Nitrogen removal by tropical floodplain wetlands through denitrification
M. F. Adame A E , H. Franklin A , N. J. Waltham B , S. Rodriguez A , E. Kavehei A C , M. P. Turschwell A , S. R. Balcombe A , P. Kaniewska D , M. A. Burford A and M. Ronan D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Australian Rivers Institute, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.
B TropWATER (Centre for Tropical Water and Aquatic Ecosystem Research), James Cook University, 373 Flinders Street, Qld 4810, Australia.
C School of Engineering and Built Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Qld 4111, Australia.
D Department of the Environment and Science, Queensland Government, 400 George Street, Brisbane, Qld 4000, Australia.
E Corresponding author: f.adame@griffith.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 70(11) 1513-1521 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18490
Submitted: 21 December 2018 Accepted: 8 April 2019 Published: 15 July 2019
Abstract
Excess nitrogen (N) leading to the eutrophication of water and impacts on ecosystems is a serious environmental challenge. Wetlands can remove significant amounts of N from the water, primarily through the process of denitrification. Most of our knowledge on wetland denitrification is from temperate climates; studies in natural tropical wetlands are very scarce. We measured denitrification rates during a dry and a wet season in five floodplain forests dominated by Melaleuca spp., a coastal freshwater wetland of tropical Australia. We hypothesised that the denitrification potential of these wetlands would be high throughout the year and would be limited by N and carbon (C) availability. Mean potential denitrification rates (Dt) were 5.0 ± 1.7 mg m2 h–1, and were within the reported ranges for other tropical and temperate wetlands. The rates of Dt were similar between the dry and the wet seasons. From the total unamended denitrification rates (Dw, 3.1 ± 1.7 mg m2 h–1), 64% was derived from NO3– of the water column and the rest from coupled nitrification–denitrification. The factor most closely associated with denitrification was background water NO3–-N concentrations. Improved management and protection of wetlands could play an important role in improving water quality in tropical catchments.
Additional keywords: Australia, Great Barrier Reef, isotope pairing, Melaleuca, palustrine, water quality.
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