Abstract
In many forested wetlands of Louisiana, surface water quality is being deteriorated by nutrient input from adjacent agricultural production area. This field study assesses the input of fertilizer N, applied to sugarcane fields, to forested wetlands. The potential use of natural abundance variations in15N/14N ratios for identification and tracing surface water N sources (NH +4 - and NO −3 -N) was evaluated. Runoff and surface water samples were collected from sugarcane fields and bordering forested wetlands (6 stations) over a 16 month period and analyzed for NH +4 -N, NO −3 -N, and associated NH +4 -δ 15N and NO −3 -δ 15N ratios. FertilizerN draining into adjacent forested wetland was estimated to be only a small fraction of the amount applied. Concentrations of NH +4 - and NO −3 -N in the collected water samples were low and ranged from 0.02 to 1.79 mg L−1. Isotopic analysis revealed NH +4 -δ 15N and NO −3 -δ 15N means were distinctive and may have the potential to be used as tracers of N contamination. The mean NH +4 -δ 15N value was +18.6±7.1‰ and the NO −3 -δ 15N mean was +8.3±3.1‰. Anomalously high NO −3 -δ 15N values (>30‰) were attributed to denitrification.
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Lindau, C.W., Delaune, R.D. & Alford, D.P. Monitoring nitrogen pollution from sugarcane runoff using15N analysis. Water Air Soil Pollut 98, 389–399 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02047046
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02047046