Nutrient criteria to achieve New Zealand’s riverine macroinvertebrate targets

10.26686/wgtn.14751300.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Adam D Canning ◽

Michael Joy ◽

Russell G Death

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Intensive Agriculture ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Nutrient Criteria ◽

Global Trend ◽

Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations ◽

Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Environmental Goals

Waterways worldwide are experiencing nutrient enrichment from population growth and intensive agriculture, and New Zealand is part of this global trend. Increasing fertilizer in New Zealand and intensive agriculture have driven substantial water quality declines over recent decades. A recent national directive has set environmental managers a range of riverine ecological targets, including three macroinvertebrate indicators, and requires nutrient criteria be set to support their achievement. To support these national aspirations, we use the minimization-of-mismatch analysis to derive potential nutrient criteria. Given that nutrient and macroinvertebrate monitoring often does not occur at the same sites, we compared nutrient criteria derived at sites where macroinvertebrates and nutrients are monitored concurrently with nutrient criteria derived at all macroinvertebrate monitoring sites and using modelled nutrients. To support all three macroinvertebrate targets, we suggest that suitable nutrient criteria would set median dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations at ~0.6 mg/L and median dissolved reactive phosphorus concentrations at ~0.02 mg/L. We recognize that deriving site-specific nutrient criteria requires the balancing of multiple values and consideration of multiple targets, and anticipate that criteria derived here will help and support these environmental goals.

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Contribution of macroalgal wrack consumers to dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations in intertidal pore waters of sandy beaches

Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science ◽

10.1016/j.ecss.2019.02.004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 219 ◽

pp. 363-371 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Heili E. Lowman ◽

Kyle A. Emery ◽

Lila Kubler-Dudgeon ◽

Jenifer E. Dugan ◽

John M. Melack

Keyword(s):

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Sandy Beaches ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Pore Waters ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations

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Forest detritus and cycling of nitrogen in a mountain lake

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x91-136 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 21 (7) ◽

pp. 990-998 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Robert C. Wissmar

Keyword(s):

Total Nitrogen ◽

Dissolved Organic Nitrogen ◽

Organic Nitrogen ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Mountain Lake ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Microbial Oxidation ◽

Nitrogen Fluxes ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations ◽

Definition Of

Small lakes of forested watersheds can receive large subsidies of forest matter, but little is known about the material's role in the cycling of nutrients within these ecosystems. This paper examines the influence of detritus and dissolved nitrogen from a forest on the nitrogen cycle of a small subalpine lake in the Cascade Mountains of Washington during the ice-free period (98 days). Relationships between changing detrital microbial biomass, oxygen uptake rates, and water conditions indicate that dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations and water temperatures control the decomposition of the nitrogen-depleted detritus. The microbial respiration rates suggest the probable co-occurrence of several microbial oxidation and reduction reactions that could be cycling nitrogen in oxic–anoxic interfaces of detrital deposits, sediments, and riparian areas. Estimates of nitrogen gains and losses (3 and 7%, respectively) by forest detritus are low in comparison with total nitrogen uptake and releases within the lake during the study period (378 and 347 mg•m−2, respectively) and point to the need to examine other methods for measuring detrital nitrogen fluxes. The total nitrogen input to the lake (2600 mg•m−2 for the study period) from the watershed exceeds the lake output (2120 mg•m−2 for the study period). The low output of total nitrogen appears to be due to retention of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and particulate organic nitrogen within the lake. Most dissolved inorganic nitrogen retained is nitrate suggesting possible losses through denitrification. Dissolved organic nitrogen is the major proportion of the total nitrogen fluxes, but related mass balance errors indicate the need for further definition of both the sources and fates of dissolved organic nitrogen for the ecosystem.

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Cumulative effects of pulp mill and municipal effluents on epilithic biomass and nutrient limitation in a large northern river ecosystem

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f00-057 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 57 (7) ◽

pp. 1342-1354 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Garry J Scrimgeour ◽

Patricia A Chambers

Keyword(s):

Point Source ◽

Nutrient Limitation ◽

Large Scale ◽

Function Analysis ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Soluble Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Pulp Mill ◽

Nutrient Status ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Reactive Phosphorus

Large-scale patterns in epilithic biomass and nutrient status were evaluated at 33 sites located upstream and downstream of point-source anthropogenic effluents in the Athabasca and Wapiti-Smoky rivers in Alberta, Canada. Multiple regression showed that epilithic chlorophyll a was significantly (p < 0.0001) related to concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and marginally (p = 0.06) significantly related to soluble reactive phosphorus. Epilithic biomass was up to 50 times higher immediately downstream of point-source inputs compared with sites upstream and those 20-150 km downstream. Data from nutrient diffusing substrata showed that the epilithon at 18 of the 33 sites was nutrient limited, while 14 sites showed no nutrient limitation; interpretation of the remaining site was inconclusive. Of the 18 nutrient-limited sites, six were nitrogen limited, five were phosphorus limited, and seven were co-limited. Multiple discriminant function analysis showed that the combined concentration of soluble reactive phosphorus and dissolved inorganic nitrogen was a significant discriminator between deplete and replete sites.

