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Sources of Nitrite in Streams of an Intensively Cropped Watershed
Author(s) -
Corriveau J.,
Bochove E.,
Cluis D.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143009x12529484815953
Subject(s) - streams , watershed , environmental science , nitrite , water pollution , environmental chemistry , environmental engineering , hydrology (agriculture) , nitrate , ecology , chemistry , geology , biology , computer science , geotechnical engineering , computer network , machine learning
The sources of high in‐stream nitrite (NO 2 − ) concentrations were investigated in two major streams located in an intensively cropped watershed in Quebec, Canada. Nitrogen retention was determined to evaluate the dynamics in relation to nitrogen transport along both stream branches during summer‐low‐water and fall‐recharge regimes. In the first stream branch, NO 2 − and ammonium (NH 4 + ) showed removal patterns during summer‐low‐water and fall‐recharge periods, whereas, in the second branch, NO 2 − and NH 4 + exports occurred during both hydrologic regimes. The study also demonstrated that seepage water is a source of NO 2 − in‐stream, which varies within the watershed stream branches and with the hydrologic regime. The results highlighted a significant reductive microbial activity in seepage water from either denitrification or dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), leading to nitrate (NO 3 − ) consumption. Differences in groundwater NO 3 − concentrations feeding each stream branch may have significantly influenced NH 4 + and NO 2 − concentrations found in seepage water, which potentially resulted in quantitatively significant NO 2 − formation.