APPENDIX FOR “LINKING LANDSCAPE CHARACTERISTICS AND STREAM NITROGEN IN THE OREGON COAST
RANGE: RED ALDER COMPLICATES USE OF NUTRIENT CRITERIA” – E. A. GREATHOUSE, J. E. COMPTON, AND J.
VAN SICKLE
Supplemental Table 1 is a comprehensive list of plot- to watershed-scale studies which indicate that
alder species increase N levels in aquatic systems.
The data sets we compiled include several studies which used probability-based sampling designs
following the protocols of USEPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) (i.e., sampling
sites were randomly selected from the population of interest and therefore well represent the region’s
chemistry conditions at the time of sampling). Other data sets in our compilation are from targeted monitoring,
watershed experiments, and special purpose collections by individual researchers. Supplemental Table 2 lists
projects with stream chemistry data from the Oregon Coast Range which we did not collate. We obtained
stream N data from 761 sites in total (Fig. 1 of main paper), but only 593 of these sites were streams without
evidence of estuarine and beach/dune influence, draining land within the OCR, and with data on analytes that
were both widely represented across the region and had adequate detection limits.
The 593 sites in Table 1 of the main paper were judged to be definitely within the OCR and
representative of a freshwater stream system because: 1) at least 98% of the watershed was within the OCR; 2)
the study site was judged to be upstream from the head of tide; and 3) the site was not located in the Clatsop
region. Eliminating sites below the head of tide was intended to screen out lowland tidal streams and estuarine
sites where relationships between watershed characteristics and chemistry are likely complex, due to tidal
influence on streamflow, and difficult to tease apart from high N inputs from ocean upwelling (Brown and
Ozretich, 2009). Head of tide was determined from a GIS layer of heads of tide (Sounhein, 2000), if possible. For
streams lacking a head of tide in the Sounhein (2000) layer, we used GIS layers of wetlands (U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 2008) and elevation (30-m National Elevation Dataset, Gesch, 2007) to judge whether the site
was upstream from the head of tide. Clatsop sites were similarly eliminated because the Clatsop region is a
small coastal plain of ~100 km2 of unconsolidated dune and beach sand in northwest Oregon; furthermore,
1
watershed delineations are inaccurate, and complex groundwater dynamics cause uncertainty in whether
stream chemistry reflects watershed attributes, in this dune/beach sand region (Sytsma, 2005).
Supplemental Table 3 lists the number of freshwater stream sites we collated which had nutrient data
that we did not do analyses on because they lacked adequate spatial representation or detection limits:
ammonium and total dissolved nitrogen. Ammonium was analyzed by automated phenate at the Oregon
Department of Environmental Quality Laboratory, and by a comparable automated colorimetry method at the
Willamette Research Station, but we did not do analyses on NH4-N concentrations because those analyzed at the
OR DEQ Lab were generally below a detection limit of 20 µg NH4-N/l. Likewise, TDN was analyzed by persulfate
digestion at both the Willamette Research Station and the Cooperative Chemical Analytical Laboratory, but we
did not do analyses on TDN because this analyte was not well represented in the database (sites with TDN data
were concentrated in three small regions). The relative lack of TDN data also meant that we were not able to
examine patterns in dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), because DON is determined by subtracting NH4-N and
NO3-N from TDN.
Sampling points from different projects in Table 1 of the main paper were considered to be the same
site if stream line distance between sampling points was <1 km, there were no USGS 24K blue line tributaries
entering between the two sampling points, there were no obvious changes in land use or point sources, there
was not a large difference in watershed areas, and they were not in large mainstem rivers; 42 sampling points
were consolidated into 21 sites, but numbers in Table 1 reflect all 42 sampling points (e.g., one site was sampled
in both the REMAP Coast Range project and the OR Tillamook Kilchis project, and it is included in both projects’
number of sites in Table 1 of the main paper; one site was sampled in both the EMAP West project and the OR
Salmon Plan project, and it is included in both of these projects’ number of sites in Table 1 of the main paper;
etc.).
Data from OCR EMAP projects were stored in the Surface Waters Information Management (SWIM)
system, an internal USEPA server of EMAP data which is no longer in existence; however, we obtained most of
2
our EMAP data from a database compiled from SWIM by Herlihy and Sifneos (2008). We downloaded OR DEQ
data from LASAR (Laboratory Analytical Storage and Retrieval, http://deq12.deq.state.or.us/lasar2), an online
database of OR DEQ air and water quality monitoring data (search criteria are listed below). After downloading,
LASAR data required additional quality control specific to the data set: sites characterized as sloughs were
eliminated; sites with descriptions related to point sources and landfills were eliminated, unless verified to be
stream sites; duplicate samples for laboratory quality control analyses were eliminated after recoding samples
which were mislabeled as duplicates; multiple parameter names for analytes were confirmed to be equivalent
with DEQ Laboratory personnel (e.g., all nitrate analytes listed in search criteria are nitrate/nitrite-N in mg N/l);
and many sites' latitude/longitude coordinates were corrected based on stream names, site descriptions, and
personal communications with OR DEQ personnel.
