The regional and global significance of nitrogen removal in lakes and reservoirs

Human activities have greatly increased the transport of biologically available nitrogen (N) through watersheds to potentially sensitive coastal ecosystems. Lentie water bodies (lakes and reservoirs) have the potential to act as important sinks for this reactive N as it is transported across the lan...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biogeochemistry 2009-03, Vol.93 (1/2), p.143-157
Main Authors: Harrison, John A., Maranger, Roxane J., Alexander, Richard B., Giblin, Anne E., Jacinthe, Pierre-Andre, Mayorga, Emilio, Seitzinger, Sybil P., Sobota, Daniel J., Wollheim, Wilfred M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biogeochemistry
Biogeosciences
Climate change
Coastal ecosystems
Denitrification
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecosystems
Environmental Chemistry
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
Geochemistry
Hydrology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Lake water
Lakes
Land use
Life Sciences
Mineralogy
Modeling
Natural reservoirs
Nitrogen
Nitrogen removal
Reservoirs
Sedimentary geology
Sensitivity analysis
Settling velocity
Silicates
Spatial models
Surface area
Surface areas
Surface water
Water geochemistry
Watersheds
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Summary:Human activities have greatly increased the transport of biologically available nitrogen (N) through watersheds to potentially sensitive coastal ecosystems. Lentie water bodies (lakes and reservoirs) have the potential to act as important sinks for this reactive N as it is transported across the landscape because they offer ideal conditions for N burial in sediments or permanent loss via denitrification. However, the patterns and controls on lentie N removal have not been explored in great detail at large regional to global scales. In this paper we describe, evaluate, and apply a new, spatially explicit, annual-scale, global model of lentie N removal called NiRReLa (Nitrogen Retention in Reservoirs and Lakes). The NiRReLa model incorporates small lakes and reservoirs than have been included in previous global analyses, and also allows for separate treatment and analysis of reservoirs and natural lakes. Model runs for the mid-1990s indicate that lentie systems are indeed important sinks for N and are conservatively estimated to remove 19.7 Tg N year⁻¹ from watersheds globally. Small lakes (
ISSN:0168-2563
1573-515X
DOI:10.1007/s10533-008-9272-x