DENITRIFICATION ACROSS LANDSCAPES AND WATERSCAPES: A SYNTHESIS

Ecological ApplicationsVolume 16, Issue 6 p. 2064-2090 Denitrification across Landscapes and Waterscapes DENITRIFICATION ACROSS LANDSCAPES AND WATERSCAPES: A SYNTHESIS S. Seitzinger, S. Seitzinger Rutgers University, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers/NOAA CMER Program, 71 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 USA 7 E-mail: sybil@marine.rutgers.eduSearch for more papers by this authorJ. A. Harrison, J. A. Harrison Rutgers University, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers/NOAA CMER Program, 71 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 USA 8 Present address: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98686 USA.Search for more papers by this authorJ. K. Böhlke, J. K. Böhlke U.S. Geological Survey, 431 National Center, Reston, Virginia 20192 USASearch for more papers by this authorA. F. Bouwman, A. F. Bouwman Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, P.O. Box 303, 3720 AH Bilthoven, The NetherlandsSearch for more papers by this authorR. Lowrance, R. Lowrance USDA-ARS, Southeast Watershed Research Lab, P.O. Box 748, Tifton, Georgia 31794 USASearch for more papers by this authorB. Peterson, B. Peterson Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USASearch for more papers by this authorC. Tobias, C. Tobias University of North Carolina–Wilmington, Department of Earth Sciences, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 USASearch for more papers by this authorG. Van Drecht, G. Van Drecht Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, P.O. Box 303, 3720 AH Bilthoven, The NetherlandsSearch for more papers by this author S. Seitzinger, S. Seitzinger Rutgers University, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers/NOAA CMER Program, 71 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 USA 7 E-mail: sybil@marine.rutgers.eduSearch for more papers by this authorJ. A. Harrison, J. A. Harrison Rutgers University, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers/NOAA CMER Program, 71 Dudley Road, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901 USA 8 Present address: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, 14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue, Vancouver, WA 98686 USA.Search for more papers by this authorJ. K. Böhlke, J. K. Böhlke U.S. Geological Survey, 431 National Center, Reston, Virginia 20192 USASearch for more papers by this authorA. F. Bouwman, A. F. Bouwman Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, P.O. Box 303, 3720 AH Bilthoven, The NetherlandsSearch for more papers by this authorR. Lowrance, R. Lowrance USDA-ARS, Southeast Watershed Research Lab, P.O. Box 748, Tifton, Georgia 31794 USASearch for more papers by this authorB. Peterson, B. Peterson Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USASearch for more papers by this authorC. Tobias, C. Tobias University of North Carolina–Wilmington, Department of Earth Sciences, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, North Carolina 28403 USASearch for more papers by this authorG. Van Drecht, G. Van Drecht Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, P.O. Box 303, 3720 AH Bilthoven, The NetherlandsSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 December 2006 https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(2006)016[2064:DALAWA]2.0.CO;2Citations: 1,095 Corresponding Editor: A. R. Townsend. For reprints of this Invited Feature, see footnote 1, p. 2055. Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Abstract Denitrification is a critical process regulating the removal of bioavailable nitrogen (N) from natural and human-altered systems. While it has been extensively studied in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems, there has been limited communication among denitrification scientists working in these individual systems. Here, we compare rates of denitrification and controlling factors across a range of ecosystem types. We suggest that terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems in which denitrification occurs can be organized along a continuum ranging from (1) those in which nitrification and denitrification are tightly coupled in space and time to (2) those in which nitrate production and denitrification are relatively decoupled. In aquatic ecosystems, N inputs influence denitrification rates whereas hydrology and geomorphology influence the proportion of N inputs that are denitrified. Relationships between denitrification and water residence time and N load are remarkably similar across lakes, river reaches, estuaries, and continental shelves. Spatially distributed global models of denitrification suggest that continental shelf sediments account for the largest portion (44%) of total global denitrification, followed by terrestrial soils (22%) and oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs; 14%). Freshwater systems (groundwater, lakes, rivers) account for about 20% and estuaries 1% of total global denitrification. Denitrification of land-based N sources is distributed somewhat differently. Within watersheds, the amount of land-based N denitrified is generally highest in terrestrial soils, with progressively smaller amounts denitrified in groundwater, rivers, lakes and reservoirs, and estuaries. A number of regional exceptions to this general trend of decreasing denitrification in a downstream direction exist, including significant denitrification in continental shelves of N from terrestrial sources. Though terrestrial soils and groundwater are responsible for much denitrification at the watershed scale, per-area denitrification rates in soils and groundwater (kg N·km−2·yr−1) are, on average, approximately one-tenth the per-area rates of denitrification in lakes, rivers, estuaries, continental shelves, or OMZs. A number of potential approaches to increase denitrification on the landscape, and thus decrease N export to sensitive coastal systems exist. However, these have not generally been widely tested for their effectiveness at scales required to significantly reduce N export at the whole watershed scale. Citing Literature Volume16, Issue6December 2006Pages 2064-2090 This article also appears in:Centennial Special: Notable Papers in ESA History RelatedInformation