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Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate in the groundwater and surface water discharge from two rural catchments: implications for nitrogen loading to coastal waters

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Abstract

In Prince Edward Island, Canada, widespread intensive potato production has contributed to elevated nitrate concentrations in groundwater and streams, and eutrophic or anoxic conditions occur regularly in several estuarine systems. In this research, the stable isotopes of nitrogen and oxygen in nitrate in intertidal groundwater discharge and stream water were used, in conjunction with water quality and quantity data and land use information, to better understand the characteristics of nitrate delivered to two small estuaries with contrasting land use in their contributory catchments. Most of the water samples collected during the two-year study had isotopic signatures that fell in the range expected for nitrate derived from ammonium-based fertilizers (26.5 % of the samples) or in the overlapping range formed between ammonium-based fertilizers and nitrate derived from soil (64 % of the samples). Overall, isotopic signatures spanned over relatively narrow ranges, and correlations with other water quality parameters, or catchment characteristics, were weak. Nitrate in groundwater discharge and surface water in the Trout River catchment exhibited significantly different isotopic signatures only for the nitrogen isotope, while in the McIntyre Creek catchment groundwater discharge and surface water had similar isotopic signatures. When the isotopic results for the waters from the two catchments were compared, the surface waters were found to be similar, while the isotopic signatures of nitrate in groundwater were distinct only for the nitrogen isotope. Denitrification in the two study catchments was not evident based on the isotopic results for nitrate; however, in the case of the Trout River catchment, where a small freshwater pond exists, an average nitrate load reduction of 14 % was inferred based on a comparison of nitrate loads entering and leaving the pond. Overall, it appears that natural attenuation processes, occurring either in the streams or groundwater flow systems, do not significantly reduce nitrate loading to these estuaries.

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Acknowledgments

This research has been supported by NSERC (National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) Strategic Project Grant 306597-04, the Canada Research Chairs Program, the New Brunswick Innovation Foundation Research Technicians Initiative, and the University of New Brunswick. The authors wish to thank the partners involved in this research: B. Raymond, C. Crane, Y. Jiang, and G. Somers from the PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry, and T. Perry and R. Sharkie from the Trout River Environmental Committee. R. MacEwen provided valuable assistance during preliminary investigations in the McIntyre Creek catchment, and J. Veino and D. Connor provided much-needed and reliable contributions in the field and laboratory.

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  1. Serban Danielescu

    Present address: Environment Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Potato Research Centre, 850 Lincoln Rd, Fredericton, NB, E3B 4Z7, Canada

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  1. Department of Civil Engineering, and Canadian Rivers Institute, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    Serban Danielescu & Kerry TB MacQuarrie

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Danielescu, S., MacQuarrie, K.T. Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate in the groundwater and surface water discharge from two rural catchments: implications for nitrogen loading to coastal waters. Biogeochemistry 115, 111–127 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-012-9823-z

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