Fate of NO and NH in the treatment of eutrophic water using the floating macrophyte

Contrasting impact of elevated atmospheric CO2 on nitrogen cycle in eutrophic water with or without Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms

The elevation of atmospheric CO₂ is an inevitable trend that would lead to significant impact on the interrelated carbon and nitrogen cycles through microbial activities in the aquatic ecosystem. Eutrophication has become a common trophic state of inland waters throughout the world, but how the elevated CO₂ affects N cycles in such eutrophic water with algal bloom, and how vegetative restoration helps to mitigate N₂O emission remains unknown. We conducted the experiments to investigate the effects of ambient and elevated atmospheric CO₂ (a[CO₂], e[CO₂]; 400, 800 μmol﹒mol^-1) with and without the floating aquatic plant, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms, on N-transformation in eutrophic water using the ¹⁵N tracer method. The nitrification could be slightly inhibited by e[CO₂], due mainly to the competition for dissolved inorganic carbon between algae and nitrifiers. The e[CO₂] promoted denitrification and N₂O emissions from eutrophic water without growth of plants, leading to aggravation of greenhouse effect and forming a vicious cycle. However, growth of the aquatic plant, Eichhornia crassipes, slightly promoted nitrification, but reduced N₂O emissions from eutrophic water under e[CO₂] conditions, thereby attenuating the negative effect of e[CO₂] on N₂O emissions. In the experiment, the N transformation was influenced by many factors such as pH, DO and algae density, except e[CO₂] and plant presence. The pH could be regulated through diurnal photosynthesis and respiration of algae and mitigated the acidification of water caused by e[CO₂], leading to an appropriate pH range for both nitrifying and denitrifying microbes. Algal respiration at night could consume DO and enhance abundance of denitrifying functional genes (nirK, nosZ) in water, which was also supposed to be a critical factor affecting denitrification and N₂O emissions. This study clarifies how the greenhouse effect caused by e[CO₂] mediates N biogeochemical cycle in the aquatic ecosystem, and how vegetative restoration mitigates greenhouse gas emission.

Response of Spatial Patterns of Denitrifying Bacteria Communities to Water Properties in the Stream Inlets at Dianchi Lake, China

Streams are an important sink for anthropogenic N owing to their hydrological connections with terrestrial systems, but main factors influencing the community structure and abundance of denitrifiers in stream water remain unclear. To elucidate the potential impact of varying water properties of different streams on denitrifiers, the abundance and community of three denitrifying genes coding for nitrite (nirK, nirS) and nitrous oxide (nosZ) reductase were investigated in 11 streams inlets at the north part of Dianchi Lake. The DGGE results showed the significant pairwise differences in community structure of nirK, nirS, and nosZ genes among different streams. The results of redundancy analysis (RDA) confirmed that nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, pH, and temperature in waters were the main environmental factors leading to a significant alteration in the community structure of denitrifiers among different streams. The denitrifying community size was assessed by quantitative PCR (qPCR) of the nirS, nirK, and nosZ genes. The abundance of nirK, nirS, and nosZ was positively associated with concentrations of total N (TN) and PO4 (3-) (p < 0.001). The difference in spatial patterns between nirK and nirS community diversity, in combination with the spatial distribution of the nirS/nirK ratio, indicated the occurrence of habitat selection for these two types of denitrifiers in the different streams. The results indicated that the varying of N species and PO4 (3-) together with pH and temperature would be the main factors shaping the community structure of denitrifiers. Meanwhile, the levels of N in water, together with PO4 (3-), tend to affect the abundance of denitrifiers.

Applying a new method for direct collection, volume quantification and determination of N2 emission from water

The emission of N2 is important to remove excess N from lakes, ponds, and wetlands. To investigate the gas emission from water, Gao et al. (2013) developed a new method using a bubble trap device to collect gas samples from waters. However, the determination accuracy of sampling volume and gas component concentration was still debatable. In this study, the method was optimized for in situ sampling, accurate volume measurement and direct injection to a gas chromatograph for the analysis of N2 and other gases. By the optimized new method, the recovery rate for N2 was 100.28% on average; the mean coefficient of determination (R(2)) was 0.9997; the limit of detection was 0.02%. We further assessed the effects of the new method, bottle full of water, vs. vacuum bag and vacuum vial methods, on variations of N2 concentration as influenced by sample storage times of 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7 days at constant temperature of 15°C, using indices of averaged relative peak area (%) in comparison with the averaged relative peak area of each method at 0 day. The indices of the bottle full of water method were the lowest (99.5%-108.5%) compared to the indices of vacuum bag and vacuum vial methods (119%-217%). Meanwhile, the gas chromatograph determination of other gas components (O2, CH4, and N2O) was also accurate. The new method was an alternative way to investigate N2 released from various kinds of aquatic ecosystems.

Interaction of veterinary antibiotic tetracyclines and copper on their fates in water and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) may provide an alternative solution for the removal of co-contamination between antibiotics and heavy metals from livestock and poultry wastewater. A hydroponic experiment was conducted to investigate interaction of tetracyclines (TCs) and copper (Cu) on growth of E. crassipes, removal of TCs and Cu by plants and their fates in solution. After 20 days, plant growth, concentrations and accumulation of Cu and TCs in plants, removal by plants, and dissipation in solution were significantly influenced by interaction of Cu and TCs. Influence of only Cu or TCs on plant growth was not significant, except for TCs at 15 mg L(-1) which produced a negative effect on plant biomass. The presence of low-Cu and high-TCs acted synergistically to promote the negative effect of TCs on plant biomass, but increasing Cu concentration partially alleviated the adverse effect. Co-contamination of low-concentration Cu and TCs could exert antagonistic effects on the removal and accumulation of Cu and TCs by plants; in contrast, synergistic effects were found for the combination of high-concentration Cu and TCs. The Cu/TCs in solution could effectively be removed using E. crassipes. Plants significantly enhanced dissipation of TCs in solution. Hence, interaction of TCs and Cu should be taken into consideration when judging (1) an ecotoxicological potential of TCs and Cu residues in aquatic environments, and (2) removal efficiency of TCs and Cu in phytoremediation.

Nitrogen removal from Lake Caohai, a typical ultra-eutrophic lake in China with large scale confined growth of Eichhornia crassipes

An ecological engineering project, with large-scale utilization of Eichhornia crassipes (coverage area ∼4.3km(2)) for pollution control in an open ultra-eutrophic lake, Lake Caohai, was first implemented in 2011. In this study, the efficiency of N removal using E. crassipes in the lake was evaluated. After E. crassipes was planted in May, the concentrations of TN and NH4(+) in Waicaohai, the main part of Lake Caohai, were significantly decreased within a month, and then, remained stable from June to November, 2011, although the lake had received waste water continuously from river inlets. The average concentrations of TN, NH4(+)-N and NO3(-)-N in water of Xi Yuan Channel (outlet) were reduced to 3.3, 0.02 and 0.8mgL(-1) from 13.8, 4.7 and 5.8mgL(-1) in river inlets, respectively. The DO levels in 2011 were not decreased, but concentrations of TN and NH4(+) were significantly reduced when compared with the historical data from 2007 in the lake. Assimilation by E. crassipes was the main pathway to remove N in Lake Caohai, accounted for 52% of the total N influent (936t), or 64% of the removed N (761t). These results indicated that large scale utilization of E. crassipes for removal of N in the eutrophic lake is practicable.