Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Influence of environmental factors on net N2 and N2O production in sediment of freshwater rivers

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Denitrification is an important N removal process in aquatic systems but is also implicated as a potential source of global N2O emissions. However, the key factors controlling this process as well as N2O emissions remain unclear. In this study, we identified the main factors that regulate the production of net N2 and N2O in sediments collected from rivers with a large amount of sewage input in the Taihu Lake region. Net N2 and N2O production were strongly associated with the addition of NO3 −-N and NH4 +-N. Specifically, NO3 −-N controlled net N2 production following Michaelis–Menten kinetics. The maximum rate of net N2 production (V max) was 116.3 μmol N2-N m−2 h−1, and the apparent half-saturation concentration (k m) was 0.65 mg N L−1. N2O to N2 ratios increased from 0.18 ± 0.03 to 0.68 ± 0.16 with the addition of NO3 −-N, suggesting that increasing NO3 −-N concentrations favored the production of N2O more than N2. The addition of acetate enhanced net N2 production and N2O to N2 ratios, but the ratios decreased by about 59.5 % when acetate concentrations increased from 50 to 100 mg C L−1, suggesting that the increase of N2O to N2 ratios had more to do with the net N2 production rate rather than acetate addition in this experiment. The addition of Cl− did not affect the net N2 production rates, but significantly enhanced N2O to N2 ratios (the ratios increased from 0.02 ± 0.00 to 0.10 ± 0.00), demonstrating that the high salinity effect might have a significant regional effect on N2O production. Our results suggest that the presence of N-enriching sewage discharges appear to stimulate N removal but also increase N2O to N2 ratios.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akunna JC, Bizeau C, Moletta R (1993) Nitrate and nitrite reductions with anaerobic sludge using various carbon-sources-glucose, glycerol, acetic-acid, lactic-acid and methanol. Water Res 27(8):1303–1312

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arango CP, Tank JL, Schaller JL, Royer TV, Bernot MJ, David MB (2007) Benthic organic carbon influences denitrification in streams with high nitrate concentration. Freshw Biol 52:1210–1222

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baxter AM, Johnson L, Royer T, Leff LG (2013) Spatial differences in denitrification and bacterial community structure of streams: relationships with environmental conditions. Aquat Sci 75:275–284

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beaulieu JJ, Tank JL, Hamilton SK, Wollheim WM, Hall RO, Mulholland PJ et al (2010) Nitrous oxide emission from denitrification in stream and river networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci 108:214–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernhard AE, Landry ZC, Blevins A et al (2010) Abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea and bacteria along as estuarine salinity gradient in relation to potential nitrification rates. Appl Environ Microbiol 76:1285–1289

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bernot MJ, Tank JL, Royer TV, David MB (2006) Nutrient uptake in streams draining agricultural catchments of the midwestern United States. Freshw Biol 51:499–509

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Colt J (1984) Computation of dissolved gas concentrations in water as functions of temperature, salinity, and pressure. Special Publication No. 14. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  • Crutzen PJ (1970) Influence of nitrogen oxides on atmospheric ozone content. Q J R Meteorol Soc 96(408):320–325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Čuhel J, Šimek M, Laughlin RJ, Bru D, Chėneby D, Eatson CJ, Philipot L (2010) Insights into the effect of soil pH on N2O and N2 emissions and denitrifier community size and activity. Appl Environ Microbiol 76(6):1870–1878

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fulweiler RW, Nixon SW (2012) Net sediment N2 fluxes in a southern New England estuary: variations in space and time. Biogeochemistry 111:111–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • García-Ruiz R, Pattinson SN, Whitton BA (1998) Denitrification in sediments of the freshwater tidal Yorkshire Ouse. Sci Total Environ 210:321–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrman KS, Bouchard V, Moore RH (2008) Factors affecting denitrification in agricultural headwater streams in Northeast Ohio, USA. Hydrobiologia 598:305–314

