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Globally, high nitrate concentrations and fluxes in rivers are correlated with human population density and can lead to eutrophication of estuaries and coastal oceans. Although elevated nitrate concentrations often are associated with agricultural land cover, urban land cover also can contribute substantially to elevated nitrate concentrations in streams and rivers. In the piedmont region of the southeastern United States, urban areas typically are located in the headwater areas of watersheds. Because headwaters account for the majority of stream channel length in a watershed, the effect of urbanization on the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen is magnified. We examined the relations between stream nitrate concentrations, land cover, and vegetation density in watersheds of nineteen tributaries of the Enoree River in northwestern South Carolina, USA. Based on data from 134 sample localities, stream nitrate …