View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by ScholarWorks@UARK University of Arkansas, Fayetteville ScholarWorks@UARK Theses and Dissertations 12-2011 Nitrogen Retention and Denitrification in Reservoirs Erin Grantz University of Arkansas Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd Part of the Biogeochemistry Commons Recommended Citation Grantz, Erin, "Nitrogen Retention and Denitrification in Reservoirs" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 228. http://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/228 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UARK. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UARK. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. NITROGEN RETENTION AND DENITRIFICATION IN RESERVOIRS NITROGEN RETENTION AND DENITRIFICATION IN RESERVOIRS A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Crop, Soil and Environmental Science By Erin M. Grantz University of Arkansas Bachelor of Arts in German, 2005 University of Arkansas Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences in Environmental, Soil and Water Science, 2009 December 2011 University of Arkansas ABSTRACT Studies coupling direct measurements of micro-scale nitrogen (N) cycle processes with ecosystem-scale flux estimates are needed to determine N retention hotspots within river networks, where up to 50% of terrestrial loading to aquatic systems is retained. This study examined the role of denitrification, a microbially-mediated reactive N removal pathway, in ecosystem-scale N retention in 3 small (< 1 km 2), shallow flood-control reservoirs. Annual reservoir N retention was estimated through mass balance modeling of system inputs and outputs.