z-logo
Premium
Tracing Nitrate Transport and Environmental Impact from Intensive Swine Farming using Delta Nitrogen‐15
Author(s) -
Karr Jonathan D.,
Showers William J.,
Gilliam J.Wendell,
Andres A.Scott
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2001.3041163x
Subject(s) - nitrate , environmental science , riparian zone , groundwater , hydrology (agriculture) , denitrification , aquifer , water quality , surface water , nitrogen , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , chemistry , ecology , habitat , geology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , biology
ABSTRACT Natural‐abundance δ 15 N showed that nitrate generated from commercial land application of swine ( Sus scrofa domesticus ) waste within a North Carolina Coastal Plain catchment was being discharged to surface waters by ground water passing beneath the sprayfields and adjacent riparian buffers. This was significant because intensive swine farms in North Carolina are considered non‐discharge operations, and riparian buffers with minimum widths of 7.6 m (25 ft) are the primary regulatory control on ground water export of nitrate from these operations. This study shows that such buffers are not always adequate to prevent discharge of concentrated nitrate in ground water from commercial swine farms in the Mid‐Atlantic Coastal Plain, and that additional measures are required to ensure non‐discharge conditions. The median δ 15 N‐total N of liquids in site swine waste lagoons was +15.4 ± 0.2‰ vs. atmospheric nitrogen. The median δ 15 N‐NO 3 values of shallow ground water beneath and adjacent to site sprayfields, a stream draining sprayfields, and waters up to 1.5 km downstream were +15.3 ± 0.2 to +15.4 ± 0.2‰. Seasonal and spatial isotopic variations in lagoons and well waters were greatly homogenized during ground water transport and discharge to streams. Neither denitrification nor losses of ammonia during spraying significantly altered the bulk ground water δ 15 N signal being delivered to streams. The lagoons were sources of chloride and potassium enrichment, and shallow ground water showed strong correlation between nitrate N, potassium, and chloride. The 15 N‐enriched nitrate in ground water beneath swine waste sprayfields can thus be successfully traced during transport and discharge into nearby surface waters.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here
Empowering knowledge with every search

Discover

Journals

Proceedings

Books

Explore

Engineering & Computer Science

Health & Medical Sciences

Humanities, Literature & Arts

Life Sciences & Earth Sciences

Physics & Mathematics

Social Sciences

Chemical & Material Sciences

Business, Economics & Management