Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Nitrogen Loading and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from a River with Multiple Hydroelectric Reservoirs

  • Published:
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

River networks receive a large fraction of the anthropogenic nitrogen applied to river catchments. The different impacts of the stream nitrogen (N) loading on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from various of aquatic ecosystems are still unknown. In this study, direct measurements of water–air interface N2O exchange in different water bodies were conducted. Results showed that the water–air interface N2O exchange from tributaries, hydropower station reservoirs, a main stream, and its estuary were 10.14 ± 13.51, 15.64 ± 10.72, 27.59 ± 20.99, and 15.98 ± 12.26 µg N2O-N m−2 h−1, respectively, indicating the strong impacts of human activities on N2O emission rates. The water NO2 −-N values predicted the dissolved N2O concentrations better than did the NO3 −-N and NH4 +-N values, indicating strong denitrification and nitrification processes. The dissolved inorganic N explained 36 % of the variations in the N2O emissions for the whole river network.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Beauchamp E (1997) Nitrous oxide emission from agricultural soils. Can J Soil Sci 77:113–123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beaulieu JJ, Arango CP, Hamilton SK, Tank JL (2008) The production and emission of nitrous oxide from headwater streams in the Midwestern USA. Glob Change Biol 14:878–894

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beaulieu JJ, Arango CP, Tank JL (2009) The effects of season and agriculture on nitrous oxide production in headwater streams. J Environ Qual 38:637–646

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beaulieu JJ, Shuster WD, Rebholz JA (2010) Nitrous oxide emissions from a large, impounded river: the Ohio River. Environ Sci Technol 44:7527–7533

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beaulieu JJ, Tanka JL, Hamiltonb SK (2011) Nitrous oxide emission from denitrification in stream and river networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 108:214–219

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cao WZ, Hong HS, Yue SP, Zhang Y, Ding Y (2003) Nutrient loss from an agricultural catchment and land scape modeling in southeast China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 71:761–767

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cao WZ, Hong HS, Yue SP (2005) Modelling agricultural nitrogen contributions to the Jiulong River estuary and coastal water. Glob Planet Change 47:111–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Y, Yuan DX, Li QL (2007) Determination of nitrous oxide in seawater by room temperature purge and trap-gas chromatography. Chin J Anal Chem 35:897

    Google Scholar 

  • Clough TJ, Buckthought LE, Kelliher FM, Sherlock RR (2007) Diurnal fluctuations of dissolved nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations and estimates of N2O emissions from a spring-fed river: implications for IPCC methodology. Glob Change Biol 13:1016–1027

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corredor JE, Morell JM, Bauza J (1999) Atmospheric nitrous oxide fluxes from mangrove sediments. Mar Pollut Bull 38:473–478

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway JN, Cowling EB (2002) Reactive nitrogen and the world: 200 years of change. Ambio 31:64–71

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groffman PM, Butterbach-Bahl K, Fulweiler RW, Gold AJ, Morse JL, Stander EK, Tague C, Tonitto C, Vidon P (2009) Challenges to incorporating spatially and temporally explicit phenomena (hotspots and hot moments) in denitrification models. Biogeochemistry 93:49–77

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hamilton SK, Ostrom NE (2007) Measurement of the stable isotope ratio of dissolved N2 in 15N tracer experiments. Limnol Oceanogr Methods 5:233–240

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mimami K (1987) Emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) from agro-ecosystem. Jpn Agric Res Q 21:22–27

    Google Scholar 

  • Parry ML (2007) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability: contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the Intergovernmental panel on climate change, vol 4. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

  • Peterson BJ, Wollheim WM, Mulholland PJ, Webster JR, Meyer JL, Tank JL, Marti E, Bowden WB, Valett HM, Hershey AE, McDowell WH, Dodds WK, Hamilton SK, Gregory S, Morrall DD (2001) Control of nitrogen export from watersheds by headwater streams. Science 292:86–90

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seitzinger SP (1988) Denitrification in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems: ecological and geochemical significance. Limnol Oceanogr 33:702–724

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seitzinger SP, Kroeze C (1998) Global distribution of nitrous oxide production and N inputs in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 12:93–113

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith RL, Böhlke JK, Repert DA, Hart CP (2009) Nitrification and denitrification in a mid-western stream containing high nitrate: in situ assessment using tracers in dome-shaped incubation chambers. Biogeochemistry 96:189–208

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stow CA, Walker JT, Cardoch L, Spence P, Geron C (2005) N2O emissions from streams in the Neuse river watershed, North Carolina. Environ Sci Technol 39:6999–7004

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss RF, Price BA (1980) Nitrous oxide solubility in water and seawater. Mar Chem 8:347–359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the funding for this study from the Chinese Natural Science Foundation (41175130), the National Basic Research Program of China through Grant 2013CB956101, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s Public Welfare Projects (201309007). We thank the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Education for Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, South Xiang’an Road, Xiang’an District, Xiamen City, 361102, Fujian Province, China

    Jinsong Chen, Wenzhi Cao, Di Cao, Zheng Huang & Ying Liang

Authors
  1. Jinsong Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wenzhi Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Di Cao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Zheng Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ying Liang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wenzhi Cao.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Chen, J., Cao, W., Cao, D. et al. Nitrogen Loading and Nitrous Oxide Emissions from a River with Multiple Hydroelectric Reservoirs. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 94, 633–639 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1525-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1525-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation