Estimation of potential denitrification Rate and its spatiotemporal dynamics in seasonally inundated geomorphic units of  a large tropical river using satellite data. 

Graphical abstract:

Denitrification in large tropical river systems is likely important for nitrogen retention estimates. Denitrification is one of the main biogeochemical processes that result in nitrogen loss from natural ecosystems, as nitrate is converted to N2O and N2 gases. The spatial variation of LULC types, representing different conditions of oxygen, nitrate and carbon can be used as indirect predictors of denitrification (Kreiling et al., 2019; Xiong et al., 2015; Han et al., 2017). On a larger scale, LULC can be used as a proxy of vegetation dynamics (Guo et al., 2020) and soil moisture (Zucco et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2017). Recent research has shown that temporal variation of inundation should be considered to upscale potential denitrification because this controls nutrient and water supply to the floodplain ecosystems (Kaden et al., 2021). Therefore, many characteristics of the river channel can control denitrification directly or indirectly, but methodological constraints make it difficult to link the spatial dynamics of the river channels to estimates of denitrification.

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