Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics

Nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus move continuously between soils, groundwater, streams, and the atmosphere through a web of biological and chemical reactions that govern both ecosystem health and drinking water quality. When these cycles are disrupted—by fertilizer runoff, altered land use, or changes in stream hydrology—nutrients accumulate in waterways and drive problems like algal blooms and oxygen-depleted dead zones. Researchers are working to understand where and when nutrient transformations are most intense, particularly in the hyporheic zone, the dynamic mixing layer beneath and beside stream channels where groundwater and surface water exchange, and in riparian buffer strips that can intercept agricultural pollution before it reaches open water. Central open questions include how to predict the conditions under which watersheds retain versus export nutrients in pulses, and how well stream restoration and buffer management actually reduce downstream loading at scales that matter for policy.

Works

73,198

Total citations

1,454,398

Keywords

Nutrient CyclingWater QualityHyporheic ZonePhosphorus ManagementNitrogen DynamicsStream Restoration