Denitrification in coastal Louisiana: A spatial assessment and research needs

By transforming fixed nitrogen (N) into nitrogen gas, the biochemical processes that support denitrification provide a function critical to maintaining the integrity of ecosystems subjected to increased loading of N from anthropogenic sources. The Louisiana coastal region receives high nitrate (NO3−) concentrations (> 100 µM) from the Mississippi–Ohio–Missouri River Basin and is also an area undergoing high rates of wetland loss. Ongoing and anticipated changes in the Louisiana coastal region promise to alter biogeochemical cycles including the net rate of denitrification by ecosystems. Projecting what these changes could mean for coastal water quality and natural resources requires an understanding of the magnitude and patterns of variation in denitrification rates and their connection to estuarine water quality at large temporal and spatial scales under current conditions. We compile and review denitrification rates reported in 32 studies conducted in a variety of habitats across coastal Louisiana during the period 1981– 2008. The acetylene inhibition and 15N flux were the preferred techniques (95%); most of the studies used sediment slurries rather than intact sediment cores. There are no estimates of denitrification rates using the N2/Ar ratio and isotope pairing techniques, which address some of the problems and limitations of the acetylene inhibition and 15N flux techniques. These studies have shown that sediments from estuaries, lakes, marshes, forested wetlands, and the coastal shelf region are capable of high potential denitrification rates when exposed to high NO3− concentrations (> 100 µM). Maximum potential denitrification rates in experimental and natural settings can reach values > 2500 µmol m2 h− 1. The lack of contemporary studies to understand the interactions among critical nitrogen transformations (e.g., organic matter mineralization, immobilization, aquatic plant assimilation, nitrification, nitrogen fixation, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA) and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (annamox) limits our understanding of nitrogen cycling in coastal Louisiana, particularly the role of respiratory and chemolithoautotrophic denitrification in areas undergoing wetland restoration.