Author(s): Robert R. Twilley, Azure Bevington, Alexandra Christensen, Annabeth Mccall, Anika Aarons, Edward Castañeda-Moya
Linked Author(s): Robert Twilley
Keywords: Coastal deltaic floodplains, nutrient biogeochemistry, ecosystem development, denitrification, carbon sequestration
Abstract: Coastal deltaic floodplains actively receive water from river systems and play an important ecological role of trapping sediment, sequestering carbon during net ecosystem productivity, and removing or retaining riverine nitrate to improve water quality. Hydrogeomorphic zones reflect the vertical position in the floodplain that is subject to different inundation periods and biological and geophysical feedback mechanisms. It determines the vegetative composition and production and thus the soil texture, moisture, and nutrient content of an area, typically delineated by tidal zone in a coastal deltaic floodplain. We propose that these hydrogeomorphic zones have the potential to be biogeochemical �hotspots� that remove nitrate at high rates. As newly emergent systems, these depositional environments are actively building new land and in the process, developing the ecosystem function of processing and removing excess nitrate from river water before it reaches the coastal ocean. This landscape self-organization patterns also result in biogeochemical processes of carbon sequestration. These patterns will help to create a conceptual model to describe changes in soil biogeochemistry, nitrogen and carbon storage during deltaic land development which is relevant to present and future Mississippi River delta restoration efforts
Year: 2017