Ammonification and denitrification rates in coastal Louisiana bayou sediment and marsh soil: Implications for Mississippi river diversion management

The Caernarvon Diversion directs Mississippi River water into coastal marshes in the Breton Sound Estuary. Elevated nitrogen levels in the Mississippi River water result in nutrient loading to these coastal marsh systems and consequently to the coastal ocean. The goal of this study is to determine the potential nitrate removal rates for two different substrates. Bayou sediments represent the low flow conditions, when the water is constrained within the canals with high potential for transport to the coastal ocean. The marsh soil represents the high flow diversion events when flood water inundates up into the marshes. We sought to remove the plant effect by using cores containing bayou sediment and marsh soil, removing all roots and flooding with a water column containing 2 mg NO3-N L−1. Water column nitrate and ammonium concentration were monitored over 9 d. Net nitrate loss in bayou sediments was 9.5 ± 1.5 mg N m−2 d−1 while the nitrate loss was significantly less at 7.2 ± 0.9 mg N m−2 d−1 in the marsh soil. A comparison of nitrate reduction rates in vegetated and non-vegetated marsh soils indicated that the rate of denitrification increased tenfold in vegetated soils. This increase could be attributed to the “plant effect”. Our results suggest that operating diversions on the high flow end of the spectrum would promote nitrate delivery over the vegetated marsh rather than flowing only through canals. Flooding of the vegetated marsh maximizes the potential for removal of riverine nitrate and limits delivery of nitrate to the coastal ocean, thereby mitigating expressions of eutrophication including algal blooms and hypoxia.