Nitrogen Cycling Bacteria and Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen in Intertidal Estuarine Sediments

It is well documented that aquatic sediments are sites of intensive microbial activity and that the majority of the processes which occur there involve the breakdown of organic matter and the subsequent transformations of the products of decomposition. Estuarine sediments typically have higher interstitial water concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) than in the overlying water column, suggesting that sediments are sites of active nitrogen cycling.