No description available.

The sediment-water interface is an active biogeochemical zone within streams, where solutes come in contact with mineral surfaces, biota, and reducing conditions. Here, we sought to examine the influence of light, the sediment water interface, and algae on dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrogen, and phosphorus within Maple Creek, an agriculturally impacted stream located in Fremont, Nebraska. Simultaneous continuous injection experiments into replicate open- and closed-bottom chambers were used to control the hydrologic residence time. A bromide tracer was injected, and samples were taken for nutrient analysis in the surface and subsurface water at depths up to 8 cm. Dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature were recorded in order to monitor biotic production. Experiments were conducted over 10 hours, encompassing both light and dark conditions. Results show a strong biotic influence at the sediment-water interface causing nutrient uptake and changes in carbon quality. Changes are especially pronounced during peak photosynthesis hours. The open-bottom mesocosms consistently showed removal of N and P from the surface water to the subsurface. An increase in DOC flux was observed in the open-bottom mesocosms and the organic matter pool exhibited evidence of microbial reduction. The closed-bottom mesocosm showed NH?⁺ increased likely due to photochemical oxidation. These results show the importance of promoting exchange through the subsurface and across the sediment-water interface due to the positive impact it has on nutrient retention. / Master of Science

Nutrient retention is governed by the interplay between physical processes that control the throughput of water and materials (i.e., water residence time), and by biological processes that govern transformation and uptake (e.g., microbial denitrification). A partial breach of the dam located on Kimages Creek (VA) re-established the historical (pre-1920) connection to the James River and provided a well-defined channel to gauge tidal exchange. We quantified tidal exchange as well as non-tidal (watershed) inputs on a monthly basis to assess Nitrogen (N) retention. Water and N fluxes were dominated by tidal exchange which was typically three times greater than inputs from the upper watershed. Exchange volumes varied by 20-fold in response to seasonal variation in water elevation of the James River Estuary. Comparison of input and output fluxes suggest that the tidal segment of Kimages Creek acted as a source of dissolved inorganic N in the winter and a N sink in other months. Seasonal variation in N retention was significantly related to water temperature and estimates of ecosystem metabolism derived from diel dissolved oxygen data.

Maintaining an adequate level of soil organic matter and nutrients cycling is crucial to the success of any soil management in the humid tropics. Cover crops, compost, or manure additions have been used successfully to supply nutrients to crops but the benefits of such amendments are often short-lived in the tropics, since decomposition rates are high. This study focused on charcoal which, when utilised as a soil amendment is termed ‘biochar’. Throughout this thesis, the terms ‘charcoal’ and ‘biochar’ are used interchangeably depending on the context. Charcoal exhibits physiochemical properties potentially suitable for soil improvement as well as for the safe and long-term storage of carbon in the environment. As a way of investigating its recalcitrance as a carbon store, O:C ratios have been shown to reflect the extent of oxidation and therefore decomposition of charcoal. This study aimed to fill a gap in the research by describing the effects of biochar on the water retention capacity of soil under laboratory conditions. It also provides a detailed snapshot of the first ten years of recalcitrance under natural conditions, using X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to determine elemental oxygen and carbon ratios of whole charcoal fragments and how these are affected by the surrounding environment over time. Mechanisms of oxidation are described, showing how both biotic and abiotic factors influence the degradation of charcoal in the soil. It also investigated how these properties affect the nutrient and water retention capability of charcoals of different ages in the laboratory. Results of charcoal/soil mixtures showed significant reduction in nitrate leachate losses with no reduction in performance over a ten year period of residing in the soil. It was also shown that charcoal addition to a sandy soil resulted in a significantly increased available water content. Both these results were argued to support the idea that charcoal is of potential beneficial amendment to sandy, degraded soils.

