Assessing the Relative Importance of Nitrogen-Retention Processes in a Large Reservoir Using Time-Series Modeling

Elizabeth Hansen, Kung-Sik Chan (), Christopher S. Jones and Keith Schilling
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Elizabeth Hansen: Western Illinois University
Kung-Sik Chan: University of Iowa
Christopher S. Jones: University of Iowa
Keith Schilling: University of Iowa

Journal of Agricultural, Biological and Environmental Statistics, 2016, vol. 21, issue 1, No 9, 152-169

Abstract: Abstract Nitrogen (N) removal within reservoirs can be substantial, but few studies have reported the relative importance of various N-retention pathways. Assessing N-removal processes in reservoirs is important for quantifying the impacts of reservoirs on downstream water quality. In this study, we used a time-series approach to quantify the relative importance of various N-removal processes in the Saylorville Reservoir in Iowa. Dynamic regression modeling of upstream–downstream changes in key water-quality surrogates (pH, hardness, alkalinity, and suspended solids) and their relation to N concentration changes were used to estimate the relative importances of denitrification, N assimilation by algal uptake, and sedimentation of N on N retention in the reservoir. Assuming that decreasing N concentrations in the reservoir are the sum of these three processes, we estimate that denitrification is the dominant N removal process (60.9 %) followed by algal assimilation (37.9 %) and sedimentation (1.2 %). Our approach represents a new method of establishing the relative importance of N-removal processes in reservoirs and quantifying the impacts of reservoirs on downstream water quality.

Keywords: Nitrate–nitrogen; Reservoirs; Time-series modeling; Denitrification; Assimilation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1007/s13253-015-0218-1

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