High Potential Nitrate Removal by Urban Accidental Wetlands in a Desert City: Limitations and Spatiotemporal Patterns
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High Potential Nitrate Removal by Urban Accidental Wetlands in a Desert City: Limitations and Spatiotemporal Patterns Amanda K. Suchy,1*
Monica M. Palta,2 Juliet C. Stromberg,3 and Daniel L. Childers4
1
Environmental Sciences Initiative, Advanced Science Research Center at The Graduate Center, City University of New York, 85 Saint Nicholas Terrace, New York City, New York 10031, USA; 2Department of Environmental Studies and Science, Pace University, 1 Pace Plaza, New York City, New York 10038, USA; 3School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 874501, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA; 4School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, PO Box 875502, Tempe, Arizona 85287, USA
ABSTRACT Urban areas are typically considered to be net exporters of reactive nitrogen. As a result, much effort has gone into creating or restoring areas supporting microbial denitrification, which permanently removes nitrate from urban ecosystems. However, denitrification is a facultative process, with complex spatiotemporal drivers and limitations, making it difficult to predict where or when denitrification will occur. This is particularly true in urban systems, where drivers and limitations can differ greatly from those of native systems. In this study, we examine novel urban ecosystems in a unique geographic setting, investigating limitations and spatiotemporal drivers of denitrification in accidental wetlands (AW) located in a desert city (Phoenix, AZ). These wetlands were unintentionally created by runoff generated in Phoenix and exiting storm pipes into a dry riverbed. Previous
Received 17 July 2019; accepted 8 November 2019 Electronic supplementary material: The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-019-00465-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Author’s Contribution AKS conceived and designed the study, performed the research, analyzed the data, and led the writing of the manuscript. MMP and DLC provided inputs on study design and provided edits for the manuscript. JCS provided edits for the manuscript. *Corresponding author; e-mail: [email protected]
work in native, nonurban Arizona wetlands (NW) found that monsoon floods and plant patches are important spatiotemporal drivers of denitrification. While we found that AW had high potential to process nitrate, denitrification patterns in AW exhibit different drivers from NW. As predicted, denitrification potential in AW was greater under plant patches, but surprisingly, this was not only due to the plants alleviating carbon limitation as both vegetated and unvegetated patches were not carbon limited. Contrary to predictions, monsoon floods did not increase denitrification potential, and perennially inundated AW had the highest denitrification potential, suggesting less temporal variation in denitrification in AW than in NW. Together, these findings offer novel insights into the complex interactions shaping spatiotemporal patterns of nitrate processing in arid urban regions. Key words: Denitrification; Urban; A
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