Assessing nutrient dynamics in mangrove porewater and adjacent tidal creek using nitrate dual-stable isotopes: A new approach to challenge the Outwelling Hypothesis?

Abstract

The importance of mangrove-derived material in sustaining coastal food webs (i.e. the Outwelling Hypothesis) is often invoked in support of mangroves conservation. Biogeochemical cycling, particularly nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in mangrove ecosystems, however, is poorly understood because of high spatial heterogeneity and temporal variability of sources, sinks, and transformation pathways. Here we show that the distribution of N and P are intimately related to vegetation distribution and seasonality. We examined the dynamics of N and P in sediments and in a tidal creek of the Can Gio Mangrove Forest, Vietnam. Our objectives were to (1) determine the spatial distribution of dissolved inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus in the mangrove forest along a Rhizophora-Avicennia-mudflat transect; and (2) identify the respective inputs and transformation pathways of N and P in the water column via 24-h time series measurements in a tidal creek. Sediment porewater had N-NH4+ and N-NO3− concentrations