Abstract
Stream restoration, such as channel reconfiguration and riparian zone revegetation, is increasing in response to aquatic impairment in agroecosystems. Though riparian zones effectively remove nitrogen (N), conditions that foster nitrate (NO3−) removal (e.g., soil saturation, low oxygen, available carbon) may facilitate the release of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) and greenhouse gases (GHGs—carbon dioxide [CO2], methane [CH4], and nitrous oxide [N2O]). In this study, water quality and GHG fluxes were quantified seasonally at agricultural restored, unrestored, and forested riparian zones via networks of wells and static chambers. Carbon dioxide comprised the majority of GHG emissions, and CO2 fluxes were lower at the restored site than the forested site (medians: 0.71 g C m−2 day−1 and 1.29 g C m−2 day−1, respectively). The restored site was a net CH4 source (median: 1.20 mg C m−2 day−1), while the other sites were net CH4 sinks (medians: − 1.00 to − 1.76 mg C m−2 day−1). Sites had comparable N2O emissions. Subsurface SRP was lower at the restored than unrestored agricultural sites, while median NO3− removal efficiency was higher (restored: 91%, unrestored: 35–66%). Over time, NO3− removal and CO2 fluxes increased post-restoration. Methane emissions were elevated when the restored riparian zone was a CO2 and N2O sink and NO3− removal was high. Despite variability within and between sites, seasonal conditions (temperature, water table height, precipitation) and site characteristics (geomorphology, soils) remained key explanatory variables for riparian N removal and GHG release. Overall, riparian restoration may promote N removal without increasing total GHG emissions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data are available from authors upon request.
Code availability
N/A.
References
Altor AE, Mitsch WJ (2006) Methane flux from created riparian marshes: relationship to intermittent versus continuous inundation and emergent macrophytes. Ecol Eng 28(3):224–234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2006.06.006
Altor AE, Mitsch WJ (2008) Methane and carbon dioxide dynamics in wetland mesocosms: effects of hydrology and soils. Ecol Appl 18(5):1307–1320. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-0009.1
Angelopoulos NV, Cowx IG, Buijse AD (2017) Integrated planning framework for successful river restoration projects: upscaling lessons learnt from European case studies. Environ Sci Policy 76:12–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.06.005
Ardón M, Morse JL, Doyle MW, Bernhardt ES (2010) The water quality consequences of restoring wetland hydrology to a large agricultural watershed in the Southeastern coastal plain. Ecosystems 13(7):1060–1078. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-010-9374-x
Audet J, Elsgaard L, Kjaergaard C, Larsen SE, Hoffmann CC (2013) Greenhouse gas emissions from a Danish riparian wetland before and after restoration. Ecol Eng 57:170–182. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2013.04.021
Baas P, Knoepp JD, Markewitz D, Mohan JE (2017) Areas of residential development in the southern Appalachian Mountains are characterized by low riparian zone nitrogen cycling and no increase in soil greenhouse gas emissions. Biogeochemistry 133(1):113–125. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-017-0318-9
Bernhardt ES, Palmer MA, Allan JD, Alexander G, Barnas K, Brooks S, Carr J, Clayton S, Dahm C, Follstad-Shah J, Galat D, Gloss S, Goodwin P, Hart D, Hassett B, Jenkinson R, Katz S, Kondolf GM, Lake PS, Lave R, Meyer JL, O’Donnell TK, Pagano L, Powell B, Sudduth E (2005) Synthesizing U.S. river restoration efforts. Science 308(5772):636–637. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1109769
Böhlke JK, Denver JM (1995) Combined use of groundwater dating, chemical, and isotopic analyses to resolve the history and fate of nitrate contamination in two agricultural watersheds, Atlantic Coastal Plain, Maryland. Water Resour Res 31(9):2319–2339. https://doi.org/10.1029/95WR01584
Burgin AJ, Lazar JG, Groffman PM, Gold AJ, Kellogg DQ (2013) Balancing nitrogen retention ecosystem services and greenhouse gas disservices at the landscape scale. Ecol Eng 56:26–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2012.05.003
Burt R, Soil Survey Staff (2014) Soil Survey Field and Laboratory Methods Manual. Soil Survey Investigations Report No. 51(2). United States Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Conservation Service, Nebraska
