Ribot Bermejo, MiquelMartí Roca, EugèniaSchiller Calle, Daniel vonSabater i Comas, FrancescDaims, HolgerBattin, Tom J.2021-01-152021-01-1520122161-9549https://hdl.handle.net/2445/173173We investigated how dissolved inorganic N (DIN) inputs from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluent are processed biogeochemically by the receiving stream. We examined longitudinal patterns of NH4+ and NO3− concentrations and their 15N signatures along a stream reach downstream of a WWTP. We compared the δ15N signatures of epilithic biofilms with those of DIN to assess the role of stream biofilms in N processing. We analyzed the δ15N signatures of biofilms coating light- and dark-side surfaces of cobbles separately to test whether light constrains functioning of biofilm communities. We sampled during 2 contrasting periods of the year (winter and summer) to explore whether changes in environmental conditions affected N biogeochemical processes. The study reach had a remarkable capacity for transformation and removal of DIN, but the magnitude and relevance of different biogeochemical pathways of N processing differed between seasons. In winter, assimilation and nitrification influenced downstream N fluxes. These processes were spatially segregated at the microhabitat scale, as indicated by a significant difference in the δ15N signature of light- and dark-side biofilms, a result suggesting that nitrification was mostly associated with dark-side biofilms. In summer, N processing was intensified, and denitrification became an important N removal pathway. The δ15N signatures of the light- and dark-side biofilms were similar, a result suggesting less spatial segregation of N cycling processes at this microhabitat scale. Collectively, our results highlight the capacity of WWTP-influenced streams to transform and remove WWTP-derived N inputs and indicate the active role of biofilms in these in-stream processes.13 p.application/pdfeng(c) The Society for Freshwater Science, 2012NitrogenTractament biològic de depuració d'aigües residualsNitrogenBiological treatment of sewageinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article6334892021-01-15info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess