Atmospheric deposition of inorganic nitrogen in a semi-arid grassland of Inner Mongolia, China

Abstract

Due to increasing global demand for crop production and energy use, more and more reactive nitrogen (Nr) has been generated and emitted to the environment. As a result, global atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has tripled since the industrial revolution and the ecological environment and human health have been harmed. In this study, we measured dry and wet/bulk N deposition from July 2013 to December 2015 in a semi-arid grassland of Duolun County, Inner Mongolia, China. The samples of dry and wet/bulk N deposition were collected monthly with a DELTA (DEnuder for Long Term Atmospheric sampling) system and with Gradko passive samplers and a precipitation gauge. The measured results show that the annual mean concentrations of NH₃, NO₂, HNO₃, particulate NH₄⁺ (pNH₄⁺) and particulate NO₃⁻ (pNO₃⁻) in atmosphere were 2.33, 1.90, 0.18, 1.42 and 0.42 μg N/m³, respectively, and that the annual mean volume-weighted concentrations of NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N in precipitation were 2.71 and 1.99 mg N/L, respectively. The concentrations of Nr components (including NH₃, NO₂, HNO₃, pNH₄⁺, pNO₃⁻, NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N) exhibited different seasonal variations. Specifically, NO₂ and HNO₃ exhibited higher concentrations in autumn than in summer, while the other Nr components (NH₃, pNH₄⁺, pNO₃⁻, NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N) showed the highest values in summer. Based on measured concentrations of Nr components and their deposition velocities estimated using the GEOS-Chem global atmospheric chemical transport model, the calculated annual mean dry deposition fluxes were 3.17, 1.13, 0.63, 0.91 and 0.36 kg N/(hm²•a) for NH₃, NO₂, HNO₃, pNH₄⁺ and pNO₃⁻, respectively, and the calculated annual mean wet/bulk deposition fluxes were 5.37 and 3.15 kg N/(hm²•a) for NH₄⁺-N and NO₃⁻-N, respectively. The estimated annual N deposition (including dry N deposition and wet/bulk N deposition) reached 14.7 kg N/(hm²•a) in grassland of Duolun County, approaching to the upper limit of the N critical load (10–15 kg N/(hm²•a)). Dry and wet/bulk deposition fluxes of all Nr components (with an exception of HNO₃) showed similar seasonal variations with the maximum deposition flux in summer and the minimum in winter. Reduced Nr components (e.g., gaseous NH₃ and pNH₄⁺ in atmosphere and NH₄⁺-N in precipitation) dominated the total N deposition at the sampling site (accounted for 64% of the total N deposition), suggesting that the deposited atmospheric Nr mainly originated from agricultural activities. Considering the projected future increases in crop and livestock production in Inner Mongolia, the ecological and human risks to the negative effects of increased N deposition could be increased if no mitigation measures are taken.

from # All Medicine by Alexandros G. Sfakianakis via Alexandros G.Sfakianakis on Inoreader http://ift.tt/2ykl4Kn
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