Abstract

AbstractThe amount of NO3‐N exported in a second‐order mountain stream draining a clearcut and logged mixed hardwood forest was studied over a 4‐year period. Calculations based on measurements of stream chemistry and discharge rates indicated a within‐stream depletion of NO3 from the upper reaches of the stream to the watershed outlet. Within‐stream depletion the first year of treatment was 127% of total NO3‐N discharged from the watershed outlet and declined in succeeding years after treatment to 99, 42, and 5%. Assays of the quantities of denitrifying enzymes in stream sediment samples suggested 1.7 kg N year−1 were lost via this pathway, compared with 3.9 kg N year−1 calculated from within‐stream depletion for the same time period. This study suggests sediment denitrification is a major pathway by which NO3‐N is lost. Within‐stream gaseous transformations are important when accounting for changes in N dynamics associated with forest management practices, and the measurement of only hydrologic discharge of NO3 could result in underestimation of N losses.

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