Land use changes such as lowering of lakes, draining of wetlands and channelizing of streams have affected the hydrological environment in many catchment areas. Numerous studies report that these changes affect the nutrient retention. The river Svärtaå catchment, near Nyköping is identified as one of the areas in Sweden that transport most phosphorus and nitrogen to the Baltic Sea per unit area. The aim of this study was therefore to analyse to which extent land use changes such as lowering of lakes, draining of wetlands and channelizing of streams have affected the nutrient transport to the Baltic Sea. Land use changes were to a large extent performed between the years 1880 and 1930 inSweden, historical maps from the late 19th century have therefore been studied. An application based on the concept of a Geographical Information System (GIS) has been used in order to compare the district map from late 19th century and the terrain map from today. To address the nutrient transport retention coefficients have been found in the literature and implemented on the changes in water area.  Changes in the hydrological environment reached totally1068 ha,964 hawere decreasing water areas and104 haincreasing water areas. Wet areas totally decreased with 28 % when the historical setting was compared with the contemporary environment. The loss in wet area represents860 ha. Watercourses with riparian zones have decreased with 54 %, bogs with 53 %, wetlands with 43 % and lakes with 13 %. The loss in retained mass regarding phosphorus was, based on calculations involving retention coefficients, 7,18 – 146 tonnes, and regarding nitrogen 37,9 – 941 tonnes. The changes in the catchment are probably connected to measures like lowering of lakes, draining of wetlands and channelizing of streams. The assumed lost retained masses shows to be high compared to the measured output from the catchment. This leads to questioning of the retention coefficients and the vast range between them, as well as questioning of other assumptions in the method. The consequences of the hydrological changes are therefore difficult to evaluate.

Arbetet syftar till att analysera retentionseffekterna av anlagda våtmarker i anslutning till jordbruk i Sverige. För att uppnå detta har följande tre frågeställningar besvarats; Vad är retentions-effekten av anlagda våtmarker i anslutning till jordbruket? Vilka är de styrande faktorerna för de effektiva våtmarkerna med avseende på näringsretention? Hur många fler våtmarker behöver anläggas för att sjöar och vattendrag ska uppnå god status med avseende på jordbrukets näringsutsläpp? Frågeställningarna har besvarats med hjälp av en litteraturstudie, datainsamling, beräkningar och en modellanalys. Insamlingen av data gjordes för 44 våtmarker angående näringsretention samt ett antal parametrar som ansågs betydelsefulla för retentionen. Effektiviteten av de anlagda våtmarkerna beräknades utifrån en genomsnittlig retentionskvot, genomsnittlig procentuell retention samt utifrån 10 %, 15 %, 85 % och 90 % percentilerna framtagna genom en normalfördelning av de procentuella retentionerna. Detta resulterade i en retentionseffekt från 7,1 % till 33 % för kväve och från 31 % till 57 % för fosfor. De styrande faktorerna för retention är främst näringsbelastning och uppehållstid. Dessa styrs i sin tur av flera andra faktorer som utformning, hydrauliska förhållanden och tillrinningsområdets utformning. Beräkningen av hur många fler våtmarker som behöver anläggas gjorde baserat på målet att minska fosforutsläppet till sjöar och vattendrag med 670 ton/år. Detta gjordes utifrån de retentionseffekter som beräknades i frågeställning 1 samt utifrån två scenarion där jordbruket hade 100 % respektive 45,8 % av ansvaret, vilket resulterade i ökningar av antalet våtmarker mellan 1 813 och 37 757 stycken. Slutsatsen som kan dras av detta är att retentionen skiljer sig betydligt från våtmark till våtmark och vidare fastställning av vad som gör en våtmark effektiv bör göras. / The thesis aims to analyze the retention effects of constructed wetlands connected to agricultural land in Sweden. To achieve this, the following questions have been answered; What is the retention effects of constructed wetlands in connection to agriculture? What are the governing factors for the efficient wetlands regarding nutrition retention? How many more wetlands are needed for lakes and watercourses to achieve a good status regarding agricultural nutrient emissions? The questions have been answered through a literature study, collection of data, calculations, and an analysis of models. Collection of data from 44 wetlands was done regarding nutrient retention and several parameters that were considered significant. The efficiency of the wetlands was calculated based on an average retention ratio, an average percentage retention and based on the 10 %, 15 %, 85 % and 90 % percentiles from a normal distribution of the percentage retentions. This resulted in efficiencies from 7.1 % to 33 % for nitrogen and 31 % to 57 % for phosphorous. The governing factors for retention are mainly the nutrition load and the residence time of the water. These are in turn governed by several other factors such as geometrical factors of the wetland, hydraulic conditions, and properties of the catchment area. The calculation of how many more wetlands that need to be constructed was based on the goal of reducing phosphorous emissions to lakes and watercourses by 670 tones/year. This was done based on the efficiencies calculated to answer question 1 as well as two scenarios where agriculture land had 100 % respectively 45.8 % of the responsibility, which resulted in increases of the number of wetlands from 1,813 to 37,757. In conclusion, retention differs significantly from wetland to wetland and further determination of what makes a wetland efficient should be done.

