Chengqing Yin

Anaerobic ammonia oxidation in a fertilized paddy soil

Evidence for anaerobic ammonium oxidation in a paddy field was obtained in Southern China using an isotope-pairing technique, quantitative PCR assays and 16S rRNA gene clone libraries, along with nutrient profiles of soil cores. A paddy field with a high load of slurry manure as fertilizer was selected for this study and was shown to contain a high amount of ammonium (6.2–178.8 mg kg−1). The anaerobic oxidation of ammonium (anammox) rates in this paddy soil ranged between 0.5 and 2.9 nmolN per gram of soil per hour in different depths of the soil core, and the specific cellular anammox activity observed in batch tests ranged from 2.9 to 21 fmol per cell per day. Anammox contributed 4–37% to soil N2 production, the remainder being due to denitrification. The 16S rRNA gene sequences of surface soil were closely related to the anammox bacteria ‘Kuenenia’, ‘Anammoxoglobus’ and ‘Jettenia’. Most of the anammox 16S rRNA genes retrieved from the deeper soil were affiliated to ‘Brocadia’. The retrieval of mainly bacterial amoA sequences in the upper part of the paddy soil indicated that nitrifying bacteria may be the major source of nitrite for anammox bacteria in the cultivated horizon. In the deeper oxygen-limited parts, only archaeal amoA sequences were found, indicating that archaea may produce nitrite in this part of the soil. It is estimated that a total loss of 76 g N m−2 per year is linked to anammox in the paddy field.

Potential roles of anaerobic ammonium and methane oxidation in the nitrogen cycle of wetland ecosystems

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and anaerobic methane oxidation (ANME coupled to denitrification) with nitrite as electron acceptor are two of the most recent discoveries in the microbial nitrogen cycle. Currently the anammox process has been relatively well investigated in a number of natural and man-made ecosystems, while ANME coupled to denitrification has only been observed in a limited number of freshwater ecosystems. The ubiquitous presence of anammox bacteria in marine ecosystems has changed our knowledge of the global nitrogen cycle. Up to 50% of N2 production in marine sediments and oxygen-depleted zones may be attributed to anammox bacteria. However, there are only few indications of anammox in natural and constructed freshwater wetlands. In this paper, the potential role of anammox and denitrifying methanotrophic bacteria in natural and artificial wetlands is discussed in relation to global warming. The focus of the review is to explore and analyze if suitable environmental conditions exist for anammox and denitrifying methanotrophic bacteria in nitrogen-rich freshwater wetlands.

Fraction distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals in sediments of Moshui Lake

To examine the status and risk of heavy metal pollution in urban lakes, in China, the distribution of several heavy metals (e.g., Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in the sediment of Moshui Lake, Hangyang District, Wuhan City, was characterized. The process of rapid urbanization and industrialization of the district was also studied to find out its relationship with the metal accumulation profile in the sediment. It was found that the total concentration of heavy metals in the sediment was higher than the severe effect level (SEL), at all sampling sites, except those in the riparian zone. The Cr and Cu maximum concentrations were 1,780 and 1,250 mg/kg, approximately 16 and 11 times as much as the SEL values, and they appeared as deep as 32 cm in one sample. The carbonate and exchangeable fractions of Zn were more than 50% of the total Zn content, resulting in very high risk according to the Risk Assessment Code (RAC). For Cu and Ni, a medium RAC value was found for carbonate and exchangeable fractions of 11%-20%. As sensitive indicators of contaminants in aquatic systems, heavy metals in the sediment reflect the outcome of regional urbanization, industrialization, and environmental management. With rapid urbanization, sedimentary Pb and Zn concentrations increased. The experimental results showed that high sedimentary heavy metal concentrations had resulted from rapid urbanization and industrialization, which would absolutely lead to substantial aquatic environmental decline in urban lakes.

First flush of storm runoff pollution from an urban catchment in China.

