Identifying nitrogen source and transport characteristics of the urban estuaries and gate-controlled rivers in northern Taihu Lake, China

Abstract

Revealing nitrogen source and transport mechanisms are essential to achieving optimal nitrogen management in urban estuaries and gate-controlled rivers. However, in plains river networks, gate and/or dam construction make the nitrogen sources difficult to trace. In this study, seasonal water samples from typical urban estuaries and gate-controlled rivers in northern Taihu Lake were analyzed using statistical analysis and stable isotope analysis in R (SIAR). The results show that the concentrations of various nitrogen forms showed obvious spatial–temporal distribution characteristics by multiple sources. Specifically, the nitrogen concentration was lower during the wet season than the dry season (T = 6.02, p Suburbs > Downtown, and Construction Land > Forest-grassland > Farmland. While, a contrary trend was observed among the variations in δ18O-NO3- values. According to the SIAR model, sewage/manure, fertilizer, and sediment nitrogen (sediment N) were the main nitrate sources, accounting for 42.68%, 23.79%, and 23.71%, respectively. The proportion of urban nitrogen discharge has surpassed that of agricultural sources, becoming the largest nitrogen source in the waterbody. Under the coupling of meteorological conditions and estuary shape, the endogenous nitrogen released from sediment became the second largest contributor in some estuaries. These findings suggest that it is necessary to strengthen the control of urban exogenous nitrogen input and sediment nitrogen endogenous release to enable future estuarine nitrogen management and habitat restoration.

Keywords

• Taihu Lake
• Gate-controlled river
• Urban estuary
• Dual isotope
• Source apportionment