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu Z, Zhang J, Li S, Xie H (2013) Impact of carbon source on nitrous oxide emission from anoxic/oxic biological nitrogen removal process and identification of its emission sources. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20:1059–1069

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hwang S, Jang K, Jang H, Song J, Bae W (2006) Factors affecting nitrous oxide production: a comparison of biological nitrogen removal processes with partial and complete nitrification. Biodegradation 17:19–29

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Inwood SE, Tank JL, Bernot MJ (2005) Patterns of denitrification associated with land use in 9 midwestern headwater streams. J N Am Benthol Soc 24(2):227–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Inwood SE, Tank JL, Bernot MJ (2007) Factors controlling sediment denitrification in midwestern streams of varying land use. Microb Ecol 53:247–258

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2001) Climate change 2001: the scientific basis. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Kana TM, Darkangelo C, Hunt MD, Oldham JB, Bennett GE, Cornwell JC (1994) Membrane inlet mass spectrometer for rapid high-precision determination of N2, O2, and Ar in environmental water samples. Anal Chem 66:4166–4170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knowles R (1982) Denitrification. Microbiol Rev 46:43–70

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laverman AM, Garnier JA, Mounier EM, Roose-Amsaleg CL (2010) Nitrous oxide production kinetics during nitrate reduction in river sediments. Water Res 44:1753–1764

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li Q, Li P, Zhu P, Wu J, Liang S (2008) Effects of exogenous organic carbon substrates on nitrous oxide emissions during the denitrification process of sequence batch reactors. Environ Eng Sci 25:1221–1228

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li X, Xia Y, Li Y, Kana TM, Kimura SD, Saito M, Yan X (2013) Sediment denitrification in waterways in a rice-paddy-dominated watershed in eastern China. J Soil Sediment 13:783–792

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Magalhães CM, Joye SB, Moreira RM, Wiebe WJ, Bordalo AA (2005) Effect of salinity and inorganic nitrogen concentrations on nitrification and denitrification rates in intertidal sediments and rocky biofilms of the Douro River estuary, Portugal. Water Res 39:1783–1794

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manconi I, Van der Maas P, Lens P (2006) Effect of copper dosing on sulfide inhibited reduction of nitric and nitrous oxide. Nitric Oxide 15:400–407

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore TA, Xing YP, Lazenby B, Lynch MDJ, Schiff S, Robertson WD, Timlin R, Lanza S, Ryan MC, Aravena R, Fortin D, Clark ID, Neufeld JD (2011) Prevalence of anaerobic ammonium oxidizing bacteria in contaminated groundwater. Environ Sci Technol 45:7217–7225

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mulder A, Vandegraaf AA, Robertson LA, Kuenen JG (1995) Anaerobic ammonium oxidation discovered in a denitrifying fluidized-bed reactor. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 16:177–183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi SWA, Yoshinari T, Jayakumar DA, Altabet MA, Narvekar RV, Devol AH, Brande JA, Codispoti LA (1998) Budgetary and biogeochemical implications of N2O isotope signatures in the Arabian Sea. Nature 394:462–464

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Naqvi SWA, Jayakumar DA, Narvekar PV, Naik H, Sarma VVSS, Dsouza W, Joseph S, George MD (2000) Increased marine production of N2O due to intensifying anoxia on the Indian continental shelf. Nature 408:346–349

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen M, Gieseke A, de Beer D, Revsbech NP (2009) Nitrate, nitrite, and nitrous oxide transformations in sediments along a salinity gradient in the Weser Estuary. Aquat Microb Ecol 55:39–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pfenning KS, McMahon PB (1996) Effect of nitrate, organic carbon, and temperature on potential denitrification rates in nitrate-rich riverbed sediments. J Hydrol 187:283–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qin B, Xu P, Wu Q, Luo L, Zhang Y (2007) Environmental issues of Lake Taihu, China. Hydrobiologia 581:3–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Royer TV, Tank JL, David MB (2004) Transport and fate of nitrate in headwater agricultural streams in Illinois. J Environ Qual 33:1296–1304

