Catchment legacies and time lags: A parsimonious watershed model to predict the effects of legacy storage on nitrogen export

PLoS ONE

Volumn 10, Issue 5, 2015, Pages

  Van Meter, Kimberly J ^a   Basu, Nandita B ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WATERLOO   (Canada)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

GROUND WATER; NITRATE; NITRITE; NITROGEN; ORGANIC NITROGEN;

AGRICULTURAL LAND; ARTICLE; BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLE; CATCHMENT; CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK; CROP PRODUCTION; DENITRIFICATION; ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION; FERTILIZER APPLICATION; LAND USE; NITROGEN CYCLE; NUTRIENT CONCENTRATION; PRAIRIE; PREDICTION; STREAM (RIVER); TIME; WATER CYCLE; WATERSHED; CHEMISTRY; IRRIGATION (AGRICULTURE); THEORETICAL MODEL;

AGRICULTURAL IRRIGATION; GROUNDWATER; MODELS, THEORETICAL; NITROGEN CYCLE; WATER CYCLE;

EID: 84930630490     PISSN: None     EISSN: 19326203     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125971     Document Type: Article

References (66)

1. Howarth RW, Boyer EW, Pabich WJ, Galloway JN. Nitrogen Use in the United States from 1961-2000 and Potential Future Trends. Ambio. 2002; 31: 88-96. PMID: 12078014
2. Tilman D, Cassman KG, Matson PA, Naylor R, Polasky S. Agricultural sustainability and intensive production practices. Nature. 2002; 418: 671-677. PMID: 12167873
3. Kling CL, Panagopoulos Y, Rabotyagov SS, Valcu AM, Gassman PW, Campbell T, et al. LUMINATE: linking agricultural land use, local water quality and Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Eur Rev Agric Econ. 2014; 41: 431-459. doi: 10.1093/erae/jbu009
4. Diaz RJ, Rosenberg R. Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science. 2008; 321: 926-929. doi: 10.1126/science.1156401 PMID: 18703733
5. Kemp WM, Testa JM, Conley DJ, Gilbert D, Hagy JD. Temporal responses of coastal hypoxia to nutrient loading and physical controls. Biogeosciences. 2009; 6: 2985-3008.
6. Rabalais NN, Diaz RJ, Levin LA, Turner RE, Gilbert D, Zhang J. Dynamics and distribution of natural and human-caused hypoxia. Biogeosciences. 2010; 7: 585-619.
7. Osterman LE, Poore RZ, Swarzenski PW, Senn DB, DiMarco SE. The 20th-century development and expansion of Louisiana shelf hypoxia, Gulf of Mexico. Geo-Mar Lett. 2009; 29: 405-414.
8. Meals DW, Dressing SA, Davenport TE. Lag Time in Water Quality Response to Best Management Practices: A Review. J Environ Qual. 2010; 39: 85. doi: 10.2134/jeq2009.0108 PMID: 20048296
9. Hamilton SK. Biogeochemical time lags may delay responses of streams to ecological restoration. Freshw Biol. 2012; 57: 43-57. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2427.2011.02685.x
10. Jarvie HP, Sharpley AN, Withers PJA, Scott JT, Haggard BE, Neal C. Phosphorus Mitigation to Control River Eutrophication: Murky Waters, Inconvenient Truths, and "Postnormal" Science. J Environ Qual. 2013; 42: 295. doi: 10.2134/jeq2012.0085 PMID: 23673821
11. Zhang Y-K, Schilling KE. Increasing streamflow and baseflow in Mississippi River since the 1940s: Effect of land use change. J Hydrol. 2006; 324: 412-422. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.09.033
12. Basu NB, Destouni G, Jawitz JW, Thompson SE, Loukinova NV, Darracq A, et al. Nutrient loads exported from managed catchments reveal emergent biogeochemical stationarity. Geophys Res Lett. 2010; 37. doi: 10.1029/2010GL045168
13. MacDonald GK, Bennett EM. Phosphorus Accumulation in Saint Lawrence River Watershed Soils: A Century-Long Perspective. Ecosystems. 2009; 12: 621-635.
