2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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6/07/2017 | 10:15 AM - 10:30 AM | COMPARING DENITRIFICATION RATES BETWEEN RESTORED AND NATURALIZED FLOODPLAINS IN AGRICULTURAL DITCHES | 302A

COMPARING DENITRIFICATION RATES BETWEEN RESTORED AND NATURALIZED FLOODPLAINS IN AGRICULTURAL DITCHES

Enhancing nitrogen (N) removal in agricultural streams and ditches of the Midwestern US is one potential mechanism to reduce N export to sensitive downstream ecosystems. The restoration of inset floodplains via implementation of the two-stage ditch can enhance denitrification compared to channelized systems, however, little is known about how denitrification on restored floodplains compares to those formed naturally when stream channel management lapses. We used sacrificial microcosm incubations and membrane-inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) to compare denitrification rates in floodplain soils collected along transects in both naturalized and restored floodplains; longitudinal transects sampled two zones in the active floodplain (near-stream, NS vs. middle, MID) while the third reflected upland conditions in the riparian buffer strip (UP). Denitrification rates ranged from 500-730 ugN/m/hr and 800-2,200 ugN/m/hr in the naturalized and restored inset floodplains, respectively. Denitrification in the MID transects were >70% higher in the restored floodplain compared to naturalized, highlighting contrasts between constructed floodplains and the heterogeneity in depositional bars typical of naturalizing channels. Consequently, restored inset floodplains would remove >50% more N than the naturalized floodplains during similar inundation events.

C10 Biogeochemistry
C27 Landuse and Non-Point source Impacts
C08 Urban Ecology & C16 Restoration Ecology

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Presenters/Authors

Brittany Hanrahan (), USDA Agricultural Research Service, br.hanrahan@gmail.com;