Storm runoff pollution process was investigated in an urban catchment with an area of 1.3 km2 in Wuhan City of China. The results indicate that the pollutant concentration peaks preceded the flow peaks in all of 8 monitored storm events. The intervals between pollution peak and flow peak were shorter in the rain events with higher intensity in the initial period than those with lower intensity. The fractions of pollution load transported by the first 30% of runoff volume (FF30) were 52.2%-72.1% for total suspended solids (TSS), 53.0%-65.3% for chemical oxygen demand (COD), 40.4%-50.6% for total nitrogen (TN), and 45.8%-63.2% for total phosphorus (TP), respectively. Runoff pollution was positively related to non-raining days before the rainfall. Intercepting the first 30% of runoff volume can remove 62.4% of TSS load, 59.4% of COD load, 46.8% of TN load, and 54.1% of TP load, respectively, according to all the storm events. It is suggested that controlling the first flush is a critical measure in reduction of urban stormwater pollution.

Size distribution and diffuse pollution impacts of PAHs in street dust in urban streams in the Yangtze River Delta

Particles of dust washed off streets by stormwater are an important pathway of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) into urban streams. This article presented a comprehensive assessment of the size distribution of PAHs in street dust particles, the potential risks of the particles in urban streams, and the sources and sinks of PAHs in the stream network. This assessment was based on measurements of 16 PAHs from the USEPA priority list in street dust particles and river sediments in Xincheng, China. The content of total PAHs ranged from 1629 to 8986 microg/kg in street dust particles, where smaller particles have a higher concentrations. Approximately 55% of the total PAHs were associated with particles less than 250 microm which accounted for 40% of the total mass of street dust. The PAH quantities increased from 2.41 to 46.86 microg/m2 in the sequence of new residential, rising through main roads, old town residential, commercial and industrial areas. The sediments in stream reaches in town were found to be sinks for street dust particle PAHs. The research findings suggested that particle size, land use and the hydrological conditions in the stream network were the factors which most influenced the total loads of PAH in the receiving water bodies.

Pollutant loads of surface runoff in Wuhan City Zoo, an urban tourist area

The pollutant loads of surface runoff in an urban tourist area have been investigated for two years in the Wuhan City Zoo, China. Eight sampling sites, including two woodlands, three animal yards, two roofs and one road, were selected for sampling and study. The results indicate that pollutants ranked in a predictable order of decreasing load (e.g. animal yard > roof > woodland > road), with animal yards acting as the key pollution source in the zoo. Pollutants were transported mainly by particulate form in runoff. Particulate nitrogen and particulate phosphorous accounted on average for 61%, 78% of total pollutant, respectively, over 13 monitored rainfall events. These results indicate the treatment practices should be implemented to improve particulate nutrient removal. Analysis of the M(V) curve indicate that no first flush effect existed in the surface runoff from pervious areas (e.g. woodland, animal ground yard), whereas a first flush effect was evident in runoff from impervious surfaces (e.g. animal cement yard, roof, road).

Nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes and their relationships with water‐sediment characteristics in a hyper‐eutrophic shallow lake, China

[1] Nitrous oxide (N2O) fluxes were measured in hyper-eutrophic Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu by the static chamber method for two years. The lake was an important source of atmospheric N2O. Large temporal variations were recorded for N2O fluxes, ranging from -278 to 2101 mu g N2O m(-2) h(-1) in the littoral zone and from -177 to 164 mu g N2O m(-2) h(-1) in the pelagic zone, with the highest N2O emissions observed during the algal bloom. Wide spatial variation in N2O fluxes occurred in the littoral zone responding to water-sediment variables, while such variation was not found in the pelagic zone. In the infralittoral zone, the redox condition, temperature and nitrogen (N) sources controlled the N2O fluxes, whereas the influences of these parameters on N2O fluxes were weak in the pelagic zone. This difference indicated that N cycling was more intensive in the littoral zone than in the pelagic zone. A multiple linear regression model against principal components indicated that water-column denitrification and the carbon (C) and N contents of the sediment affected the N2O exchange in the infralittoral zone. Water-column inorganic N content affected the consumption of atmospheric N2O significantly in both zones.

