Editorial: Riparian Buffer Nutrient Dynamics and Water Quality

Editorial on the Research Topic Riparian Buffer Nutrient Dynamics and Water Quality Effectively mitigating nutrient pollution from agroecosystems to protect water quality remains a global challenge, particularly in the face of weather extremes related to climate change (Coumou and Rahmstorf, 2012). [...]they suggest that relative differences between net nitrification and gross ammonification should reflect N vulnerable to leaching and/or denitrification losses. Future field and modeling studies should better account for this mechanism and other potential riparian “biogeochemical tradeoffs.” Besides additional targeted research on soil, hydrologic, and plant community impacts on buffer nutrient attenuation potential, land management also plays a critical role by directly affecting on-site conditions and buffer integrity, particularly in active agricultural settings where cropping and grazing practices can easily override the importance of other factors influencing nutrient removal.