Abstract
Increase of soil fertilization produces an increase of N exported to the hydrosphere. The amount of nitrate that reaches the aquifers is controlled by processes affecting N-species within the soils. The most relevant processes are nitrification, denitrification, assimilation, mineralization, and immobilization. This work studies the fate of N compounds in soil after manure application in a lysimeter study. To this end the isotopic composition of N and O of dissolved nitrate (δ15N-NO3- and δ18O-NO3-) was studied coupled with the evolution of N-compounds retained and leached from the soil. Results showed an increase in the δ15N-NO3- of the leached nitrate towards values similar to the δ15N-NH4+ from the applied manure. The highest δ15N-NO3- values were measured after 100 days of manure application, and thereafter, values decreased progressively towards the initial δ15N-NO3- of the soil before manure application.
Highlights
Nitrate (NO3-) is one of the most common water pollutants
Denitrification, plant assimilation and mineralization-immobilization-turnover (MIT) can modify the isotopic signal of N and O in nitrate, nitrite and ammonium in soils before these compounds are leached to the aquifers [3]
To gain knowledge on the effect on the isotopic composition of N and O of N-compounds through the processes occurring in the non-saturate zone, a lysimeter experiment was performed to evaluate the isotopic shifts produced in N and O in soils after fertilization with manure
Summary
Nitrate (NO3-) is one of the most common water pollutants. NO3- contamination is originated mainly from diffuse (non-point) sources linked to intensive use of synthetic and organic fertilizers and livestock. Increasing use of fertilizers (synthetic and organic) is directly correlated with an increase of nitrate concentration in groundwaters. Processes such as nitrification, denitrification, plant assimilation and mineralization-immobilization-turnover (MIT) can modify the isotopic signal of N and O in nitrate, nitrite and ammonium in soils before these compounds are leached to the aquifers [3]. The significance of MIT processes has been reported to affect importantly the δ18O-NO3- and limiting its application in nitrate apportionment studies [4]. The aim of this work is to characterize isotopically N and O from nitrate, nitrite and ammonium retained and leached from soils after manure application
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