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Indirect N2O emissions from shallow groundwater in an agricultural catchment (Seine Basin, France)

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Abstract

Production and accumulation of nitrous oxide (N2O), a major greenhouse gas, in shallow groundwater might contribute to indirect N2O emissions to the atmosphere (e.g., when groundwater flows into a stream or a river). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has attributed an emission factor (EF5g) for N2O, associated with nitrate leaching in groundwater and drainage ditches—0.0025 (corresponding to 0.25% of N leached which is emitted as N2O)—although this is the subject of considerable uncertainty. We investigated and quantified the transport and fate of nitrate (NO3 −) and dissolved nitrous oxide from crop fields to groundwater and surface water over a 2-year period (monitoring from April 2008 to April 2010) in a transect from a plateau to the river with three piezometers. In groundwater, nitrate concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 22.7 mg NO3 −–N l−1 (from 2.8 to 37.5 mg NO3 −–N l−1 in the river) and dissolved N2O from 0.2 to 101.0 μg N2O–N l−1 (and from 0.2 to 2.9 μg N2O–N l−1 in the river). From these measurements, we estimated an emission factor of EF5g = 0.0026 (similar to the value currently used by the IPCC) and an annual indirect N2O flux from groundwater of 0.035 kg N2O–N ha−1 year−1, i.e., 1.8% of the previously measured direct N2O flux from agricultural soils.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by a PhD scholarship from the CNRS via The Federation Ile-de-France for Research on the Environment (FIRE FR3020 CNRS & UPMC). The FIRE FR3020 is acknowledged for its interdisciplinary research framework, for funding the site’s equipment (piezometer installation, instrumentation with level sensors, and a meteorological station). The PIREN-Seine program is also acknowledged for providing funding for the analysis. Our thanks are extended to the Cemagref (Patrick Ansart in particular for his help in the field). We also sincerely thank Jaufrey Chollet, Jennifer Martin, Anun Martinez, Benjamin Mercier, Xuan Anh Nghiem, and Jean-Baptiste Pettit for their kind laboratory and/or field assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UPMC, UMR 7619 Sisyphe, boite 105, 4 place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France

    Guillaume Vilain & Josette Garnier

  2. CNRS, UMR 7619 Sisyphe, boite 105, 4 place Jussieu, 75005, Paris, France

    Guillaume Vilain & Josette Garnier

  3. Cemagref Antony-UR Hydrosystèmes et bioprocédés Parc de Tourvoie, BP 44, 92163, Antony Cedex, France

    Gaëlle Tallec & Julien Tournebize

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  1. Guillaume Vilain
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  2. Josette Garnier
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  3. Gaëlle Tallec
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  4. Julien Tournebize
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Correspondence to Guillaume Vilain.

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Vilain, G., Garnier, J., Tallec, G. et al. Indirect N2O emissions from shallow groundwater in an agricultural catchment (Seine Basin, France). Biogeochemistry 111, 253–271 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9642-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-011-9642-7

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