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Surface and subsurface flows of nutrients in natural and human impacted lake catchments on Broknes, Larsemann Hills, Antarctica

Antarctic Science ◽

10.1017/s0954102002000123 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 343-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

ENN KAUP ◽

JAMES S. BURGESS

Keyword(s):

Active Layer ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Nutrient Levels ◽

Subsurface Flows ◽

Subsurface Waters ◽

Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Natural Transformations ◽

Lake Inflows ◽

Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Lake Waters

This study aimed to use nutrients in lake inflows as proxies for assessing human impact and separating this from natural transformations of material in the soil active layer. Nutrients, conductivity and δ18O were monitored in surface and subsurface (using ceramic tipped piezometers) lake inflows during summer in near natural and human impacted catchments. The nutrient levels were highly variable but generally higher during the last weeks of the flow, in both subsurface waters and in human impacted catchments. Up to 2000 μgN l−1 subsurface dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) was measured in human impacted catchments but only 315 μg N l−1 in natural catchments. Subsurface levels of dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP) were up to 310 μgP l−1 in natural catchments and up to 108 μgP l-1 in human impacted catchments. The maximum levels of both DIN and DRP in surface inflows were much higher in human impacted than in natural catchments. Conductivity and δ18O data showed general enrichment of snowbank meltwater presumably through evaporation from the active layer. This combined with fluctuating nutrient levels in catchment waters indicated that soil brines and decaying organic matter of natural and human origin were possible sources for nutrients and other salts. Marked salinization and substantially increased DIN levels near the research stations indicated that lake waters were receiving nutrients generated by humans.

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Stable nitrogen isotopes as indicators of anthropogenic activities in small freshwater systems

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f01-038 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 58 (5) ◽

pp. 870-878 ◽

Cited By ~ 95

Author(s):

James L Lake ◽

Richard A McKinney ◽

Frank A Osterman ◽

Richard J Pruell ◽

John Kiddon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Largemouth Bass ◽

Trophic Position ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Shoreline Development ◽

Freshwater Systems ◽

Nitrogen Concentrations

Stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N) were measured in fish, mussel, and sediment samples taken from 17 small freshwater sites to examine food chain length and trophic position across sites affected by differing levels of anthropogenic activity. Both shoreline development and fish species composition varied greatly among sites, and a range of up to 11.2 was found for the δ15N values of largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides). Fish δ15N values were baseline corrected using unionid mussel (Elliptio complanata) δ15N values. Predators, such as largemouth bass and chain pickerel (Esox niger), exhibited normalized δ15N values that were less variable than those of benthic-feeding fishes. Relationships between δ15N and dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations indicated that δ15N was a valid descriptor of eutrophication at sites with low dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations. The fraction of residential land in buffer zones surrounding sites was correlated with fish δ15N, indicating that urban development, and presumably human wastewater, resulted in elevated δ15N values in these small freshwater systems.

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Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen Composition, Transformation, Retention, and Transport in Naturally Phosphate-Rich and Phosphate-Poor Tropical Streams

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f93-077 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 665-675 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Frank J. Triska ◽

Catherine M. Pringle ◽

Gary W. Zellweger ◽

John H. Duff ◽

Ronald J. Avanzino

Keyword(s):

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Soluble Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Ammonium Concentration ◽

Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Exchange Reactions ◽

Lowland Streams ◽

Sediment Types ◽

Sediment Slurry ◽

Conservative Tracer ◽

Reactive Phosphorus

The composition, transformation, and transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) was compared in waters associated with two lowland streams in Costa Rica. The Salto River is enriched by geothermal-based soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), which raises the concentration up to 200 μg/L whereas Pantano Creek, an unimpacted tributary, has an SRP concentration <10 μg/L. Ammonium concentration in springs adjacent to the Salto and Pantano was typically greater than channel water (13 of 22 locations) whereas nitrate concentration was less (20 of 22 locations). Ground waters were typically high in ammonium relative to nitrate whereas channel waters were high in nitrate relative to ammonium. Sediment slurry studies indicated nitrification potential in two sediment types, firm clay (3.34 μg N∙cm−3∙d−1) and uncompacted organic-rich sediment (1.76 μg N∙cm−3∙d−1). Ammonium and nitrate amendments to each stream separately resulted in nitrate concentrations in excess of that expected after correction for dilution using a conservative tracer. SRP concentration was not affected by DIN amendment to either stream. SRP concentration in the Pantano appeared to be regulated by abiotic sediment exchange reactions whereas DIN composition and concentration were regulated by a combination of biotic and abiotic processes.

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Stream phosphorus and nitrogen export from agricultural and forested watersheds on the Boreal Plain

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f98-118 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 55 (10) ◽

pp. 2292-2299 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

Sandra E Cooke ◽

Ellie E Prepas

Keyword(s):

Inorganic Nitrogen ◽

Agricultural Watershed ◽

Particulate Phosphorus ◽

Agricultural Activity ◽

Agricultural Watersheds ◽

Forested Watersheds ◽

Dissolved Phosphorus ◽

Agricultural Streams ◽

Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus ◽

Reactive Phosphorus

We evaluated phosphorus (P) and inorganic nitrogen (IN) export from two agricultural and two forested watersheds on the nutrient-rich but relief-poor Boreal Plain. One agricultural stream was in a watershed that contained cropland, while the second consisted of mixed agricultural activities. Over the 2-year study, total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) concentrations were proportionately high, particularly in the agricultural streams. Flow-weighted TDP averaged 82% of the total phosphorus (TP) in the agricultural streams and 43% in the forested streams. In all watersheds, TDP was almost exclusively dissolved reactive phosphorus and most of the annual P export was in summer. The type of agricultural activity in the watershed influenced IN speciation; in the mixed agricultural watershed, 94% of IN export was ammonium, whereas 98% of IN load was nitrate from the cropland watershed. Disproportionately high TDP to TP export from agricultural watersheds suggests that, in areas of low relief and relatively high soil water P content, land clearing may influence dissolved more than particulate phosphorus export.

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