Groundwater nitrogen dynamics at the terrestrial-lotic interface of a small catchment in the Central Amazon basin

Abstract

Processes operating at the terrestrial-lotic interface may significantly alter dissolved nitrogen concentrations in groundwater as a result of shifting redox conditions and microbial communities. We monitored concentrations of total dissolved nitrogen, NO4-, NH4-, O2 and Fe2+ for 10 months along two transects tracing groundwater flow from an upland (terra firme) forest, beneath the riparian forest, and into the stream channel of a small Central Amazonian catchment. Our aim was to examine the role of near-stream processes in regulating groundwater transfers of dissolved nitrogen from terrestrial to lotic ecosystems in the Central Amazon. We found pronounced compositional differences in inorganic nitrogen chemistry between upland, riparian, and stream hydrologic compartments. Nitrate dominated (average 89% of total inorganic nitrogen; TIN) the inorganic nitrogen chemistry of oxygenated upland groundwater but decreased markedly upon crossing the upland-riparian margin. Conversely, NH4- dominated (average 93% of TIN) the inorganic chemistry of apparently anoxic riparian groundwater; NH4-and TIN concentrations decreased markedly across the riparian-stream channel margin. In the oxygenated streamwater, NO3- again dominated (average 82% of TIN) inorganic nitrogen chemistry. Denitrification followed by continued ammonification is hypothesized to effect the shift in speciation observed at the upland-riparian margin, while a combination of several processes may control the shift in speciation and loss of TIN observed at the riparian-stream margin. Dissolved organic nitrogen concentrations did not vary significantly between upland and riparian groundwater, but decreased across the riparian-stream margin. Our data suggest that extensive transformation reactions focused at the upland and stream margins of the riparian zone strongly regulate and diminish transfers of inorganic nitrogen from groundwater to streamwater in the catchment. This suggestion questions the veracity of attempts in the literature to link stream nitrogen chemistry with nutrient status in adjacent forests of similar catchments in the Central Amazon. It also complicates efforts to model nitrogen transfers across terrestrial-lotic interfaces in response to deforestation and changing climate. © 1994 Kluwer Academic Publishers.