252-5 Does Land-Use Modifies the Effect of Climate Variability in Controlling Nitrogen Transport in Urban Water Bodies?.

See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Urban and Anthropogenic Soils
See more from this Session: Urban and Anthropogenic Soils: I

Tuesday, November 17, 2015: 2:20 PM
Hilton Minneapolis, Marquette Ballroom II

Kamaljit Banger, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL and Gurpal S Toor, University of Florida, University of Florida, Wimauma, FL
Abstract:
Nitrogen (N) transport is controlled by complex interactions among land use, climate, and soils. In most coastal water bodies such as the Tampa Bay Estuary, N is the limiting nutrient that drives eutrophication. The key questions on how climate-driven extremes and land-use interactions control N transport in the Tampa Bay are yet unclear. Here, we hypothesize that land-use in the watersheds can modify the effects of the climate-driven extremes in controlling N transport at watershed scales. In this study, we used long-term (1981-2014) monthly concentrations data of N forms (organic, inorganic, and total N) for 15 watersheds that drain to the Tampa Bay Estuary. We determined changes in the pattern of concentrations in the N forms in the wet and dry years across the urban land-use gradient. Key questions that we address are: Identification of watersheds with total N concentration greater than EPA numeric nutrient criteria; how total N transport varied in the wet and dry years in the watersheds; how land use and climatic-driven extremes control organic, inorganic, and total N transport. Our preliminary results showed that N concentration decreased in the wet years in the undeveloped (<5% residential and built up), while either increased or remained similar in the developed (>20% residential and built up). This study will enhance our understanding on interactions between human activities, climatic extremes, and ecosystem services, which can be used to develop management practices to control N transport in the urbanizing watersheds.

See more from this Division: SSSA Division: Urban and Anthropogenic Soils
See more from this Session: Urban and Anthropogenic Soils: I