14. Thompson SE, Basu NB, Lascurain J, Aubeneau A, Rao PSC. Relative dominance of hydrologic versus biogeochemical factors on solute export across impact gradients. Water Resour Res. 2011; 47. doi: 10.1029/2010WR009605 PMID: 24511165
15. McMahon PB, Dennehy KF, Bruce BW, Böhlke JK, Michel RL, Gurdak JJ, et al. Storage and transit time of chemicals in thick unsaturated zones under rangeland and irrigated cropland, High Plains, United States. Water Resour Res. 2006; 42: n/a-n/a. doi: 10.1029/2005WR004417
16. Baker LA, Hope D, Xu Y, Edmonds J, Lauver L. Nitrogen Balance for the Central Arizona-Phoenix (CAP) Ecosystem. Ecosystems. 2001; 4: 582-602. doi: 10.1007/s10021-001-0031-2
17. Hong B, Swaney DP, Howarth RW. Estimating Net Anthropogenic Nitrogen Inputs to U.S. Watersheds: Comparison of Methodologies. Environ Sci Technol. 2013; 47: 5199-5207. doi: 10.1021/es303437c PMID: 23631661
18. David MB, Drinkwater LE, McIsaac GF. Sources of Nitrate Yields in the Mississippi River Basin. J Environ Qual. 2010; 39: 1657. doi: 10.2134/jeq2010.0115 PMID: 21043271
19. Boyer EW, Goodale C, Jaworski N, Howarth RW. Anthropogenic nitrogen sources and relationships to riverine nitrogen export in the northeastern U.S.A. Biogeochemistry. 2002; 57: 137-169.
20. Billen G, Thieu V, Garnier J, Silvestre M. Modelling the N cascade in regional watersheds: The case study of the Seine, Somme and Scheldt rivers. Agric Ecosyst Environ. 2009; 133: 234-246. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2009.04.018
21. Kroeze C, Aerts R, van Breemen N, van Dam D, Hofschreuder P, Hoosbeek M, et al. Uncertainties in the fate of nitrogen I: An overview of sources of uncertainty illustrated with a Dutch case study. Nutr Cycl Agroecosystems. 2003; 66: 43-69.
22. Chen N, Hong H, Zhang L, Cao W. Nitrogen sources and exports in an agricultural watershed in Southeast China. Biogeochemistry. 2008; 87: 169-179.
23. Liu C, Watanabe M, Wang Q. Changes in nitrogen budgets and nitrogen use efficiency in the agroecosystems of the Changjiang River basin between 1980 and 2000. Nutr Cycl Agroecosystems. 2008; 80: 19-37.
24. Janzen HH, Beauchemin KA, Bruinsma Y, Campbell CA, Desjardins RL, Ellert BH, et al. The fate of nitrogen in agroecosystems- An illustration using Canadian estimates.pdf. Nutr Cycl Agroecosystems. 2003; 67: 85-102.
25. Schlesinger WH. On the fate of anthropogenic nitrogen. PNAS. 2008; 106: 203-208. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0810193105 PMID: 19118195
26. Fowler D, Pyle JA, Raven JA, Sutton MA. The global nitrogen cycle in the twenty-first century: introduction. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci. 2013; 368: 20130165-20130165. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0165 PMID: 23713127
27. Zaehle S. Terrestrial nitrogen-carbon cycle interactions at the global scale. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci. 2013; 368: 20130125-20130125. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2013.0125 PMID: 23713123
28. Sebilo M, Mayer B, Nicolardot B, Pinay G, Mariotti A. Long-term fate of nitrate fertilizer in agricultural soils. Proc Natl Acad Sci. 2013; 110: 18185-18189. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1305372110 PMID: 24145428
29. Haag D, Kaupenjohann M. Biogeochemical Models in the Environmental Sciences. HYLE-International J Philos Chem. 2000; 6: 117-142.
30. Van Meter KJ, Basu NB, Veenstra JJ, Burras CL. The Nitrogen Legacy: Evidence of Soil Nitrogen Accumulations in Anthropogenic Landscapes. Rev.
