Kinetic Parameters of Denitrification in a River Continuum
ABSTRACT Kinetic parameters for nitrate reduction in intact sediment cores were investigated by using the acetylene blockage method at five sites along the Swale-Ouse river system in northeastern England, including a highly polluted tributary, R. Wiske. The denitrification rate in sediment containing added nitrate exhibited a Michaelis-Menten-type curve. The concentration of nitrate for half-maximal activity (Kmap ) by denitrifying bacteria increased on passing downstream from 13.1 to 90.4 μM in the main river, but it was highest (640 μM) in the Wiske. The apparent maximal rate (Vmaxap ) ranged between 35.8 and 324 μmol of N m−2 h−1 in the Swale-Ouse (increasing upstream to downstream), but it was highest in the Wiske (1,194 μmol N m−2 h−1). A study of nitrous oxide (N2O) production at the same time showed that rates ranged from below the detection limit (0.05 μmol of N2O-N m−2 h−1) at the headwater site to 27 μmol of N2O-N m−2 h−1 at the downstream site. In the Wiske the rate was up to 570 μmol of N2O-N m−2 h−1, accounting for up to 80% of total N gas production.