What role does stream restoration play in nutrient management?

ABSTRACT

Nutrient pollution is a pervasive water quality problem. Stream restoration has been proposed as a novel approach to reduce loading and increase nutrient processing within streams. We summarize evidence from the literature on the efficacy of stream restoration for reducing nutrient loading and increasing nutrient removal in stream ecosystems. We also analyze published data on streambank phosphorus concentrations and riparian and stream denitrification rates to improve understanding of the potential benefits of stream restoration for phosphorus retention and nitrogen removal. Finally, we discuss the role of stream restoration in nutrient management and provide recommendations for practice and future research.

Keywords:

• Nitrogen
• phosphorus
• stream restoration

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to R.W. McDowell, R.C. Walter, D.J. Merritts, G.A. Fox, R.B. Miller, K.E. Schilling, J.L. Kovar, E.O. Young, and D.S. Ross for sharing their streambank phosphorus data. They also thank J. Clary, S. Struck, E. Strecker, A. McGuire, and E. Hester for helpful feedback on a previous version of this manuscript. F.D. Shields and an anonymous reviewer provided comments that greatly improved the quality of this publication.

Funding

This work was partially funded by the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (Project #WERF-U5R14) and the National Science Foundation, Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Grant No. DGE-0966346 “I-WATER: Integrated Water, Atmosphere, Ecosystems Education and Research Program” at Colorado State University. Additional funding was provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Grant 83557001. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the grantee and do not necessarily represent the official views of the EPA. Further, EPA does not endorse the purchase of any commercial products or services mentioned in the publication.