LASAR search criteria:
Type of Data = Grab and Continuous
Sampling Location Filter = EPA Coast Range Ecoregion
Station type = Stream or River
System = LASAR
Sample Matrix = Aqueous – Surface Water
Sample Date Range = 1/1/1990 – 10/25/2007
QC Status = A+ or A
Analytes
1345 Ammonia mg/L
2586 Ammonia as N mg/L as N
2335 Ammonia as N mg/L
2043 Nitrate mg/L
1061 Nitrate as N mg/L
2264 Nitrate/nitrite mg/L as N
1168 Nitrate/nitrite mg/L
1868 Nitrate/nitrite as N mg/L
1303 Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen mg/L
1397 Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen mg/L as N
2868 Total Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen mg/L as N
As described in the main text, we grouped direct measurements and estimates of TN (i.e., direct
measurements from persulfate digestion and estimates from TKN and NO3-N). Such grouping of TN
3
data measured/estimated by different methods is a standard and long-term practice in freshwater
biogeochemistry (e.g., Herlihy and Sifneos, 2008; Stanley and Maxted, 2008). Furthermore, adding TKN
and NO3-N was the standard method for determining TN for decades prior to the development of the
persulfate digestion method (Patton and Kryskalla, 2003). However, we further validated our grouping
of direct measurements and estimates of TN by fitting separate models for the two types of TN data.
These models showed similar forms and coefficients; thus, our analysis of all measured and estimated
summer TN data combined is supported by both the literature and our own data.
Natural non-forested land cover categories from the 2000 GNN/IMAP layer (LEMMA 2008)
included in our estimates of watershed-level percent natural land cover were ESLF codes 3155, 3158,
3165, 3177, 5311, 5409, 5457, 7013, 7161, 7162, 9106, 9166, 9221, 9260, and 9281. CAFO locations in
the 2007 OR Department of Agriculture CAFO layer were from GPS coordinates taken at the center of
the main area where animals are located (Diana Walker, Oregon Department of Agriculture, personal
communication, September 18, 2008).
SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE 1. Plot- and Watershed-Scale Studies Indicating Relationships Between Alder (Alnus) Species and N
in Aquatic Systems.
Location
Citations
Evidence or indication of effect of alder on aquatic N
Alaska
Stottlemyer, 1992
Longitudinal patterns in streamwater N matched
longitudinal patterns in A. viridis cover along Rock Creek
in Denali National Park
Hu et al., 2001
Based on pollen and sediment records, alder expansion
during the Holocene increased dissolved N in
Grandfather Lake
Johnson and Edwards, 2002
Relative area of A. rubra explained 60% of the variation
in nitrate among streams on Prince of Wales Island
O’Keefe and Edwards, 2002
Watershed cover of A. crispa explained 75% of the
variation in dissolved N among streams in the Lynx Creek
watershed region
4
British Columbia Coast
Binkley et al., 1982
Over a 9-month period, both in-stream nitrate, and soil
water nitrate at various depths, were greater in a
watershed with high levels of A. rubra compared to a
watershed with little A. rubra
California
Goldman, 1961
Springs along the east shore of Castle Lake, which was
dominated by A. incana stands, had twice the amount of
ammonium and 10x the amount of nitrate than did
springs along the west shore where there was little alder;
east shore spring water N from alder was estimated to be
~15% of the lake's inorganic N budget
Leonard et al., 1979
In Lake Tahoe's Ward Valley watershed, sub-basins with
substantial cover of A. incana had high nitrate
concentrations compared to sub-basins without A.
incana stands
Triska et al., 1989
Injected nitrate in return flow (water returning to the
channel that had entered the hyporheos at an upstream
location) under an abandoned alder-lined channel was
higher than expected compared to a conservative tracer,
whereas injected nitrate in another return flow with no
alder present was less than expected
Michigan
Stottlemyer and Toczydlowski,
1999
Mean monthly nitrate beneath alder stands was
strongly correlated to streamwater nitrate in the Wallace
Lake watershed over a 4-year period
New York
Hurd and Raynal, 2004
Channel water and groundwater nitrate in a riparian
wetland dominated by A. incana were consistently higher
than that in a conifer-dominated reference wetland over
a 2-year period
Oregon Coast Range
Compton et al., 2003
Broadleaf cover in the Salmon River watershed is
dominated by A. rubra; at the sub-catchment scale,
whole catchment broadleaf cover was correlated with
nitrate
Naymik et al., 2005
Broadleaf cover in the Tillamook and Kilchis watersheds
is dominated by A. rubra; at the sub-catchment scale,
whole catchment broadleaf cover was correlated with TN
Sigleo et al., 2010,
Brown and Ozretich, 2009
Both nitrate export and A. rubra-dominated
hardwood cover in the Yaquina watershed were ~1.6
times that in the Alsea watershed; other possible
explanations for the difference in nitrate export between
the two watersheds, besides alder, were ruled out; an
5
estimated 80% of the Yaquina's nitrate export is due to
A. rubra
Oregon Cascade Mountains
Wondzell and Swanson, 1996
Detailed mapping of groundwater and hyporheic flows
through a conifer floodplain and an alder gravel bar, as
well as quantification of N species in streamwater,
secondary channel, groundwater, and gravel bar
hyporheic water indicated that alder contributed high
fluxes of dissolved N to aquatic habitats during fall
storms
Washington Coast Range
Gove et al., 2001
Deciduous forest in the Wilapa Bay watershed is
dominated by A. rubra; riparian deciduous forest was
correlated with ammonium
Washington
Olympic Peninsula
Murray et al., 2000;
Volk et al., 2003
In the Hoh River watershed, during the onset of late
summer/early fall storms, streams with riparian zones or
catchments dominated by A. rubra have higher nitrate
concentrations than do conifer-dominated streams
Bechtold et al., 2003
Simulated and actual rainstorms caused large pulses of
nitrate concentrations in hyporheic water underneath A.