Carlyle GC, Hill AR (2001) Groundwater phosphate dynamics in a river riparian zone: effects of hydrologic flowpaths, lithology, and redox chemistry. J Hydrol 247:151–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1694(01)00375-4
Chacón N, Dezzeo N, Rangel M, Flores S (2008) Seasonal changes in soil phosphorus dynamics and root mass along a flooded tropical forest gradient in the lower Orinoco River, Venezuela. Biogeochemistry 87:157–168. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-007-9174-3
Dosskey M, Vidon P, Gurwick NP, Allan CJ, Duval T, Lowrance R (2010) The role of riparian vegetation in protecting and improving chemical water quality in streams. J Am Water Resour Assoc 46(2):261–277. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00419.x
Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) (2016) ArcMap Version 10.1. Redlands, California
Freeze AR, Cherry JA (1979) Groundwater. Prentice-Hall, London
Gleason RA, Tangen BA, Browne BA, Euliss NH Jr (2009) Greenhouse gas flux from cropland and restored wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region. Soil Biol Biochem 41(12):2501–2507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.09.008
Gomez J, Vidon P, Gross J, Beier C, Caputo J, Mitchell M (2016) Estimating greenhouse gas emissions at the soil–atmosphere interface in forested watersheds of the US Northeast. Environ Monit Assess 188(5):295. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5297-0
Groh TA, Gentry LE, David MB (2015) Nitrogen removal and greenhouse gas emissions from constructed wetlands receiving tile drainage water. J Environ Qual 44(3):1001–1010. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2014.10.0415
Hamilton SK (2012) Biogeochemical time lags may delay responses of streams to ecological restoration. Freshw Biol 57:43–57. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2427.2011.02685.x
Hill AR (1996) Nitrate removal in stream riparian zones. J Environ Qual 25(4):743–755. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1996.00472425002500040014x
Hoffmann CC, Kronvang B, Audet J (2011) Evaluation of nutrient retention in four restored Danish riparian wetlands. Hydrobiologia 674(1):5–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-011-0734-0
Jacinthe PA (2015) Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes in variably-flooded riparian forests. Geoderma 241:41–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.10.013
Jacinthe PA, Dick WA (1997) Soil management and nitrous oxide emissions from cultivated fields in southern Ohio. Soil Tillage Res 41(3–4):221–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(96)01094-X
Jacinthe PA, Lal R (2004) Effects of soil cover and land-use on the relations flux-concentration of trace gases. Soil Sci 169(4):243–259. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ss.0000126839.58222.0f
Kandel TP, Lærke PE, Hoffmann CC, Elsgaard L (2019) Complete annual CO2, CH4, and N2O balance of a temperate riparian wetland 12 years after rewetting. Ecol Eng 127:527–535. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2017.12.019
Kauffman JB, Beschta RL, Otting N, Lytjen D (1997) An ecological perspective of riparian and stream restoration in the western United States. Fisheries 22(5):12–24. https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8446(1997)022<0012:AEPORA>2.0.CO;2
Kaushal SS, Groffman PM, Mayer PM, Striz E, Gold AJ (2008) Effects of stream restoration on denitrification in an urbanizing watershed. Ecol Appl 18:789–804. https://doi.org/10.1890/07-1159.1
Kenney MA, Wilcock PR, Hobbs BF, Flores NE, Martínez DC (2012) Is urban stream restoration worth it? J Am Water Resour Assoc 48(3):603–615. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00635.x
Liu X, Vidon P, Jacinthe PA, Fisher K, Baker M (2014) Seasonal and geomorphic controls on N and P removal in riparian zones of the US Midwest. Biogeochemistry 119(1–3):245–257. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-014-9963-4
Lowrance RR, Pionke HB (1989) Transformations and movement of nitrate in aquifer systems. W: Follett RF (Ed.), Developments Agricultural Managed for Ecol: Nitrogen Management Groundw Protection 21:373–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-87393-4.50019-8
Mander Ü, Maddison M, Soosaar K, Teemusk A, Kanal A, Uri V, Truu J (2015) The impact of a pulsing groundwater table on greenhouse gas emissions in riparian grey alder stands. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22(4):2360–2371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3427-1
