Effects of land use on the concentration and emission of nitrous oxide in nitrogen-enriched rivers

Yang, Libiao; Lei, Kun

Effects of land use on the concentration and emission of nitrous oxide in nitrogen-enriched rivers

2018

Yang, Libiao | Lei, Kun

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change and stratospheric ozone destruction. Nitrogen-enriched rivers are significant sources of atmospheric N2O. This study conducted a one-year field campaign in seven N-enriched rivers draining urban, rural, and agricultural land to determine the link between the production, concentrations, and emissions of N2O and land use. Estimated N2O fluxes varied between 1.30 and 1164.38 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1 with a mean value of 154.90 μg N2O-N m−2 h−1, indicating that rivers were the net sources of atmospheric N2O. Concentrations of N2O ranged between 0.23 and 29.21 μg N2O-N L−1 with an overall mean value of 3.81 μg N2O-N L−1. Concentrations of ammonium and nitrate in urban and rural rivers were high in the cold season. The concentrations were also high in agricultural rivers in the wet season. N2O concentrations and emissions in rural and urban rivers followed a similar pattern to ammonium and a similar pattern to nitrate in agricultural rivers. A strong link between the concentrations and emissions of N2O and land use was observed. N2O concentrations in and emissions from the rivers draining the urban and rural areas were significantly higher than the rivers draining the agricultural areas (P < 0.01). Stepwise regression analysis indicated that dissolved N2O were primarily influenced by NH4+ in agricultural rivers and by NO3− in rural rivers; while dissolved N2O in urban rivers was primarily predicted by temperature and reflected the integrated impact of sewage input and river hydrology. Nitrate-N and NO3--O isotope data and linear regression of N2O and river water variables strongly indicated that dissolved N2O was mainly derived from nitrification in agricultural rivers and denitrification in rural and urban rivers.

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