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Gan L, Huang G, Pei L, Gan Y, Liu C, Yang M, Han D, Song J. Distributions, origins, and health-risk assessment of nitrate in groundwater in typical alluvial-pluvial fans, North China Plain. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2022; 29:17031-17048. [PMID: 34657263 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-17067-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
High concentration of nitrate (NO3-) in groundwater is a major concern because of its complex origin and harmful effects on human health. This study aims to investigate the distributions of nitrate in various aquifers and in areas with different land use types in alluvial-pluvial fans in North China Plain, to identify dominant sources and factors using hydrochemical data and principal component analysis, and to conduct health-risk assessment of groundwater nitrate using the models recommended by USEPA. Results show that approximately 76.1% groundwater in fissured aquifers showed high-NO3- (> 50 mg/L), and was 2.7 times of that in granular aquifers. In fissured aquifers, the proportion of high-NO3- groundwater (PHNG-WHO) in peri-urban areas was more than 1.3 times of those in other areas. Similarly, in shallow granular aquifers, the PHNG-WHO in peri-urban areas was also higher than that in other areas. By contrast, in deep granular aquifers, the PHNG-WHO in urbanized areas was 2.8 and 5.2 times of that in peri-urban areas and farmland, respectively. High NO3- levels in both granular and fissured aquifers originated mainly from domestic sewage and animal waste, and fertilizers are also important sources of NO3- in fissured aquifers. Intensive groundwater exploitation aggravated nitrate contamination because more thickness of vadose zones resulting from over-exploitation is in favor of nitrification. Risk assessment of groundwater nitrate indicated about 43.3%, 45.6%, and 54.2% of the groundwater samples showed unacceptable non-carcinogenic risk to adult males, adult females, and children, respectively. The proportion of samples with health risks had a significant positive correlation with the urbanization level. Our study indicates that several effective measures for pollution prevention, such as strengthening sewage treatment and prohibiting groundwater over-exploitation, must be adopted so as to ensure the sustainable management of groundwater and the safety of drinking water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Gan
- Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Guanxing Huang
- Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China.
- Hebei Key Laboratory of Groundwater Remediation, Shijiazhuang, China.
| | - Lixin Pei
- Haikou Marine Geological Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Haikou, China
| | - Yanjing Gan
- The Second Geological Team of Shandong Bureau of Geology and Mineral Exploration and Development, Yanzhou, China
| | - Chunyan Liu
- Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Mingnan Yang
- Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Dongya Han
- Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China
| | - Jiangmin Song
- Institute of Hydrogeology and Environmental Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China
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Lebon Y, Navel S, Moro M, Voisin J, Cournoyer B, François C, Volatier L, Mermillod-Blondin F. Influence of stormwater infiltration systems on the structure and the activities of groundwater biofilms: Are the effects restricted to rainy periods? THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 755:142451. [PMID: 33017764 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2020] [Revised: 09/13/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Stormwater infiltration systems (SIS) have been set up to collect and infiltrate urban stormwater runoff in order to reduce flooding and to artificially recharge aquifers. Such practices produce environmental changes in shallow groundwater ecosystems like an increase in organic matter concentrations that could drive changes in structure and functions of groundwater microbial communities. Previous works suggested that SIS influence groundwater physico-chemistry during either rainy and dry period but no study has examined the impact of SIS on groundwater microorganisms during both periods. This study aimed to fill this gap by assessing SIS impacts on groundwater quality parameters in three SIS with vadose zone thickness < 3 m during two contrasting meteorological conditions (rainy/dry periods). Physicochemical (dissolved organic carbon and nutrient concentrations) and microbial variables (biomass, dehydrogenase and hydrolytic activities, and bacterial community structure) were assessed on SIS-impacted and non-SIS-impacted zones of the aquifers for the three SIS. Using clay beads incubated in the aquifer to collect microbial biofilm, we show that SIS increased microbial activities, bacterial richness and diversity in groundwater biofilms during the rainy period but not during the dry period. In contrast, the significant differences in dissolved organic carbon and nutrient concentrations, biofilm biomass and bacterial community structures (Bray-Curtis distances, relative abundances of main bacterial orders) measured between SIS-impacted and non-SIS-impacted zones of the aquifer were comparable during the two periods. These results suggest that structural indicators of biofilm like biomass were probably controlled by long-term effects of SIS on concentrations of dissolved organic matter and nutrients whereas biofilm activities and bacterial richness were temporally stimulated by stormwater runoff infiltrations during the rainy period. This decoupling between the structural and functional responses of groundwater biofilms to stormwater infiltration practices suggests that biofilms functions were highly reactive to fluxes associated with aquifer recharge events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yohan Lebon
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Simon Navel
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Maylis Moro
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Jérémy Voisin
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France; Univ Lyon, UMR Ecologie Microbienne (LEM), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS 5557, INRA 1418, VetAgro Sup, 69680 Marcy L'Etoile, France
| | - Benoit Cournoyer
- Univ Lyon, UMR Ecologie Microbienne (LEM), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS 5557, INRA 1418, VetAgro Sup, 69680 Marcy L'Etoile, France
| | - Clémentine François
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Laurence Volatier
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Florian Mermillod-Blondin
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR5023 LEHNA, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
