Nutrient chemistry and hydrology of interstitial water in brackish tidal marshes of Chesapeake Bay |
| |
| Authors: | Thomas E Jordan David L Correll |
| |
| Institution: | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, Maryland 21037, U.S.A. |
| |
| Abstract: | Nutrient concentrations in interstitial water were measured throughout the year in two brackish tidal marshes differing in elevation and vegetation. At all sites, sulfate to chloride ratios were lowest during the fall. In contrast, dissolved ammonia, phosphate, organic nitrogen, and organic phosphorus concentrations did not vary seasonally but differed among sample sites. These nutrients were generally enriched in interstitial water relative to tidal water and those that were most enriched declined in concentration with increasing proximity to creeks. In the low elevation marsh, flow of interstitial water towards creek banks was traced with Rhodamine WT dye. Consequent seepage of interstitial water into the creek of the low marsh was estimated from continuous monitoring of water table heights and from measurements of hydraulic conductivity. The estimated seepage could account for a portion, probably less than half, of the tidal export of dissolved nutrients from the low marsh. |
| |
| Keywords: | salt marshes interstitial water nutrients sulfur cycles hydrology wetlands Chesapeake Bay |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
