Checkered landscapes: hydrologic and biogeochemical nitrogen legacies along the river continuum

Decades of agricultural intensification have led to elevated stream nitrogen (N) concentrations and eutrophication of inland and coastal waters. Despite widespread implementation of a range of strategies to reduce N export, expected improvements in water quality have not been observed. This lack of success has often been attributed to the existence of legacy N stores within the landscape. Here, we use the ELEMeNT-N model to quantify legacy accumulation and depletion dynamics over the last century (1930-2016) across 14 nested basins within the Grand River Watershed, a 6800 km(2) agricultural watershed in the Lake Erie Basin. Model results reveal significant legacy N accumulation across the basin, ranging from 705 to 1071 kg ha(-1), creating a checkered landscape of N legacies. The largest proportion (82%-96%) of this accumulated N is stored in soil organic N reservoirs, as biogeochemical legacy, and the remaining in groundwater, as hydrologic legacy. The fraction of N surplus accumulated in soil and groundwater is most strongly correlated with the calibrated watershed mean travel time mu, with the accumulation increasing with increases in mu. The mean travel time ranges from 5 to 34 years across the watersheds studied, and increases with increase in tile drainage, highlighting the strong control of anthropogenic management on legacy accumulation. Water quality improvement timescales were found to be heterogeneous across the watersheds, with greater legacies contributing to slower recovery.

Automated summary

The study found significant legacy nitrogen accumulation in the Grand River Watershed, with the majority stored in soil organic nitrogen reservoirs and the rest in groundwater. Water quality improvement timescales varied across watersheds, with larger legacies contributing to slower recovery.