Long-Term Effects of High Nitrogen Loads on Cation and Carbon Riverine Export in Agricultural Catchments

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 46; no. 17; pp. 9447 - 9455
• Main Authors: Aquilina, Luc, Poszwa, Anne, Walter, Christian, Vergnaud, Virginie, Pierson-Wickmann, Anne-Catherine, Ruiz, Laurent
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 04.09.2012
• Subjects: Acidification; Acidity; Acids - analysis; Agriculture; Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Applied sciences; Biological and medical sciences; Biological and physicochemical phenomena; Biological and physicochemical properties of pollutants. Interaction in the soil; Carbon - analysis; Cations - analysis; Earth Sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Evolution; Exact sciences and technology; France; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Leaching; Natural water pollution; Nitrogen; Nitrogen - analysis; Pollution; Pollution, environment geology; Rivers - chemistry; Sciences of the Universe; Soil - analysis; Soil and sediments pollution; Soil and water pollution; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soil science; Water Movements; Water treatment and pollution; Watersheds; France; Bretagne; Europe; Brittany France; Acidification; Geochemistry; Soil quality; Liming amendment; Hydrochemistry; Trend analysis; Watershed; Water quality; Agriculture; Time-series analysis; Stream; Water pollution; Ecological recovery; Carbon sources; Intensive agriculture; Soil cation; Agricultural catchment; River; Brittany; France; Leaching; Carbon
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es301715t

The intensification of agriculture in recent decades has resulted in extremely high nitrogen inputs to ecosystems. One effect has been H+ release through NH4 + oxidation in soils, which increases rock weathering and leads to acidification processes such as base-cation leaching from the soil exchange complex. This study investigated the evolution of cation concentrations over the past 50 years in rivers from the Armorican crystalline shield (Brittany, western France). On a regional scale, acidification has resulted in increased base-cation riverine exports (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+) correlated with the increased NO3 – concentration. The estimated cation increase is 0.7 mmol(+)/L for Ca2+ + Mg2+ and 0.85 mmol(+)/L for total cations. According to mass balance, cation loss represents >30% of the base-cation exchange capacity of soils. Long-term acidification thus contributes to a decline in soil productivity. Estimates of the total organic nitrogen annually produced worldwide indicate that acidification may also constitute an additional carbon source in crystalline catchments if compensated by liming practices.