Spillvattenvåtmarker är vattenmiljöer skapade i syfte att avskilja näringsämnen ur spillvatten från avloppsreningsverk med hjälp av naturliga nedbrytningsprocesser. Anläggningarna bidrar till att minska belastningen av näringsämnen och föroreningar till våra sjöar och hav samtidigt som de skapar mervärden som ökad biologisk mångfald. Fåglar vistas gärna i och omkring näringsrika spillvattenvåtmarker till följd av den goda födotillgången samt att det råder en brist på våtmarksmiljöer i Sverige. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka hur kombinerade fågel- och spillvattenvåtmarker bör utformas och skötas för att uppnå bästa möjliga avskiljning av näringsämnen samtidigt som livsmiljöer för våtmarksfåglar skapas och upprätthålls. Genom att studera litteratur och rapporter om hur respektive våtmarkstyp utformas och sköts på bästa sätt för sitt specifika ändamål kunde en checklista över utformningar som gynnar båda syftena tas fram. Vidare applicerades denna checklista på ett utformningsförslag av en kombinerad fågel-och spillvattenvåtmark i syfte att utvärdera listans potential. Utformningar som stränder med låg släntlutning, öar och öppna vattenpartier står inte i konflikt med de reningsprocesser som krävs för en god avskiljning av näringsämnen.Däremot bidrar denna studie inte med några bevis för att reningseffekten inte påverkas av att spillvattenvåtmarker utformas för att gynna fåglar. Vidare utgör checklistan en övergripande guide för implementering av utformningar och skötsel som främjar fågellivet. Bedömningen av ett utformningsförslag med hjälp av checklistan visade att skötsel spelar en avgörande roll för en lyckad fågel- och spillvattenvåtmark. Slutsatsen av studien är att det finns stora möjligheter att kombinera spillvattenrening med lämpliga miljöer för våtmarksfåglar i en spillvattenvåtmark. / Treatment wetlands are water features created with the purpose of removing nutrients from wastewater treatment effluent by natural processes. These wetlands help to reduce the amount of nutrients and pollution being released into our lakes and seas. At thesame time as they contribute to increased biodiversity. Birds congregate in and around nutrient rich treatment wetlands due to the abundance of food and general lack of wetland habitats in Sweden. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how combined bird and treatment wetlands should be constructed and maintained in order to achieve the best possible retention of nutrients and concurrently provide valuable habitats for wetland birds. By studying literature and reports, regarding how the two specific wetland types are most appropriately shaped and maintained, a checklist of features that support both purposes could be presented. Furthermore, this checklist was applied to an existing proposal of a combined bird and treatment wetland to evaluate the checklists applicability. Constructions such as banks with low slope gradient, islands and areas of open water are not considered to cause a conflict with the processes required for effective nutrient retention. However, this study does not bring data to conclude that the overall nutrient retention is not affected by changes made to improve the wetland for birds. The checklist provides a general guide concerning what structures and maintenance routines support a variety of birds in a treatment wetland. By evaluating the proposed bird and treatment wetland using the checklist the results showed that management of vegetation structures plays an important role in creating a successful bird and treatment wetland. In conclusion, the possibilities of creating treatment wetlands that support nutrient retention and a rich and diverse birdlife simultaneously are plentiful.

No description available.

Tidal freshwater reaches of estuaries may play an important role in mitigating nutrient fluxes from watersheds to the coastal zone due to their location at the interface between riverine and estuarine systems. We developed annual N and P budgets for the tidal, freshwater James River over 4 calendar years (2007-2010) taking into account riverine inputs at the Fall Line, local points sources (including CSO events), ungagued inputs, riverine outputs, and tidal exchange. The tidal freshwater James River experiences high areal loading rates of TN (383 mg/m2/d) and TP (70 mg/m2/d) due to the combined effects of large watershed area and local point source discharges. On an annual basis, riverine sources dominated TN and TP inputs (59% and 84%, respectively), whereas during low discharge summer months (May-Oct) point sources were more important. Proportional retention of TP inputs (59±7%) was greater than TN retention (27±4%) with annual absolute retention being 1,800±350 kg TP/d, and 5,900±2,700 kg TN/d. Proportional retention of TN and dissolved inorganic fractions of N and P was highest during the low discharge summer months due to reduced loading rates and increased residence times and biotic activity. TP retention was greatest during high discharge winter months (Nov-Apr) when loading rates were highest. High retention during this period of low biotic activity suggests that trapping of riverine derived particulate-bound P via sedimentation was an important mechanism of P retention. Understanding this seasonal variation in nutrient inputs and retention can help to inform management decisions regarding reducing nutrient inputs to the Chesapeake Bay and improving local water quality.

