IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i16p8642-d615393.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Identification of Sources and Transformations of Nitrate in the Intense Human Activity Region of North China Using a Multi-Isotope and Bayesian Model

Author

Listed:
  • Chaobin Ren

    (School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
    School of Civil Engineering, Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang 473004, China)

  • Qianqian Zhang

    (Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China
    Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China)

  • Huiwei Wang

    (Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050061, China)

  • Yan Wang

    (School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China)

Abstract

Nitrate (NO 3 − ) contamination in water is an environmental problem of widespread concern. In this study, we combined the stable isotopes of NO 3 − (δ 15 N and δ 18 O) and water (δ 2 H and δ 18 O) with a Bayesian mixing model (SIAR) to identify the sources and transformation of NO 3 − in groundwater and rivers in the Ye River basin of North China. The results showed that the mean NO 3 − concentrations in groundwater were 133.5 and 111.7 mg/L in the dry and flood seasons, respectively, which exceeded the required Chinese drinking water standards for groundwater (88.6 mg/L) (GB14848-2017). This suggests that groundwater quality has been severely impacted by human activity. Land use significantly affected the concentration of NO 3 − in the Ye River basin ( p < 0.05). However, the NO 3 − concentrations in groundwater and river water had no obvious temporal variation ( p > 0.05). The principal mode of nitrogen transformation for both groundwater and river water was nitrification, whereas denitrification did not significantly affect the isotopic compositions of NO 3 − . The sources of NO 3 − mainly originated from sewage and manure, soil nitrogen, and NH 4 + in fertilizer for groundwater and from sewage and manure for the river water. According to the SIAR model, the primary sources of nitrate found in groundwater and river were sewage and manure in the Ye River basin. The proportional contributions of sewage and manure to nitrate contamination of groundwater and river were 58% and 48% in the dry season and 49% and 54% in the flood season, respectively. Based on these results, we suggest that the local government should enhance the sewage treatment infrastructure, construct an effective waste storage system to collect manure, and pursue a scientific fertilization strategy (such as soil formula fertilization) to increase the utilization rate of nitrogen fertilizer and prevent nitrate levels from increasing further.

Suggested Citation

  • Chaobin Ren & Qianqian Zhang & Huiwei Wang & Yan Wang, 2021. "Identification of Sources and Transformations of Nitrate in the Intense Human Activity Region of North China Using a Multi-Isotope and Bayesian Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8642-:d:615393
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8642/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/16/8642/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qianqian Zhang & Long Wang & Huiwei Wang & Xi Zhu & Lijun Wang, 2020. "Spatio-Temporal Variation of Groundwater Quality and Source Apportionment Using Multivariate Statistical Techniques for the Hutuo River Alluvial-Pluvial Fan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-14, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Soumaya Hajji & Nabila Allouche & Salem Bouri & Awad M. Aljuaid & Wafik Hachicha, 2021. "Assessment of Seawater Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers Using Multivariate Statistical Analyses and Hydrochemical Facies Evolution-Based Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Bing Zhou & Huiwei Wang & Qianqian Zhang, 2021. "Assessment of the Evolution of Groundwater Chemistry and Its Controlling Factors in the Huangshui River Basin of Northwestern China, Using Hydrochemistry and Multivariate Statistical Techniques," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.
    3. Lele Xiao & Qianqian Zhang & Chao Niu & Huiwei Wang, 2020. "Spatiotemporal Patterns in River Water Quality and Pollution Source Apportionment in the Arid Beichuan River Basin of Northwestern China Using Positive Matrix Factorization Receptor Modeling Technique," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-15, July.
    4. Zhi Tu & Yinzhu Zhou & Jinlong Zhou & Shuangbao Han & Jinwei Liu & Jiangtao Liu & Ying Sun & Fangyuan Yang, 2023. "Identification and Risk Assessment of Priority Control Organic Pollutants in Groundwater in the Junggar Basin in Xinjiang, P.R. China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-21, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:16:p:8642-:d:615393. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.