Spatiotemporal patterns and source attribution of nitrogen load in a river basin with complex pollution sources

Yang, Xiaoying, Liu, Qun, Fu, Guangtao, He, Yi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3014-3964, Luo, Xingzhang and Zheng, Zheng (2016) Spatiotemporal patterns and source attribution of nitrogen load in a river basin with complex pollution sources. Water Research, 94. 187–199. ISSN 0043-1354

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Abstract

Environmental problems such as eutrophication caused by excessive nutrient discharge are global challenges. There are complex pollution sources of nitrogen (N) discharge in many river basins worldwide. Knowledge of its pollution sources and their respective load contributions is essential to developing effective N pollution control strategies. N loads from all known anthropogenic pollution sources in the Upper Huai River basin of China were simulated with the process-based SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model. The performances of SWAT driven by daily and hourly rainfall inputs were assessed and it was found that the one driven by hourly rainfall outperformed the one driven by daily rainfall in simulating both total nitrogen (TN) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) loads. The hourly SWAT model was hence used to examine the spatiotemporal patterns of TN and NH4-N loads and their source attributions. TN load exhibited significant seasonal variations with the largest in summer and the smallest in spring. Despite its declining proportion of contribution downstream, crop production remained the largest contributor of TN load followed by septic tanks, concentrated animal feedlot operations (CAFOs), municipal sewage treatment plants, industries, and scattered animal feedlot operations (SAFOs). There was much less seasonal variation in NH4-N load. CAFOs remained the largest source of NH4-N load throughout the basin, while contributions from industries and municipal sewage treatment plants were more evident downstream. Our study results suggest the need to shift the focus of N load reduction from “end-of-pipe” sewage treatment to an integrated approach emphasizing stakeholder involvement and source prevention.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	nitrogen load,spatiotemporal pattern,pollution source attribution,swat,hourly rainfall,huai river,sdg 11 - sustainable cities and communities ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/sustainable_cities_and_communities
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	05 Mar 2016 00:02
Last Modified:	09 Dec 2024 01:23
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/57377
DOI:	10.1016/j.watres.2016.02.040

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