The Coordination and Harmonics of Biogeochemical Cycles in North Inlet, SC Salt Marshes

Abstract:

North Inlet is a pristine estuary within a small coastal watershed with minimal surface water input or human impact. North Inlet exchanges its water with the coastal ocean with a turnover time of about 0.5 per day. Its marshes are dominated by the grass Spartina alterniflora. Growth rates of Spartina have been measured monthly on permanent plots in North Inlet since 1984, and concentrations of porewater ammonium and phosphate, and sulfide have been measured monthly over depth (10-100 cm) since 1994. The salt marsh shows pronounced seasonal biogeochemical cycles that are highly correlated. Ammonium, phosphate and sulfide concentrations all peak in August-October and are minimal during February-April. Mean monthly ammonium concentration varies between 42 and 87 μM, phosphate between 3 and 18 μM, and sulfide between 8 and 87 μM. Monthly growth rates of Spartina range from 91 to 111 g dry weight m^-2 between April and September. The integrated total aboveground production is 25 mol C m^-2 yr^-1. The inventories of N and P in porewater are small fractions of what is required to support primary production. Primary production is N-limited and this is consistent with the N:P ratio declining from 14 during early spring to 5 in late summer. There are losses, especially of N, from drainage, denitrification, and export of organic production. These have to be compensated by gains from N fixation, most likely from coupled sulfate reduction. There is also a coupling between sulfide, iron, and phosphorous that appears to conserve P during the winter and generate soluble P during the active growing season. These couplings coordinate the biogeochemical cycles, and this extends to the tidal creeks that are dominated by benthic sources of nutrients.