Does urban land development result in hydrologic changes that may impact Nitrogen cycling?
Land practices related to urban development are associated with several key changes in the hydrologic cycle: • An increased percentage of impervious surface, which results in increased runoff rather than infiltration of stormwater • The utilization of stormwater infrastructure. This includes the replacement of natural stream channels by concrete conveyances and storm sewers and the use of stormwater detention ponds (see question 3 below) Nitrogen cycling processes are strongly coupled to the hydrogic cycle and, as a result may be significantly impacted by urban land practices. We are particularly interested in riparian zones (the interface between terrestrial and stream ecosystems) because previous research (Groffman et. al., 2002) has shown that they can serve as important control points in determining the amount of nitrogen that will enter surface waters and eventually be transported to coastal systems. Urbanization may significantly impact the ability of riparian zones to process ni
