The spiralling concept and nitrogen cycling in large river floodplain

In large river floodplains, the high nutrient cycling capacity of floodplai n soils, compared to that of upland ecosystems, is the consequence of energ y and matter fluxes via flood deposits. These fluxes are under the control of local geomorphological features and the water regime. In this paper we i llustrate how the geomorphological context of large river floodplains contr ols, both directly and indirectly, the nitrogen cycling within alluvial soi ls and, in turn, how it affects upstream/downstream fluxes of nitrogen.