Peter Jacobson - Grinnell College
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Catena (Giessen), Vol.114, pp.140-148
Publisher: Elsevier
DOI: 10.1016/j.catena.2013.11.005
ISSN: 0341-8162
eISSN: 1872-6887
Language: English
Date published: 03/01/2014
Academic Unit: Earth and Environmental Sciences; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984383906402771

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