31. Sanford WE, Pope JP. Quantifying groundwater's role in delaying improvements to Chesapeake Bay water quality. Environ Sci Technol. 2013; 47: 13330-13338. doi: 10.1021/es401334k PMID: 24152097
32. Bouraoui F, Grizzetti B. Modelling mitigation options to reduce diffuse nitrogen water pollution from agriculture. Sci Total Environ. 2014; 468-469: 1267-1277. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.07.066
33. Howarth RW, Swaney DP, Boyer EW, Marino R, Jaworski N, Goodale C. The influence of climate on average nitrogen export from large watersheds in the Northeastern United States. Biogeochemistry. 2006; 79: 163-186. doi: 10.1007/s10533-006-9010-1
34. Alam MJ, Goodall JL. Toward disentangling the effect of hydrologic and nitrogen source changes from 1992 to 2001 on incremental nitrogen yield in the contiguous United States. Water Resour Res. 2012; 48. PMID: 24976651
35. Swaney DP, Hong B, Ti C, Howarth RW, Humborg C. Net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs to watersheds and riverine N export to coastal waters: a brief overview. Curr Opin Environ Sustain. 2012; 4: 203-211. doi: 10.1016/j.cosust.2012.03.004
36. Wellen C, Arhonditsis GB, Labencki T, Boyd D. A Bayesian methodolotical framework for accommodating interannual variability of nutrient loading with the SPARROW model. Water Resour Res. 2012; 48. PMID: 24976651
37. Chen D, Hu M, Dahlgren RA. A dynamic watershed model for determining the effects of transient storage on nitrogen export to rivers. Water Resour Res. 2014; 50: 7714-7730. doi: 10.1002/2014WR015852
38. Jha MK, Gassman PW, Arnold JG. Water quality modeling for the Raccoon River watershed using SWAT. Trans ASAE. 2007; 50: 479-493.
39. Rabotyagov S, Campbell T, Jha M, Gassman PW, Arnold J, Kurkalova L, et al. Least-cost control of agricultural nutrient contributions to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone. Ecol Appl. 2010; 20: 1542-1555. PMID: 20945758
40. Lewis DB, Kaye JP, Gries C, Kinzig AP, Redman CL. Agrarian legacy in soil nutrient pools of urbanizing arid lands. Glob Change Biol. 2006; 12: 703-709. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2006.01126.x
41. Jury WA, Russo D, Streile G, El Abd H. Solute transport through layered soil profiles: Zero and perfect travel time correlation models. Water Resour Res. 1990; 26: 13-20.
42. Maloszewski P, Zuber A. Determining the turnover time of groundwater systems with the aid of environmental tracers: 1. Models and their applicability. J Hydrol. 1982; 57: 207-231.
43. Haitjema HM. Analytic element modeling of groundwater flow [Internet]. Academic Press; 1995. Available:
44. McGuire KJ, McDonnell JJ. A review and evaluation of catchment transit time modeling. J Hydrol. 2006; 330: 543-563. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2006.04.020
45. Porporato A, D'odorico P, Laio F, Rodriguez-Iturbe I. Hydrologic controls on soil carbon and nitrogen cycles. I. Modeling scheme. Adv Water Resour. 2003; 26: 45-58.
46. Manzoni S, Porporato A. Soil carbon and nitrogen mineralization: Theory and models across scales. Soil Biol Biochem. 2009; 41: 1355-1379. doi: 10.1016/j.soilbio.2009.02.031
47. Pijanowski B, Ray DK, Kendall AD, Duckles JM, Hyndman DW. Using backcast land-use change and groundwater travel-time models to generate land-use legacy maps for watershed management. Ecol Soc. 2007; 12: 25.
48. Jawitz JW, Fure AD, Demmy GG, Berglund S, Rao PSC. Groundwater contaminant flux reduction resulting from nonaqueous phase liquid mass reduction. Water Resour Res. 2005; 41. PMID: 16173154
