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A hydrologic model demonstrates nitrous oxide emissions depend on streambed morphology
Author(s) -
Marzadri A.,
Tonina D.,
Bellin A.,
Tank J. L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2014gl060732
Subject(s) - biogeochemical cycle , nitrous oxide , environmental science , denitrification , streams , biogeochemistry , river ecosystem , nitrogen , hydrology (agriculture) , drainage basin , atmospheric sciences , earth science , environmental chemistry , ecology , ecosystem , geology , chemistry , geography , biology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , computer network , cartography , computer science
Rivers are hot spots of nitrous oxide (N 2 O) emissions due to denitrification. Although the key role of rivers in transforming reactive inorganic nitrogen is widely recognized, the recent estimates of N 2 O emissions by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) may be largely underestimated. This denotes a lack of reliable and robust methodologies to upscale denitrification, and other biogeochemical processes, from the local to the network scale. Here we demonstrate that stream hydromorphology strongly influences N 2 O emissions. We provide an integrative methodology for upscaling local biogeochemical processes to the catchment scale with a Damköhler number, which accounts for the complex interplay between stream hydromorphology and biogeochemical characteristics of streambed sediments. Application of this theoretical framework to the large data set collected as part of the second Lotic Intersite Nitrogen eXperiment (LINXII) demonstrates that stream morphology is a key factor controlling emissions of N 2 O from streams.