Interlinking hydrological behavior and inorganic nitrogen cycling in a forested boreal wetland

The dominant hydrologic and inorganic nitrogen dynamics were measured in a 1.5 ha mixed wood minerotrophic forested wetland located at the base of a 53 ha headwater catchment, near Lac La Biche, Alberta. During the study (1999--2000) there was lower than average rainfall. I determined that: (1) recharge by precipitation rarely exceeded upland and wetland storage, retarding surface runoff; (2) precipitation and ground water dominated inputs while evapotranspiration dominated outputs of the wetland water budget; (3) substrate stratigraphy resulted in complex ground water connections; (4) The wetland was a potential source of NH4+ to ground water from bottom sediments; (5) the wetland, in contrast to the uplands, was a potential source of NO3- from upper soils via surface runoff flushing. However, the likelihood of flushing is low due to low precipitation. Understanding wetland hydro-biogeochemistry and connectivity to other systems is crucial to assess the wetland's role in buffering catchment disturbance.