Fluxes of agricultural nitrogen and metolachlor metabolites are highly correlated in a first order stream in Maryland, USA

Cliff Rice; W. Dean Hively; Gregory W. McCarty; Cathleen Hapeman

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136590

Fluxes of agricultural nitrogen and metolachlor metabolites are highly correlated in a first order stream in Maryland, USA

Science of the Total Environment

By: Cliff Rice, W. Dean Hively, Gregory W. McCarty, and Cathleen Hapeman

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136590

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Abstract

Nitrogen pollution in watersheds containing significant cropland area is generally problematic. Conservation practices intended to reduce nitrate-N (NO3--N) export from watersheds are being implemented by many regions without necessary tools to assess effectiveness of these abatement tools. A commonly used herbicide metolachlor degrades in the vadose zone of croplands to form two metabolites (metolachlor ethane sulfonic acid (MESA) and metolachlor oxanilic acid (MOXA)) which are both highly soluble in soils. Study of metabolite fates in a first order watershed provided evidence that transport of these metabolites to stream water is highly correlated to transport of the agricultural NO3--N that also forms in the cropland vadose zone. Linear models describing the relationships of stream flux of MESA and MOXA to NO3--N flux generated goodness of fit values of 0.93 and 0.82 respectively. These findings support a conclusion that both MESA and MOXA act as excellent transport analogs of NO3- and become strongly correlated to agricultural NO3--N leaching from the cropland vadose zone. Moreover, their use as conservative tracers in agricultural watersheds can provide valuable information concerning movement and fate of agricultural nitrogen at watershed scales of observation.

Suggested Citation

Rice, C., Hively, W.D., McCarty, G.W., Hapeman, C., 2020, Fluxes of agricultural nitrogen and metolachlor metabolites are highly correlated in a first order stream in Maryland, USA: Science of the Total Environment, v. 716, 136590, 7 p., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136590.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Fluxes of agricultural nitrogen and metolachlor metabolites are highly correlated in a first order stream in Maryland, USA
Series title	Science of the Total Environment
DOI	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136590
Volume	716
Year Published	2020
Language	English
Publisher	Elsevier
Contributing office(s)	Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center
Description	136590, 7 p.
Country	United States
State	Maryland