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

内陆河流网络调节陆地景观营养物质的输出，使其对减轻下游生态系统的富营养化至关重要。然而，由于以前的研究主要集中在小型源头河流上，因此对河流处理和保留营养物质的能力研究不足。关键是要了解整个河流生态系统，而不仅仅是部分溪流，如何影响区域和大陆的营养输出模式，以保护水资源。这项研究将使用一种新的实地方法来收集西部和中西部多条河流中营养吸收的经验测量值，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，从而整合水生生态系统生态学和水文建模。这种方法将产生关键的预测关系的能力，河流跨越一系列的营养物和沉积物条件，以减轻下游营养输出，这是一个重要的一步，有效的水质管理，在河流网络规模。该研究的智力价值包括改变有关河流营养循环的生态理论，并提高对河流提供的生态系统服务的理解。反过来，这项工作的更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、对水资源管理人员立即有用的流域建模工具以及用于改进国家观测计划所使用的实时营养监测新兴技术的数据方面进行合作。

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.