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Aguilar-Rangel EJ, Prado BL, Vásquez-Murrieta MS, Los Santos PED, Siebe C, Falcón LI, Santillán J, Alcántara-Hernández RJ. Temporal analysis of the microbial communities in a nitrate-contaminated aquifer and the co-occurrence of anammox, n-damo and nitrous-oxide reducing bacteria. JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY 2020; 234:103657. [PMID: 32777591 DOI: 10.1016/j.jconhyd.2020.103657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2020] [Revised: 04/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Groundwater-N pollution derives from agricultural and urban activities, and compromises water quality in shallow aquifers, putting human and environmental health at risk. Nonetheless, subsurface microbiota can transform dissolved inorganic nitrogen into N2. In this study, we surveyed the microbial community of a shallow aquifer by sampling one well, one piezometer and a spring within an agricultural area that receives N-inputs of more than 700 kg/ha per year through irrigation with wastewater. The survey was conducted during a year with a 16S rRNA next-gen approach. In parallel, we quantified the number of gene copies and transcripts related to anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox, hzo), nitrite-dependent anaerobic methane oxidation (n-damo, nod and pmoA) and nitrous oxide reduction (last step of denitrification, nosZ), during the dry and rainy seasons. Our results showed that the groundwater samples had 17.7 to 22.5 mg/L of NO3--N. The bacterial and archaeal community structure was distinctive at each site, and it remained relatively stable over time. We verified the co-occurrence of N-transforming bacteria, which was correlated with the concentration of NO2-/NO3- and ORP/DO values (DO: ~3.0 mg/L). Our analyses suggest that these conditions may allow the presence of nitrifying microorganisms which can couple with anammox, n-damo and denitrifying bacteria in interrelated biogeochemical pathways. Gene density (as the number of gene copies per litre) was lower in the rainy season than in the dry season, possibly due to dilution by rainwater infiltration. Yet, the numbers of hzo gene copies here found were similar to those reported in oceanic oxygen minimum zones and in a carbonate-rock aquifer. The transcript sequences showed that Candidatus Brocadia spp. (anammox), Candidatus Methylomirabilis spp. (n-damo) and autotrophic denitrifying Betaproteobacteria coexist in the groundwater environment, with the potential to attenuate the concentration of dissolved inorganic nitrogen by reducing it to N2 rather than N2O; delivering thus, an important ecosystem service to remove contaminants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo J Aguilar-Rangel
- Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Universidad 3000, Del. Coyoacán, 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Blanca L Prado
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Universidad 3000, Del. Coyoacán, 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - María Soledad Vásquez-Murrieta
- Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Del. Miguel Hidalgo, 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Paulina Estrada-de Los Santos
- Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Del. Miguel Hidalgo, 11340 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Christina Siebe
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Universidad 3000, Del. Coyoacán, 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Luisa I Falcón
- Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Parque Científico y Tecnológico de Yucatán, 97302, Yucatán, Mexico
| | - Jazmín Santillán
- Posgrado en Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Universidad 3000, Del. Coyoacán, 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico
| | - Rocío J Alcántara-Hernández
- Instituto de Geología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, Av. Universidad 3000, Del. Coyoacán, 04510 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
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Kirs M, Kisand V, Nelson CE, Dudoit T, Moravcik PS. Distinct bacterial communities in tropical island aquifers. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0232265. [PMID: 32353009 PMCID: PMC7192444 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 04/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The groundwater biome is a poorly characterized habitat hypothesized to harbor uniquely diverse bacterial communities; the degree to which these communities differ from associated soils is a central question in environmental microbiology. We characterized the Bacterial community composition in 37 aquifer and 32 surface soil samples across the island of O‘ahu, Hawaiʻi. Several bacterial phyla (Acetothermia, Omnitrophica, Parcubacteria, Peregrinibacteria) relatively abundant in the aquifer samples were rare to absent in the soils. Immense bacterial diversity detected in the deep aquifers indicates that these environments are not as homogenous as expected, but provide various niches and energy sources for wide variety of bacteria. A small proportion of OTUs were widespread in all the basal (0.63%) and all the dike aquifer (0.31%) samples. However, these core bacteria comprised an average of 31.8% (ranging 16.2%-62.0%) and 15.4% (0.1%-31.5%) of all sequences isolated from the basal and dike aquifers respectively. Bacterial community composition correlated significantly with the sodium, sulfate, potassium, total dissolved solids, nitrate, conductivity, and pH in the basal aquifers, while phosphate and bicarbonate levels were also highly important when dike water samples were included in the analyses. This was consistent with high relative abundance of putative chemolithoautoroph taxa in the aquifer communities relative to soils. Targeted molecular and culture-based fecal indicator microbial analyses indicated good water quality of aquifers. The dominance of unique, deeply branching lineages in tropical aquifers emphasizes a large adaptive potential in O‘ahu’s aquifers; variability among groundwater samples suggests that aquifer habitats are surprisingly variable potentially harboring a variety of chemolithotrophic energy sources. Although parallel analyses of conventional and alternative indicators indicated good groundwater quality, this study calls for groundwater monitoring programs which would consider public as well as ecosystem health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marek Kirs
- Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Veljo Kisand
- Institute of Technology, Tartu University, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Craig E. Nelson
- Department of Oceanography and UH Sea Grant, Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States of America
| | - Tineill Dudoit
- Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States of America
| | - Philip S. Moravcik
- Water Resources Research Center, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI, United States of America
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