Mayer PM, Reynolds SK, McCutchen MD, Canfield TJ (2007) Meta-analysis of nitrogen removal in riparian buffers. J Env Qual 36(4):1172–1180. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2006.0462
McClain ME, Boyer EW, Dent CL, Gergel SE, Grimm NB, Groffman PM, Hart SC, Harvey JW, Johnston CA, Mayorga E, McDowell WH, Pinay G (2003) Biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystems 6(4):301–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0161-9
McMillan SK, Tuttle AK, Jennings GD, Gardner A (2014) Influence of restoration age and riparian vegetation on reach-scale nutrient retention in restored urban streams. J Am Water Resour Assoc 50:626–638. https://doi.org/10.1111/jawr.12205
Moore MT, Locke MA, Kröger R (2016) Using aquatic vegetation to remediate nitrate, ammonium, and soluble reactive phosphorus in simulated runoff. Chemosphere 160:149–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.06.071
Mulholland PJ, Helton AM, Poole GC, Hall RO, Hamilton SK, Peterson BJ, Tank JL, Ashkenas LR, Cooper LW, Dahm CN, Dodds WK, Findlay SEG, Gregory SV, Grimm NB, Johnson SL, McDowell WH, Meyer JL, Valett HM, Webster JR, Arango CP, Beaulieu JJ, Bernot MJ, Burgin AJ, Crenshaw CL, Johnson LT, Niederlehner BR, O’Brien JM, Potter JD, Sheibley RW, Sobota DJ, Thomas SM (2008) Stream denitrification across biomes and its response to anthropogenic nitrate loading. Nature 452(7184):202–205. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06686
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information (2016) Station Dobson 2.3 SE, GHCND: US1NCSR0002. https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov. Accessed 12 May 2016
Pattinson SN, Garćia-Ruiz R, Whitton BA (1998) Spatial and seasonal variation in denitrification in the Swale-Ouse system, a river continuum. Sci Tot Environ 210:289–305. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(98)00019-9
Pinay G, Ruffinoni C, Fabre A (1995) Nitrogen cycling in two riparian forest soils under different geomorphic conditions. Biogeochemistry 30(1):9–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02181038
Poblador S, Lupon A, Sabaté S, Sabater F (2017) Soil water content drives spatiotemporal patterns of CO2 and N2O emissions from a Mediterranean riparian forest soil. Biogeosciences 14(18):4195–4208. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-4195-2017
Reddy KR, Delaune RD (2008) The biogeochemistry of wetlands: Science and applications. CRC Press, Boca Raton
Roley SS, Tank JL, Williams MA (2012) Hydrologic connectivity increases denitrification in the hyporheic zone and restored floodplains of an agricultural stream. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 117:G3. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JG001950
Roulet NT, Ash R, Quinton W, Moore T (1993) Methane flux from drained northern peatlands: effect of a persistent water table lowering on flux. Global Biogeochem Cycles 7(4):749–769. https://doi.org/10.1029/93GB01931
Roy JW, Bickerton G (2014) Elevated dissolved phosphorus in riparian groundwater along gaining urban streams. Environ Sci Tech 48(3):1492–1498. https://doi.org/10.1021/es404801y
Sabater S, Butturini A, Clement JC, Burt T, Dowrick D, Hefting M, Matre V, Pinay G, Postolache C, Rzepecki M, Sabater F (2003) Nitrogen removal by riparian buffers along a European climatic gradient: patterns and factors of variation. Ecosystems 6(1):0020–0030. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-002-0183-8
SAS Institute (2015) JMP student edition version 12.1.1. SAS Inst., Cary, NC
Talbot C, Bennett E, Cassell K, Hanes D, Minor E, Paerl H, Raymond P, Vargas R, Vidon P, Wollheim W, Xenopoulos M (2018) The impact of flooding on aquatic ecosystem services. Biogeochemistry 114(30):439–461. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-018-0449-7
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2017) Inventory of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and sinks: 1990–2016. EPA 430-R-18-003
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Geospatial Gateway (2011) Multi-resolution land characteristics consortium national land cover data set. https://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov. Accessed 10 Nov 2014
United States Geological Survey (USGS) (2014) National hydrography data set. http://nhd.usgs.gov/index.html. Accessed 10 Nov 2014
Vidon PG, Dosskey MG (2008) Testing a simple field method for assessing nitrate removal in riparian zones. J Am Water Resour Assoc 44(2):523–534. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.2007.00155.x