Eutrophication, a surplus of nutrients, is a problem in aquatic environments and one of the Swedish Environmental Goals is that there should be no eutrophication caused by human activities. Constructed wetlands (CW:s) is a measure that could be implemented to decrease the transport of nutrients to water bodies through retention. To optimize the placement of CW:s, this project aims to understand how different factors affect the retention of P (phosphorus) and N(nitrogen) in constructed CW:s and if there are geographical and seasonal variations in retention. Water samples were collected during three sampling periods from CW:s in Halland, in south-western and Mälardalen in eastern Sweden. The variation in retention of P and N between Halland and Mälardalen and between the different sampling occasions was then investigated. The effect of different factors in the catchment area such as percentage of clay, silt and sand, agricultural land, P-AL (phosphorus extracted with ammonium lactate) in the soil, erosion riskclass and the depth of the CW:s on the retention of P and N was also tested. The TP (total phosphorus) load and retention differed between the CW:s in Halland and Mälardalen. In Mälardalen, the load was slightly higher, and had a higher variation in TP load, which can be related to the differences in erosion risk classes as more easily eroded soils usually release P during periods with a lot of runoff. TP retention deviated more from zero in Mälardalen compared with Halland. The retention of TN (total nitrogen) seemed to be higher during August despite the lower TN load. This could be because during the warmer season, there is more retention of inorganic N through denitrification and plant uptake. Many factors such as soil type, erosion risk class, share of agricultural land and hydraulic load (HL) was found to be positively correlated with the load. However, most of the examined factors in the catchment area showed no correlation with the retention of N or P. The percentage of clay in the area had a negative effect on the retention of TP, which is not coherent with previous studies. This could be because the TP retention was mostly zero or negative, which was thought to be because most of the sampling was during periods with high HL and colder weather, especially in Mälardalen, which may have resulted in poor retention and resuspension of nutrients from the sediments. For TN the only factor which had a correlation was the depth of the CW, which had a negative correlation. / Övergödning, överskott av näringsämnen, är ett problem i vattenmiljöer. Ett av de svenska miljömålen är att det inte ska ske någon övergödning orsakad av människan. Anläggning av våtmarker är en åtgärd som kan vidtas för att minska transporten av näringsämnen till vattendrag genom retention. Anlagda våtmarkers effektivitet beror på olika faktorer såsom jordtyp, markanvändning, utformning och årstid. För att optimera placeringen av anlagda våtmarker, syftar detta projekt till att förstå hur de olika faktorerna påverkar retentionen av fosfor (P) och kväve (N) i anlagda våtmarker och om det finns geografiska och säsongsmässiga variationer i retention. Vattenprover togs vid tre provtagningstillfällen från anlagda våtmarker i Halland, i sydvästra Sverige och Mälardalen i östra Sverige. Variationen i retentionen av P och N mellan Halland och Mälardalen och mellan de olika provtagningstillfällena undersöktes därefter. Effekten på retentionen av olika faktorer i avrinningsområdet såsom andel lera, silt och sand, jordbruksmark, P-AL (fosfor extraherat från jord med ammoniumlaktat) i marken, erosionsriskklass och medeldjupet av de anlagda våtmarkerna på retentionen av P och N undersöktes också.Belastningen och retentionen av TP (totalfosfor) skiljde sig mellan de anlagda våtmarkerna i Mälardalen och Halland. I Mälardalen var belastningen något högre, samt hade högre variation i TP-belastning, vilket kan relateras till skillnaderna i erosionsriskklasser då mer lätteroderade jordarter oftast släpper P under perioder med mycket avrinning. TP retentionen avvek mer från noll i Mälardalen jämfört med Halland. Retentionen av TN (totalkväve) var förhållandevis hög under augusti trots den förhållandevis lägre TN-belastningen jämfört med höst-och vinterprovtagningarna. Detta kan bero på att det under den varmare årstiden skermer retention av oorganiskt kväve genom denitrifikation och växtupptag.Många faktorer såsom jordart, erosionsriskklass, andel jordbruksmark och hydraulisk belastning (HL) var positivt korrelerade med näringsbelastningen. Däremot visade de flesta av de undersökta faktorerna i avrinningsområdet inget samband med retentionen av N eller P. Andelen lera i området hade en negativ effekt på retentionen av TP, vilket inte stämmer överens med tidigare studier. Detta kan bero på att TP-retentionen mestadels var noll eller negativ, vilket ansågs bero på att det mesta av provtagningen skedde under perioder med hög HL, vilket kan ha resulterat i dålig retention och resuspension av P från sediment. Den enda faktorn som var relaterad med TN retentionen var djupet i de anlagda våtmarkerna, som minskade med våtmarkens djup.