Journal article
Exchange of Nitrogen through an Urban Tidal Freshwater Wetland in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Journal of environmental quality, v 42(2), pp 584-595
01 Mar 2013
PMID: 23673851
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Tidal freshwater wetlands in urban settings can be subject to elevated N concentrations, which can promote the exchange of N between the marsh, water, and atmosphere, including denitrifi cation. We used a multitiered approach consisting of direct measurements of N fl uxes and denitrifi cation, tidal hypsometry, and N load modeling to examine N exchanges in an urban tidal freshwater wetland of the Delaware River Estuary, Philadelphia, PA. Sediment cores and aboveground biomass were collected at 20 locations across a range of elevations and plant communities in April, July, and October 2010. Nitrate was taken up by the marsh during all seasons. In the spring, the high rate of NH4+ production from the sediment was correlated with NO 3 -uptake, suggesting dissimilatory reduction to NH4+ as a potentially important process. Denitrifi cation rates were greatest in July, averaging 5.5 +/- 0.6 mg N m(-2) h(-1). Adjusted for tidal inundation using a refi ned digital elevation model, denitrifi cation averaged 0.08, 0.5, and 0.2 g N m(-2) mo(-1) for April, July, and October, respectively. Less than 10% of the modeled N load was estimated to have been removed in the months measured. A combination of high N load, limited marsh area that represented similar to 1% of the watershed area, and conservative extrapolation of denitrifi cation rates contributed to the low estimate of the N load attenuated.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Exchange of Nitrogen through an Urban Tidal Freshwater Wetland in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Creators
- Tracy Elsey-Quirk - Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel UniversityA. Smyth - Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Morehead City, NC 28557M. Piehler - Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Morehead City, NC 28557J. V. Mead - Drexel UniversityD. J. Velinsky - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Journal of environmental quality, v 42(2), pp 584-595
- Publisher
- Amer Soc Agronomy
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- Cotswold Foundation 2009PS.09; 4100051560 / Pennsylvania Coastal Zone Management
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES)
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000315942600031
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84874999028
- Other Identifier
- 991019168486104721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Environmental Sciences