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Evaluation of nitrate source in surface water of southwestern China based on stable isotopes

Stable isotope tracing and analysis play an important role in interpretation of hydrological and ecological processes at the watershed scale and can provide information regarding the flow path, water source, nutrient loss and biogeochemical cycles of a system. In this study, environmental isotopes (δ18O-H2O, δD, δ15N-NO3−, δ18O-NO3−) and chemical compositions of surface water in Guizhou Province, China, were measured to evaluate the primary sources of nitrate and characterize the processes affecting nitrate as well as its correlation with vegetation cover in karstic areas. The δ15N and δ18O-NO3− levels ranged from +1.3 to +9.8xa0‰ and +4.7 to +16.9xa0‰, respectively, which indicated that nitrate in water from the investigated area primarily originated from nitrification of soil organic matter during the sampling period. There was also a wide range of isotopes in the water and high contents of nitrate in karstic areas with poor vegetation cover, indicating that water and nutrient loss were serious problems hindering plant growth in the study areas. For example, there was a positive relationship between isotopic composition and nitrate content in the natural forest and negative relationship in Libo County nearby, which suggested that the nitrate fate was affected by land use and human disturbance.

Accumulation of trace elements in paddy topsoil of the Wudang County, Southwest China: parent materials and anthropogenic controls

The properties of soils derived from carbonate rock, red residua, and sand-shale in Guizhou province, China are essentially different. However, the effects of parent material and anthropogenic activities on the concentration of trace elements when the soils are converted into paddy soils are unknown. A total of 319 paddy topsoil samples (0–20xa0cm) were collected in a typical region to determine their relative contribution to the concentrations of trace elements in the soil. The results indicated that the contents of trace elements were far beyond the uncultivated soil background and the input of organic fertilizers was presumably responsible for accumulation of trace elements. In addition, principal component analysis showed that the first component included Cd, Cr, and As, which strongly associated with anthropogenic activities. Pb and Hg formed the second component, which related to both parent materials and anthropogenic input. Furthermore, the Cr and Hg contents in paddy soil derived from carbonate rock have higher values than other types of soils partly because of the high background values as well as slightly alkaline condition. In the paddy soil derived from red residua, high physical clay content accounted for enrichment of Pb.

Dynamics of soil organic carbon following land-use change: insights from stable C-isotope analysis in black soil of Northeast China

Intensive soil tillage is a significant factor in soil organic matter decline in cultivated soils. Both cultivation abandonment and foregoing tillage have been encouraged in the past 30xa0years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion. However, the dynamic processes of soil organic carbon (SOC) in areas of either continuous cultivation or abandonment remain unclear and inconsistent. Our aims were to assess and model the dynamic processes of SOC under continuous tillage and after cultivation abandonment in the black soil of Northeast China. Soil profiles were collected of cultivated or abandoned land with cultivation history of 0–100xa0years. An isotope mass balance equation was used to calculate the proportion of SOC derived from corn debris (C4) and from natural vegetation (C3) to deduce the dynamic process. Approximately 40% of SOC in the natural surface soil (0–10xa0cm) was eroded in the first 5xa0years of cultivation, increasing to about 75% within 40xa0years, before a slow recovery. C4 above 30xa0cm soil depth increased by 4.5%–5% or 0.11–0.12xa0g·kg−1 on average per year under continuous cultivation, while it decreased by approximately 0.34% annually in the surface soil after cultivation abandonment. The increase in the percentage of C4 was fitted to a linear equation with given intercepts in the upper 30xa0cm of soil in cultivated land. A significant relationship between the change of C4 and time was found only in the surface soil after abandonment of cultivation. These results demonstrate the loss and accumulation of corn-derived SOC in surface black soil of Northeast China under continuous tillage or cultivation abandonment.