Considering atmospheric N2O dynamic in SWAT model avoids the overestimation of N2O emissions in river networks

Abstract

Modeling studies have focused on N2O emissions in temperate rivers under static atmospheric N2O (N2Oairc), with cold temperate river networks under dynamic N2Oairc receiving less attention. To address this knowledge and methodological gap, the dissolved N2O concentration (N2Odisc) and N2Oairc algorithms were integrated with an air-water gas exchange model (FN2O) into the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool). This new model (SWAT-FN2O) allows users to simulate daily riverine N2O emissions under dynamic atmospheric N2O. The spatiotemporal fluctuations in the riverine N2O emissions was simulated and its response to the static and dynamic atmospheric N2O were analyzed in a middle-high latitude agricultural watershed in northeastern China. The results show that the SWAT-FN2O model is a useful method for capturing the hotspots in riverine N2O emissions. The model showed strong riverine N2O absorption and weak N2O emissions from September to February, which acted as a sink for atmospheric N2O in this cold temperate area. High N2O emissions occurred from April to July, which accounted for 83.34% of the yearly emissions. Spatial analysis indicated that the main stream and its tributary could contribute 302.3–1043.7 and 41.5–163.4 μg N2O/(m2·d) to the total riverine N2O emissions (15.02 t/a), respectively. The riverine N2O emissions rates in the subbasins dominated by forests and paddy fields were lower than those in the subbasins dominated by arable and residential land. Riverine N2O emissions can be overestimated under the static atmospheric N2O rather than under the increasing atmospheric N2O. This overestimation has increased from 1.52% to 23.97% from 1990 to 2016 under the static atmospheric N2O. The results of this study are valuable for water quality and future climate change assessments that aim to protect aquatic and atmospheric environments.