Vidon PG, Hill AR (2004) Landscape controls on the hydrology of stream riparian zones. J Hydrol 292(1–4):210–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2004.01.005
Vidon P, Serchan S (2016) Landscape geomorphic characteristic impacts on greenhouse gas fluxes in exposed stream and riparian sediments. Environ Sci Process Impacts 18(7):844–853. https://doi.org/10.1039/C6EM00162A
Vidon P, Jacinthe PA, Liu X, Fisher K, Baker M (2014) Hydrobiogeochemical controls on riparian nutrient and greenhouse gas dynamics: 10 years post-restoration. J Am Water Resour Assoc 50(3):639–652. https://doi.org/10.1111/jawr.12201
Vidon P, Marchese S, Welsh M, McMillan S (2016) Impact of precipitation intensity and riparian geomorphic characteristics on greenhouse gas emissions at the soil-atmosphere interface in a water-limited riparian zone. Water Air Soil Pollut 227(1):8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-015-2717-7
Vidon P, Welsh M, Hassanzadeh Y (2018) Twenty years of riparian zone research (1997–2017): Where to next? J Environ Qual 48(2):248–260. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2018.01.0009
Webb JR, Hayes NM, Simpson GL, Leavitt PR, Baulch HM, Finlay K (2019) Widespread nitrous oxide undersaturation in farm waterbodies creates an unexpected greenhouse gas sink. Proc Natl Acad Sci 116(20):9814–9819. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1820389116
Welsh MK, McMillan SK, Vidon PG (2017) Denitrification along the stream-riparian continuum in restored and unrestored agricultural streams. J Environ Qual 46(5):1010–1019. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2017.01.0006
Welsh MK, Vidon PG, McMillan SK (2019) Changes in riparian hydrology and biogeochemistry following storm events at a restored agricultural stream. Environ Sci Process Impacts 21(4):677–691. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8EM00546J
Welsh MK, Vidon PG, McMillan SK (2020) Stream and floodplain restoration impacts riparian zone hydrology of agricultural streams. Environ Monit Assess 192(2):85. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7795-3
Wohl E, Lane SN, Wilcox AC (2015) The science and practice of river restoration. Water Resourc Res 51(8):5974–5997. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014WR016874
Zhang T, Huang X, Yang Y, Li Y, Dahlgren RA (2016) Spatial and temporal variability in nitrous oxide and methane emissions in urban riparian zones of the Pearl River Delta. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23(2):1552–1564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5401-y
Zhu M, De Boeck HJ, Xu H, Chen Z, Lv J, Zhang Z (2020) Seasonal variations in the response of soil respiration to rainfall events in a riparian poplar plantation. Sci Tot Environ 747:141222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141222
Acknowledgements
We gratefully acknowledge the Surry County Soil and Water Conservation District, especially Greg Goings, for granting access to the sites for the duration of the study. We thank graduate students Jordan Martin-Gross and Sara Marchese for their contributions to the project. We also thank the University of North Carolina at Charlotte Ecology and Biogeochemistry of Watersheds Laboratory for aid in site instrumentation and seasonal sampling. This study was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture – Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (Grant Number 2012-67019-30226) awarded to co-Principal Investigators Sara McMillan and Philippe Vidon and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (Grant Number 1439650) awarded to Molly Welsh.
Funding
This study was supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture – Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (Grant Number 2012-67019-30226) and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (Grant Number 1439650).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Ethical approval
N/A.
Consent to participate
N/A.
Consent for publication
The authors consent to publication of this material.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Fiona Soper.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Welsh, M.K., Vidon, P.G. & McMillan, S.K. Riparian seasonal water quality and greenhouse gas dynamics following stream restoration. Biogeochemistry 156, 453–474 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00866-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-021-00866-9