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Spatiotemporal variations and dominated environmental parameters of nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations from cascade reservoirs in southwest China

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Abstract

Anthropogenic activity has caused rivers and reservoirs to become sources of nitrous oxide (N2O), which is thought to play an important role in global climate change. There are thermal and DO stratification in deep-water reservoirs with long hydraulic retention time, which change N2O production mechanism compared with shallow-water reservoirs. To promote our understanding of the relationship of N2O production in reservoirs at different depths, spatiotemporal variations in water environmental factors and N2O from cascade reservoirs of Chaishitan (CST), Longtan (LT), Yantan (YT) and Dahua (DH) reservoirs in the Zhujiang River were detected, and the LT and YT reservoirs were compared as representatives of deep-water and shallow-water reservoirs in April and July 2019. The average N2O concentrations in the LT and YT reservoirs were 22.82 ± 2.21 and 21.55 ± 1.65 nmol L−1, respectively. During spring and summer, the WT (water temperature) and DO (dissolved oxygen) concentrations in the YT reservoir were well mixed. In contrast, the LT reservoir, as a deep-water reservoir, had thermal and DO stratifications in both the shallow and middle water, especially in the summer when the solar radiation intensity was high. During summer stratification, the DO concentration in the LT reservoir showed obvious spatial variation, ranging from 1.23 to 9.84 mg L−1, while the DO concentration in the YT reservoir showed very little variation, ranging from 6.45 to 7.09 mg L−1. Structural equation modeling results showed that NH4+ was the main determinant of the N2O concentration in the YT reservoir, and DO was the most influential factor of the N2O concentration in the LT reservoir. These results suggest significant variations in the factors influencing N2O concentration among reservoirs. Additionally, the mechanisms of N2O production differ between deep-water and shallow-water reservoirs. This study highlights the spatio-temporal variations and influential factors contributing to N2O concentration. Furthermore, it discusses the production mechanisms of N2O in different types of reservoirs. These findings contribute to our understanding of N2O distribution in hydropower systems and provide valuable data for the management of hydropower facilities and research on greenhouse gas emissions.

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Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

Abbreviations

CO2 :

Carbon dioxide

CST:

Chaishitan reservoir

DH:

Dahua reservoir

DIN:

Dissolved inorganic nitrogen

DO:

Dissolved oxygen

GHGs:

Greenhouse gases

IPCC:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

LT:

Longtan reservoir

N:

Nitrogen

N2O:

Nitrous oxide

WT:

Water temperature

YT:

Yantan reservoir

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the reviewers and editors for their time and efforts. This work was financially supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (2016YFA0601003) and National Science Foundation of China (41971055, 41907270). Great thanks to the group who provided invaluable support while the samples were collected.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (2016YFA0601003), National Science Foundation of China (41971055, 41907270) and Shanghai Municipal Agricultural and Rural Committee Extention Project (2022) 2–6.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, 150#, 99 Shangda Road, Shanghai, 200444, China

    Chiquan He, Rui Qi, Haiyue Feng, Zhenzhen Zhao, Fushun Wang, Daoyuan Wang, Feifei Wang, Xueping Chen & Pu Zhang

  2. Institute of Surface-Earth System Science, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Siliang Li & Yuanbi Yi

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  1. Chiquan He
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Contributions

Chiquan He: Conceptualization, Data curation, Supervision. Rui Qi: Methodology, Investigation, Writing-original draft preparation and editing. Haiyue Feng: Methodology, Investigation. Zhenzhen Zhao: Methodology, Investigation, Writing-reviewing and editing. Fushun Wang: Funding acquisition, Data curation, Writing-reviewing and editing. Daoyuan Wang: Writing-reviewing and editing. Feifei Wang: Writing-reviewing and editing. Xueping Chen: Methodology. Pu Zhang: Investigation. Siliang Li: Methodology. Yuanbi Yi: Investigation.

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Correspondence to Zhenzhen Zhao.

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Highlights

1. The main factor of N2O concentration in shallow-water reservoirs was NH4+.

2. Nitrification mainly contributed to N2O production in shallow-water reservoirs.

3. N2O production was mainly contributed by denitrification in deep-water reservoirs.

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He, C., Qi, R., Feng, H. et al. Spatiotemporal variations and dominated environmental parameters of nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations from cascade reservoirs in southwest China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 102547–102559 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29502-9

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