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Investigating nitrate uptake and transient storage in headwater streams among gradients of geomorphic complexity, land use, and restoration techniques

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dc.contributor.authorMueller Price, Jennifer Suzanne, author
dc.contributor.authorBledsoe, Brian P., advisor
dc.contributor.authorGooseff, Michael Nikolai, committee member
dc.contributor.authorLoftis, Jim C., committee member
dc.contributor.authorWohl, Ellen E., 1962-, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2007-01-03T05:45:54Z
dc.date.available2007-01-03T05:45:54Z
dc.date.issued2010
dc.descriptionDepartment Head: Luis A. Garcia.
dc.description.abstractHeadwater streams are a crucial component of nutrient processing in watersheds, owing to high surface-to-volume ratios that favor nitrate uptake and to the large percentage of headwater stream length in the total length of a river system. In this study, I explore how geomorphic characteristics may influence transient storage and nitrate uptake of streams across a gradient of land use and restoration practices. To examine linkages among geomorphic complexity, transient storage, and nitrate uptake in streams, I investigated an urban stream and two agricultural streams. Study reaches representing distinct geomorphic settings with varying substrate size, sinuosity, bed slope, and styles of restoration and management were chosen within each stream. I performed detailed physical characterizations and multiple nutrient injections of bromide and nitrate to estimate transient storage and nitrate uptake in each reach. Comprehensive data sets, including pebble counts, longitudinal profiles, cross-section surveys, hydraulic measurements, and benthic organic matter (fine and coarse), were collected to characterize physical complexity along each reach. To estimate parameters of transient storage and nitrate uptake, the OTIS model was run through UCODE for optimization of parameter estimates. Regression models were developed to relate attributes of flow and geomorphic complexity with transient storage and nitrate uptake parameters. The models showed associations among nitrate uptake velocity and length (vf, Sw) and transient storage parameters (Fmed200), which were influenced by key factors of geomorphic complexity (longitudinal roughness), flow (Reynolds number), and substrate condition (median grain size and fine benthic organic matter). There were no conclusive patterns showing that in-channel structures and natural revegetation of riparian areas promoted nitrate uptake in the study streams. For example, a reach with instream wood but without restoration structures exhibited more transient storage and comparable nitrate uptake when compared to a paired reach with extensive J-hook vane structures. Finally, an investigation of the urban stream before and after a high flow event indicated that transient storage and nitrate uptake are highly context-specific and mediated by interactions between geomorphic setting and flow variability.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifier2010_Summer_MuellerPrice_Jennifer.pdf
dc.identifierMuellerPrice_colostate_0053A_10083.pdf
dc.identifierETDF2010100008CVEE
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10217/39327
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relationwwdl
dc.relation.ispartof2000-2019
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.subjecttransient storage
dc.subjectnitrate uptake
dc.subjectGeomorphology -- Research
dc.subjectWatersheds -- Research
dc.subjectStream restoration -- Research
dc.subjectNitrates -- Research
dc.subjectHyporheic zones -- Research
dc.titleInvestigating nitrate uptake and transient storage in headwater streams among gradients of geomorphic complexity, land use, and restoration techniques
dc.typeText
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil and Environmental Engineering
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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