rubra stands compared to a conifer stand in a floodplain
of the Queets River; resulting high-nitrate hyporheic
water appeared to maintain high nitrate concentrations
in-stream
SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE 2. Additional Projects with Stream Chemistry Data in the Oregon Coast Range
(1990-2007) – Data Not Obtained or Collated for this Study.
Project name, Primary agency/organization
Data source/contacts/citations
Autumn Chemistry of Oregon Coast Range Streams, USEPA WED
Nutrients & Estuarine Food Web Modeling Project, USEPA WED
Litter Decay in Coast Range Riparian Zones, OSU
Alsea Watershed Study, OSU & NCASI
Nutrient Biogeochemistry in an Upwelling-Influenced Estuary, OSU
The Effects of Land Use on Stream Nitrate Dynamics, OSU
Lotic Intersite Nitrogen Experiment, LINX II, OSU
USGS data maintained by the Oregon Water Science Center, USGS
Marys River Watershed Phase I Water Quality Monitoring, MRWC
Oak Creek Watershed projects, OSU
Tillamook Bay National Estuary Program, USEPA
Wigington et al., 1998
Sigleo and Frick, 2007; Brown and Ozretich, 2009
Matkins et al., 2005
Stednick and Kern, 1992; Scherer, 1995; Hale, 2007
Colbert and McManus, 2003
Poor, 2006; Poor and McDonnell, 2007
Sobota, 2007
L. Orzol (13 sites with N data)
Raymond et al., 2002
http://water.oregonstate.edu/oakcreek
Sullivan et al., 2005
6
SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE 3. Projects with Stream Ammonium (NH4-N) and Total Dissolved Nitrogen
(TDN) in the Oregon Coast Range (1990-2007) – Data Collated for This Study From Freshwater Streams
Draining Watersheds Within the Oregon Coast Range.
Project name, Primary agency/organization
Freshwater Habitat Project
Oregon Streams & Rivers 1997
Oregon Rivers 1998
EMAP-West
Oregon Tillamook Kilchis 1998-99, OSU
REMAP Coast Range
Ambient River Monitoring
Reference Site Monitoring
Oregon Salmon Plan
Other project/general sampling
Trask Watershed Study, OSU
Number of sites by analyte
NH4-N
TDN
88
23
3
10
42
14
45
137
164
29
88
16
29
Willamette Research Station analytical procedure for ammonium: Gruen and Motter, 2007
OR Department of Environmental Quality Laboratory procedure for ammonium: OR DEQ, 2003
7
SUPPLEMENTAL TABLE 4. Characteristics of sites which had high nitrogen but low alder levels in Figs. 2 and 5 of the main paper. Grey shading
indicates values which were above or below variable medians in Table 2 of the main paper, in a direction expected to increase stream nitrogen.
For site-level land cover type, N = natural, A = agriculture, and U = urban.
Site ID
48
223
249
242
350
439
473
490
631
707
1388
8
Elevation
(m a.s.l.)
212
5
168
4
7
15
25
69
98
190
4
Watershed
area (ha)
119
744
147
320
120
214
87
138
51
209
573
Distance
to coast (km)
14.5
9.0
50.0
0.4
10.8
11.1
1.0
13.0
4.2
11.6
2.4
Watershedlevel natural
land cover (%)
91.9
95.5
89.5
84.9
18.6
21.3
89.4
90.4
87.0
92.3
95.4
Watershed-level
developed
land cover (%)
8.1
4.2
5.9
15.1
20.7
12.7
9.9
9.6
13.0
7.7
4.5
Watershed-level
agricultural
land cover (%)
0.00
0.24
4.59
0.02
60.78
66.02
0.62
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.07
Site-level
land cover
type
N
A
A
U
A
A
A
N
N
N
A
# of
CAFOs
0
0
0
0
2
2
0
0
0
0
0
# of lakes
& reservoirs
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
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