Modeling Nitrogen and Carbon Dynamics in Wetland Soils and Water Using Mechanistic Wetland Model
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 1
Abstract
In this article, extension and application to variably saturated wetland conditions of a process-based wetland model is demonstrated. The new model described in this article is an improved version of an earlier model, which was only capable of capturing nutrient dynamics in continuously ponded wetlands. The upgraded model is capable of simulating nutrient cycling and biogeochemical reactions in both ponded and unsaturated wetland zones. To accomplish this goal, a comprehensive module for tracking water content in wetland soil was implemented in the model, and biogeochemical relationships were added to explain cycling of nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) in variably saturated zones of wetlands. The developed model was applied to a small, restored wetland receiving agricultural runoff, located on Kent Island, Maryland. On average, during the two-year study period, the ponded compartment of the study wetland covered 65% of the total 1.2 ha area. Through mass balance analysis, it was revealed that the mass of nitrogen lost to denitrification at the variably saturated compartment of the study wetland was about three times higher than that of the ponded compartment ( versus ), whereas ammonia volatilization at the variably saturated compartment was a fraction of that of ponded compartment ( versus ). Sensitivity analysis showed that cycling of carbon-related constituents in variably saturated compartment had high sensitivity to temperature and available soil moisture.
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Acknowledgments
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through its Office of Research and Development funded and managed the research described here under EPA Contract # EP-C-11-006. It has not been subjected to Agency review and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 22 • Issue 1 • January 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 13, 2015
Accepted: Jun 10, 2016
Published online: Jul 21, 2016
Discussion open until: Dec 21, 2016
Published in print: Jan 1, 2017
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