Nature Communications (Nov 2017)

Global patterns of nitrate storage in the vadose zone

  • M. J. Ascott,
  • D. C. Gooddy,
  • L. Wang,
  • M. E. Stuart,
  • M. A. Lewis,
  • R. S. Ward,
  • A. M. Binley

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-01321-w
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 7

Abstract

Read online

Current global-scale nitrogen (N) budgets quantifying anthropogenic impacts on the N cycle do not explicitly consider nitrate storage in the vadose zone. Here, using estimates of depth to groundwater and nitrate leaching between 1900–2000, the authors show that the vadose zone is an important store of nitrate.