Denitrification in riparian buffer zones: the role of floodplain hydrology
✍ Scribed by T. P. Burt; L. S. Matchett; K. W. T. Goulding; C. P. Webster; N. E. Haycock
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1999
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 266 KB
- Volume
- 13
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0885-6087
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
The broad purpose of the study described here was to assess the role of denitri®cation in riparian zones in ameliorating groundwater pollution through nitrate loss, and as a potential source of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. A suitable riparian zone was identi®ed at Cuddesdon Mill on the River Thame ¯oodplain near Oxford, England. Measurements were made of water and nitrate moving from arable land through the riparian zone and into the river. Techniques to measure denitri®cation were tested and applied, and the factors controlling denitri®cation measured. While there was considerable potential for denitri®cation at the site, this was not realized because much of the water moving o the farmland bypassed the riparian zone, entering the river directly via springs or through gravel lenses beneath the ¯oodplain soil. Management of this site would not reduce nitrate leaching unless the ¯oodplain hydrology could be substantially modi®ed, and the main conclusion is that nitrate buer zones will only operate eciently where the hydrology of the site is appropriate.