Manure fertilization alters the population of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria rather than ammonia-oxidizing archaea in a paddy soil

Manure fertilizers are widely used in agriculture and highly impacted the soil microbial communities such as ammonia oxidizers. However, the knowledge on the communities of archaeal versus bacterial ammonia oxidizers in paddy soil affected by manure fertilization remains largely unknown, especially for a long‐term influence. In present work, the impact of manure fertilization on the population of ammonia oxidizers, related potential nitrification rates (PNRs) and the key factors manipulating the impact were investigated through studying two composite soil cores (long‐term fed with manure fertilization versus undisturbed). Moreover, soil incubated with NH4+ for 5 weeks was designed to verify the field research. The results showed that the copy numbers of bacterial amoA gene in the manure fed soil were significant higher than those in the unfed soil (p < 0.05), suggesting a clear stimulating effect of long‐term manure fertilization on the population of ammonia‐oxidizing bacteria (AOB). The detected PNRs in the manure fed soil core (14–218 nmol L−1 N g−1 h−1) were significant higher than those in the unfed soil core (5–72 nmol L−1 N g−1 h−1; p < 0.05). Highly correlations between the PNRs and the bacterial amoA gene copies rather than archaeal amoA gene were observed, indicating strong nitrification capacity related to bacterial ammonia oxidizers. The NH4+‐N significantly correlated to the abundance of AOB (p < 0.01) and explained 96.1% of the environmental variation, showing the NH4+‐N was the main factor impacting the population of AOB. The incubation experiment demonstrated a clear increase of the bacterial amoA gene abundance (2.0 × 106 to 8.4 × 106 g−1 d.w.s. and 1.6 × 104 to 4.8 × 105 g−1 d.w.s.) in both soil but not for the archaeal amoA gene, in agreement with the field observation. Overall, our results suggested that manure fertilization promoted the population size of bacterial ammonia oxidizers rather than their archaeal counterparts whether in long‐term or short‐term usage and the NH4+‐N was the key impact factor.

Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Street Dust Particles to a Stream Network

Runoff with contaminated urban soil has an environmental risk to the aquatic environment. An assessment of heavy metals in street dust particles from a small town and their risks to the township stream network were conducted at Yangtze River delta. This assessment is based on measurement of heavy metal contents in dust particles with different particle sizes, river sediments, and suspended solids of urban runoff. The ranges of heavy metal content were 0.8–4.3, 16–380, 69–240, 9.3–350, 9.6–863 and 67–1170 mg/kg dry street dust, for Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively. Approximately 63%-71% of heavy metals were associated with particles less than 250 μ m; this particle size accounted for 40% of the total mass of street dusts. Of the five land use areas, the industrial areas had the highest heavy metal level. The smaller particle size fraction has a higher heavy metal content, low density, high mobility in runoff, and thus is a higher risk to the stream network. The topographical and hydrological features of the landscape also influence the transport of the contaminated street dusts to the aquatic environment.

Ubiquitous anaerobic ammonium oxidation in inland waters of China: an overlooked nitrous oxide mitigation process

Denitrification has long been regarded as the only pathway for terrestrial nitrogen (N) loss to the atmosphere. Here we demonstrate that large-scale anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), an overlooked N loss process alternative to denitrification which bypasses nitrous oxide (N2O), is ubiquitous in inland waters of China and contributes significantly to N loss. Anammox rates in aquatic systems show different levels (1.0–975.9 μmol N m−2 h−1, n = 256) with hotspots occurring at oxic-anoxic interfaces and harboring distinct biogeochemical and biogeographical features. Extrapolation of these results to the China-national level shows that anammox could contribute about 2.0 Tg N yr−1, which equals averagely 11.4% of the total N loss from China’s inland waters. Our results indicate that a significant amount of the nitrogen lost from inland waters bypasses denitrification, which is important for constructing more accurate climate models and may significantly reduce potential N2O emission risk at a large scale.