Ecosystem processes

7.2 Nitrate in streams

The top graph shows nitrate concentration in a stream flowing through a forest in a temperate region of the US and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) reaching the stream bed.  The second graph shows the corresponding gross primary productivity of algae growing in the stream. What explains the patterns shown in the graphs?

Source: Hill et al. 2001. Ecology, 82: 2306-2319

Figures reproduced with the permission of John Wiley & Sons.

© 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

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