Buried particulate organic carbon stimulates denitrification and nitrate retention in stream sediments at the groundwater-surface water interface

The interface between ground water and surface water in streams is a hotspot for N processing. However, the role of buried organic C in N transformation at this interface is not well understood, and inferences have been based largely on descriptive studies. Our main objective was to determine how buried particulate organic C (POC) affected denitrification and NO₃− retention in the sediments of an upwelling reach in a sand-plains stream in Wisconsin. We manipulated POC in mesocosms inserted in the sediments. Treatments included low and high quantities of conditioned red maple leaves (buried beneath combusted sand), ambient sediment (sand containing background levels of POC), and a control (combusted sand). We measured denitrification rates in sediments by acetylene-block assays in the laboratory and by changes in N₂ concentrations in the field using membrane inlet mass spectrometry. We measured NO₃−, NH₄+, and dissolved organic N (DON) retention as changes in concentrations and fluxes along groundwater flow paths in the mesocosms. POC addition drove oxic ground water to severe hypoxia, led to large increases in dissolved organic C (DOC), and strongly increased denitrification rates and N (NO₃− and total dissolved N) retention relative to the control. In situ denitrification accounted for 30 to 60% of NO₃− retention. Our results suggest that buried POC stimulated denitrification and NO₃− retention by producing DOC and by creating favorable redox conditions for denitrification.