Estimation of nitrate contamination of an agro-ecosystem outwash aquifer using a nitrogen mass-balance budget
Journal of Environmental Quality
By: L.J. Puckett, T.K. Cowdery, D. L. Lorenz, and J.D. Stoner
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Abstract
A mass-balance budget of N cycling was developed for an intensive agricultural area in west-central Minnesota to better understand NO3/- contamination of ground water in the Otter Tail outwash aquifer. Fertilizer, biological fixation, atmospheric deposition, and animal feed were the N sources, and crop harvests, animal product exports, volatilization from fertilizer and manure, and denitrification were the N sinks in the model. Excess N, calculated as the difference between the sources and sinks, was assumed to leach to ground water as NO3/-. The budget was developed using ground water data collected throughout the 212-km2 study area. Denitrification was estimated by adjusting its value so the predicted and measured concentrations of NO3/- in ground water agreed. Although biological fixation was the largest single N source, most was removed when crops were harvested, indicating that inorganic fertilizer was the primary source of N reaching the water table. It was estimated that denitrification removed almost half of the excess NO3/- that leached below the root zone. Even after accounting for denitrification losses, however, it was concluded that the ground water system was receiving approximately three times as much N as would be expected under background conditions.
Suggested Citation
Puckett, L., Cowdery, T., Lorenz, D., and Stoner, J., 1999, Estimation of nitrate contamination of an agro-ecosystem outwash aquifer using a nitrogen mass-balance budget: Journal of Environmental Quality, v. 28, no. 6, p. 2015-2025, https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq1999.00472425002800060043x.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Estimation of nitrate contamination of an agro-ecosystem outwash aquifer using a nitrogen mass-balance budget |
| Series title | Journal of Environmental Quality |
| DOI | 10.2134/jeq1999.00472425002800060043x |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Year Published | 1999 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Wiley |
| Description | 11 p. |
| First page | 2015 |
| Last page | 2025 |