Landscape controls on nitrate removal in stream riparian zones

Abstract

We examined how landscape hydrogeologic characteristics influence groundwater nitrate removal by eight stream riparian sites on glacial till and outwash landscapes in southern Ontario, Canada. During high water table periods in 2000–2002, mean NO3−‐N input concentrations from adjacent cropland to the riparian sites ranged from 0.15 to 44.7 mg L−1. Seven of the eight sites had a mean nitrate removal efficiency of >90%. This removal occurred within the first 15 m of the riparian zone at three sites with loamy sand and sandy loam soils overlying a shallow confining layer at 1–2 m. However, at four of five sites with more conductive sand and cobble sediments the width required for 90% nitrate removal varied from >25 m to a maximum of 176 m at a site with a confining layer at 6 m. Sites linked to an extensive thick (>6 m) upland aquifer with a slope gradient of >15% at the riparian perimeter had high nitrate inputs throughout the year and were large nitrate sinks. Sites with gentle topography (<4–5%) and <2 m of permeable sediments were minor nitrate sinks because of small nitrate inputs that were limited to the late autumn‐spring period. A conceptual model linking landscape hydrogeologic characteristics to riparian zone nitrate removal capacity is developed to understand and predict the effectiveness of riparian buffers at the landscape scale.