Modeling the impact of legacy nitrogen accumulated in agricultural soil-groundwater on water quality improvement
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15544472 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jia Zhou (0000-0002-4666-8642, Zhejiang University, corresponding author), Xinyi Jiao (Zhejiang University), Hao Wu (0000-0001-5323-516X, Zhejiang University), Yu Zhang (0000-0002-0059-270X, Zhejiang University), Zheqi Pan (Zhejiang University), Yi Pan (0000-0003-4685-221X, Zhejiang University), Zeqi Zhang (0000-0003-4051-8720, Zhejiang University), Zenghui Cheng (0000-0002-4553-7149, Zhejiang University), Zhihan Cheng, Ming Hu (0000-0003-2583-1161, Zhejiang University), Minpeng Hu (0000-0003-3178-8219), Qian Zhang (0009-0004-3866-2007, Chesapeake Bay Program), Dingjiang Chen (0000-0003-2844-7771, Zhejiang University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 8 |
| Pages | 084008-084008 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-24 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/ade7a3 |
| OpenAlex | W4411593813 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 77 |
Nitrogen (N) legacy effects are widely recognized as a primary obstacle to the improvements of water quality following mitigation efforts. The exploration of long-term nutrient trajectories for nitrogen model (ELEMeNT-N) has been applied to estimate legacy effects in several watersheds globally. However, ELEMeNT-N does not account for the accumulation-release processes of nitrate within soil profile, introducing potential uncertainty in long-term simulations. This study enhances ELEMeNT-N by incorporating a soil nitrate accumulation coefficient and a deep soil nitrate cycling module to better assess the long-term impact of legacy N on water quality. Long-term simulation for riverine N flux in the Yongan watershed, China (1980–2022) indicate that the modified model, ELEMeNT-N-SP, demonstrated significantly improved performance relative to the original model (Nash–Sutcliff coefficient: 0.89 vs 0.72, R 2 : 0.89 vs. 0.71). ELEMeNT-N-SP results indicate that ∼39.5% of N input accumulated in soil and groundwater, mainly in agricultural soil-groundwater. Legacy N contributed to 81.7% (Temporal: 65.6%–92.0%; i.e. cumulative contributions of historical N inputs) of riverine N flux (466 kg N ha −1 ). Among 12 modeling units, legacy N accumulation (SON: 175–1083 kg N ha −1 ; soil nitrate: −11–259 kg N ha −1 ; groundwater: 147–656 kg N ha −1 ) and its contribution to riverine N flux (Spatial: 64.0%–85.5%) showed considerable spatial heterogeneity. Agricultural soil-groundwater served as the primary accumulation sink for N input and the important source of riverine N pollution. Model validation, which included comparisons with monitored soil-groundwater N content and dual stable isotope data, confirmed the reliability of ELEMeNT-N-SP. ELEMeNT-N-SP offers a valuable framework for improving watershed nutrient management globally, emphasizing the importance of incorporating soil N cycling dynamics into predictive tools
Agriculture · Geography · Groundwater · Nitrogen · Water quality · Water resource management · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Integrated Water Resources Management · Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics · Wastewater Treatment and Nitrogen Removal · Ecology · Geology
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| Highly cited | No |
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