ABSTRACT
Riparian zones enhance water quality and provide wildlife habitat, but high nutrient input in agricultural landscapes causes nitrous oxide (NO) emissions, potentially negating their benefits of C sequestration. The objectives of this study were to quantify spatiotemporal NO emissions in a rehabilitated and undisturbed natural riparian forest. We also determined soil and vegetation characteristics, and their role in driving spatiotemporal NO emissions. Mean NO-N emissions were not significantly ( < 0.05) different between rehabilitated (7.62 µg m h) and undisturbed (5.93 µg m h) riparian forests. The greatest ( < 0.05) NO-N emissions in both riparian forests were observed during the summer. Soil moisture, temperature, and N were significantly correlated to NO-N emissions. Our results show that soil and vegetation characteristics varied between the two riparian forests, but differences in NO-N emissions were negligible. We also found that NO emissions were influenced by soil characteristics and seasonality, rather than vegetation characteristics or spatial position.