Ecosystem attributes related to tidal wetland effects on water quality

Biogeochemical functioning of ecosystems is central to nutrient cycling, carbon balance, and several ecosystem services, yet it is not always clear why levels of function might vary among systems. Wetlands are widely recognized for their ability to alter concentrations of solutes and particles as water moves through them, but we have only general expectations for what attributes of wetlands are linked to variability in these processes. We examined changes in several water quality variables (dissolved oxygen, dissolved organic carbon, nutrients, and suspended particles) to ascertain which constituents are influenced during tidal exchange with a range of 17 tidal freshwater wetlands along the Hudson River, New York, USA. Many of the constituents showed significant differences among wetlands or between flooding and ebbing tidal concentrations, indicating wetland-mediated effects. For dissolved oxygen, the presence of even small proportional cover by submerged aquatic vegetation increased the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water returned to the main channel following a daytime tidal exchange. Nitrate concentrations showed consistent declines during ebbing tides, but the magnitude of decline varied greatly among sites. The proportional cover by graminoid-dominated high intertidal vegetation accounted for over 40% of the variation in nitrate decline. Knowing which water-quality alterations are associated with which attributes helps suggest underlying mechanisms and identifies what functions might be susceptible to change as sea level rise or salinity intrusion drives shifts in wetland vegetation cover.