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seitzinger SP (1988) Denitrification in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems: ecological and geochemical significance. Limnol Oceanogr 33:702–724

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Senga Y, Mochida K, Fukumori R, Okamoto N, Seike Y (2006) N2O accumulation in estuarine and coastal sediments: the influence of H2S on dissimilatory nitrate reduction. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 67:231–238

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Silvennoinen H, Liikanen A, Torssonen J, Stange CF, Martikainen PJ (2008) Denitrification and nitrous oxide effluxes in boreal, eutrophic river sediments under increasing nitrate load: a laboratory microcosm study. Biogeochemistry 91:105–116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith LK, Voytek MA, Böhlke JK, Harvey JW (2006) Denitrification in nitrate-rich streams: application of N2: Ar and 15 N-tracer methods in intact cores. Ecol Appl 16(6):2191–2207

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira C, Magalhaes C, Boaventura RAR, Bordalo AA (2010) Potential rates and environmental controls of denitrification and nitrous oxide production in a temperate urbanized estuary. Mar Environ Res 70:336–342

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Teixeira C, Magalhaes C, Joye SB, Bordalo AA (2013) The role of salinity in shaping dissolved inorganic nitrogen and N2O dynamics in estuarine sediment-water interface. Mar Pollut Bull 66:225–229

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Terry RE, Tate RL, Duxbury JM (1981) The effect of flooding on nitrous oxide emissions from an organic soil. Soil Sci 132:228–232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Liu C, Yeager KM, Wan G, Li J, Tao F, Lü Y, Liu F, Fan C (2009) The spatial distribution and emission of nitrous oxide (N2O) in a large eutrophic lake in eastern China: anthropogenic effects. Sci Total Environ 407:3330–3337

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss RF (1970) The solubility of nitrogen, oxygen and argon in water and seawater. Deep Sea Res. Oceanogr Abstract 17:721–735

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weymann D, Geistlinger H, Well R, von der Heide C, Flessa H (2010) Kinetics of N2O production and reduction in nitrate-contaminated aquifer inferred from laboratory incubation experiments. Biogeosciences 7:1953–1972

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu G, Zhai X, Jiang C, Guan Y (2013) Effect of ammonium on nitrous oxide emission during denitrification with different electron donors. J Environ Sci-China 25(6):1131–1138

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wunderlin P, Mohn J, Joss A, Emmenegger L, Siegrist H (2012) Mechanisms of N2O production in biological wastewater treatment under nitrifying and denitrifying conditions. Water Res 46:1027–1037

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xia Y, Li Y, Li X, Guo M, She D, Yan X (2013) Diurnal pattern in nitrous oxide emissions from a sewage-enriched river. Chemosphere 92:421–428

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zang XP, Wu GP, Tu M (2009) Algae bloom control countermeasures for the lakes and reservoirs in the Yangtze Basin. Yangtze River 40:5–8 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao YQ, Xia YQ, Kana TM, Wu YC, Li XB, Yan XY (2013) Seasonal variation and controlling factors of anaerobic ammonium oxidation in freshwater river sediments in the Taihu Lake region of China. Chemosphere 92:2124–2131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Y, Lim M, Harjono S, Ng WJ (2012) Nitrous oxide (N2O) emission by denitrifying phosphorus removal culture using polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) as carbon source. J Environ Sci. doi:10.1026/S1001-0742(11)60996-0

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-GJ01) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41071196 and 41061140515).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Yongqiang Zhao, Yongqiu Xia, Bolun Li & Xiaoyuan Yan

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, People’s Republic of China

    Yongqiang Zhao & Bolun Li

Authors
  1. Yongqiang Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yongqiu Xia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bolun Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Xiaoyuan Yan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaoyuan Yan.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Hailong Wang

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhao, Y., Xia, Y., Li, B. et al. Influence of environmental factors on net N2 and N2O production in sediment of freshwater rivers. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 9973–9982 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2908-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2908-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation