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Novel sediment source fingerprinting quantifying erosion-induced total nitrogen and total phosphorus outputs from an intensive agricultural catchment, North China

Yu, Hanqing, Adu-Gyamfi, Joseph, Oshunsanya, Suarau Odutola, Chappell, Adrian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0694-7348, Liu, Wenxiang, Zheng, Yu, Xue, Tingting and Heng, Lee 2023. Novel sediment source fingerprinting quantifying erosion-induced total nitrogen and total phosphorus outputs from an intensive agricultural catchment, North China. International Soil and Water Conservation Research 11 (3) , pp. 494-506. 10.1016/j.iswcr.2022.10.006

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Abstract

Intensive farming is a primary cause of increased sediment and associated nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loads in surface water systems. Determining their contributing sources, pathways and loads present major challenges in the high-intensity agricultural catchments. Herein, we quantify the sediment sources and magnitude of sediment total N and total P from different sources using a novel application of compound-specific stable isotope (CSSI) and fallout radionuclides (FRNs) of 137Cs and 210Pbex in an intensive agricultural catchment in North China. Sediment sources from surface and sub-surface soils were estimated from FRNs fingerprint and accounted for 62 ± 7% and 38 ± 7% respectively, while surface soil from land uses that originated from hillslope were identified by CSSI fingerprint. Using a novel application of FRNs and CSSI sediment fingerprinting techniques, the dominant sediment source was derived from maize farmland (44 ± 0.1%), followed by channel bank (38 ± 7%). The sedimentation rate (13.55 ± 0.30 t ha−1 yr−1) was quantified by the 137Cs cores (0–60 cm) at the outlet of this catchment. The total N and total P in sediment were both mostly derived from maize farmland and least from channel banks. The channel banks are significant sediment sources but contribute little to the input of sediment N and P for eutrophication. It implies that chemically-applied farmlands are the main hotspots for catchment erosion control and pollution prevention. The novel application of FRNs and CSSI techniques cost-effectively quantified sediment N and P loads from different sources with a single visit to the catchment, enabling rapid assessment for optimizing soil conservation strategies and land management practices. Keywords: Sediment sources, Land use, N and P loads, Compound-specific stable isotope, Fallout radionuclides.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Earth and Environmental Sciences
Publisher: Elsevier
ISSN: 2095-6339
Date of First Compliant Deposit: 2 November 2022
Date of Acceptance: 19 October 2022
Last Modified: 21 Jul 2023 01:34
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/153954

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