49. Schilling KE, Wolter CF. A GIS-based groundwater travel time model to evaluate stream nitrate concentration reductions from land use change. Environ Geol. 2007; 53: 433-443. doi: 10.1007/s00254-007-0659-0
50. Drobney PM. Iowa prairie rebirth rediscovering natural heritage at walnut creek national wildlife refuge. Ecol Restor. 1994; 12: 16-22.
51. Prior J. Landforms of Iowa [Internet]. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press; 1991. Available: http://sustainableag.unl.edu/pdf/landformsofiowacari.pdf
52. Schilling KE, Jacobson P. Groundwater conditions under a reconstructed prairie chronosequence. Agric Ecosyst Environ. 2010; 135: 81-89. doi: 10.1016/j.agee.2009.08.013
53. Veenstra JJ. Fifty years of agricultural soil change in Iowa [Internet]. Ames, IA: Iowa State University; 2010. Available:
54. Six J, Conant RT, Paul EA, Paustian K. Stabilization mechanisms of soil organic matter: Implications for C-saturation of soil. Plant Soil. 2002; 241: 155-176.
55. Li C, Farahbakhshazad N, Jaynes DB, Dinnes DL, Salas W, McLaughlin D. Modeling nitrate leaching with a biogeochemical model modified based on observations in a row-crop field in Iowa. Ecol Model. 2006; 196: 116-130. doi: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2006.02.007
56. Strock JS, Porter PM, Russelle MP. Cover cropping to reduce nitrate loss through subsurface drainage in the northern US Corn Belt. J Environ Qual. 2004; 33: 1010-1016. PMID: 15224938
57. Schilling KE, Jindal P, Basu NB, Helmers MJ. Impact of artificial subsurface drainage on groundwater travel times and baseflow discharge in an agricultural watershed, Iowa (USA). Hydrol Process. 2012; 26: 3092-3100. doi: 10.1002/hyp.8337
58. Basu NB, Jindal P, Schilling KE, Wolter CF, Takle ES. Evaluation of analytical and numerical approaches for the estimation of groundwater travel time distribution. J Hydrol. 2012; 475: 65-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.08.052
59. Jindal P. A study of the groundwater travel time distribution at a rural watershed in Iowa: A systems theory approach to groundwater flow analysis. 2010; Available: http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/11454/
60. Tesoriero AJ, Puckett LJ. O2 reduction and denitrification rates in shallow aquifers. Water Resour Res. 2011; 47: n/a-n/a. doi: 10.1029/2011WR010471
61. Gleeson T, Smith L, Moosdorf N, Hartmann J, Dürr HH, Manning AH, et al. Mapping permeability over the surface of the Earth. Geophys Res Lett. 2011; 38. doi: 10.1029/2010GL045565
62. Smith CM, David MB, Mitchell CA, Masters MD, Anderson-Teixeira KJ, Bernacchi CJ, et al. Reduced Nitrogen Losses after Conversion of Row Crop Agriculture to Perennial Biofuel Crops. J Environ Qual. 2012; 42: 219-228.
63. Ng TL, Eheart JW, Cai X, Miguez F. Modeling Miscanthus in the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to Simulate Its Water Quality Effects As a Bioenergy Crop. Environ Sci Technol. 2010; 44: 7138-7144. doi: 10.1021/es9039677 PMID: 20681575
64. Grizzetti B, Bouraoui F, Granlund K, Rekolainen S, Bidoglio G. Modelling diffuse emission and retention of nutrients in the Vantaanjoki watershed (Finland) using the SWAT model. Ecol Model. 2003; 169: 25-38. doi: 10.1016/S0304-3800(03)00198-4
65. Young RA, Onstad CA, Bosch DD, Anderson WP. AGNPS: A nonpoint-source pollution model for evaluating agricultural watersheds. J Soil Water Conserv. 1989; 44: 168-173.
66. Chen D, Huang H, Hu M, Dahlgren RA. Influence of Lag Effect, Soil Release, And Climate Change on Watershed Anthropogenic Nitrogen Inputs and Riverine Export Dynamics. Environ Sci Technol. 2014; 48: 5683-5690. doi: 10.1021/es500127t PMID: 24742334