COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Using empirical and modeling approaches to quantify the importance of nutrient spiraling in rivers

内陆河网调节着陆地景观中营养物质的输出，对缓解下游生态系统的富营养化至关重要。然而，河流处理和保留营养物质的能力一直没有得到充分的研究，因为以前的研究主要集中在小的源头溪流上。重要的是要了解整个河流生态系统，而不仅仅是河流的部分，如何影响区域和大陆的营养输出模式，以保护水资源。本研究将采用一种新颖的野外方法，收集西部和中西部多条河流的营养吸收的实证测量数据，并将数据整合到一个动态网络尺度模型中，以评估对营养吸收的控制，从而将水生生态系统生态学和水文建模结合起来。这种方法将产生关于河流跨越一系列营养和沉积物条件的能力的关键预测关系，以减轻下游营养物质的输出，这是在河网尺度上实现有效水质管理的重要一步。该研究的智力价值包括关于河流养分循环的生态理论的转变，以及对河流提供的生态系统服务的更好理解。反过来，这项工作的广泛影响将为研究生提供无与伦比的教育机会，使他们能够在前沿河流研究方面进行合作，为水资源管理者提供流域建模工具，并为国家观测项目提供数据，以改进实时营养监测的新兴技术。

Inland river networks regulate the export of nutrients from the terrestrial landscape, making them critical for mitigating eutrophication of downstream ecosystems. Yet the ability of rivers to process and retain nutrients has been understudied as previous research has focused mainly on small headwater streams. It is critical to understand how entire river ecosystems, not just sections of streams, influence regional and continental patterns of nutrient export to protect water resources. This research will use a novel field approach to gather empirical measurements of nutrient uptake in multiple rivers across the west and midwest and integrate the data into a dynamic network scale model to evaluate controls on nutrient uptake, thereby integrating aquatic ecosystem ecology and hydrological modeling. This approach will generate critical predictive relationships regarding the capacity of rivers spanning a range of nutrient and sediment conditions to mitigate downstream nutrient export, which is an essential step towards effective water quality management at the river network scale. The intellectual merit of the research includes the transformation of ecological theory regarding nutrient cycling in rivers and improved understanding of the ecosystem services that rivers provide. In turn, the broader impacts of the work will result in unparalleled educational opportunities for graduate students to collaborate on cutting edge river research, watershed modeling tools immediately useful to water resource managers, and data to improve emerging technologies for real-time nutrient monitoring to be used by national observatory programs.