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Using Stable Isotopes to Detect Land Use Change and Nitrogen Sources in Aquatic Systems

Abstract

Changing land use is one of the primary causes of increased sedimentation and nutrient levels in aquatic systems, resulting in contamination and reduction of biodiversity. Detecting and quantifying these inputs is the first step towards remediation, and enabling targeted reductions of transport processes into waterways from human impacted land surfaces. More recently, stable isotope analyses are being used as detection and quantification tools in aquatic environments. Carbon ({delta}{sup 13}C) and nitrogen ({delta}{sup 15}N) isotopes of sediments, as well as algae and invertebrates from aquatic systems can be used as proxies to record both short and long term environmental change. Excess nitrogen (or nitrogen-compounds) derived from urbanization, industry, forestry, farming and agriculture, increase the bioavailability of nitrogen to aquatic organisms, changing their natural {delta}15N isotopic signatures. Allochthonous (terrestrial) input from soil destabilization and human activity in surrounding catchments changes {delta}{sup 13}C isotopic compositions and increases the C:N ratio of sediments. Heavy metal and other organic pollutants can also be used to indicate urbanization and industrial contamination. The combined use of carbon and nitrogen isotopes, C:N ratios and heavy metals are powerful environmental monitoring tools, which are useful indicators of source and transport pathways of terrestrial derived material and anthropogenic pollutants into  More>>
Authors:
Rogers, K. M. [1] 
  1. National Isotope Center, GNS Science, Lower Hutt (New Zealand)
Publication Date:
May 15, 2013
Product Type:
Technical Report
Report Number:
IAEA-TECDOC-1695
Resource Relation:
Other Information: 10 figs., 2 tabs., 62 refs.; Related Information: In: Application of Isotope Techniques for Assessing Nutrient Dynamics in River Basins| 250 p.
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 07 ISOTOPES AND RADIATION SOURCES; ALGAE; AQUATIC ORGANISMS; CARBON; CONTAMINATION; DETECTION; ENVIRONMENT; ESTUARIES; HEAVY METALS; ISOTOPE RATIO; LAND USE; MONITORING; NITROGEN; NITROGEN COMPOUNDS; NITROGEN ISOTOPES; POLLUTANTS; REMEDIAL ACTION; SEDIMENTATION; SEDIMENTS; STABLE ISOTOPES; STREAMS
OSTI ID:
22118969
Research Organizations:
International Atomic Energy Agency, Isotope Hydrology Section, Vienna (Austria)
Country of Origin:
IAEA
Language:
English
Other Identifying Numbers:
Other: ISBN 978-92-0-138810-0; ISSN 1011-4289; TRN: XA13R0667075605
Availability:
Available from INIS in electronic form. Also available on-line: http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/TE-1695_web.pdf; Enquiries should be addressed to IAEA, Marketing and Sales Unit, Publishing Section, E-mail: sales.publications@iaea.org; Web site: http://www.iaea.org/books
Submitting Site:
INIS
Size:
page(s) 129-156
Announcement Date:
Aug 08, 2013

Citation Formats

Rogers, K. M. Using Stable Isotopes to Detect Land Use Change and Nitrogen Sources in Aquatic Systems. IAEA: N. p., 2013. Web.
Rogers, K. M. Using Stable Isotopes to Detect Land Use Change and Nitrogen Sources in Aquatic Systems. IAEA.
Rogers, K. M. 2013. "Using Stable Isotopes to Detect Land Use Change and Nitrogen Sources in Aquatic Systems." IAEA.
@misc{etde_22118969,
title = {Using Stable Isotopes to Detect Land Use Change and Nitrogen Sources in Aquatic Systems}
author = {Rogers, K. M.}
abstractNote = {Changing land use is one of the primary causes of increased sedimentation and nutrient levels in aquatic systems, resulting in contamination and reduction of biodiversity. Detecting and quantifying these inputs is the first step towards remediation, and enabling targeted reductions of transport processes into waterways from human impacted land surfaces. More recently, stable isotope analyses are being used as detection and quantification tools in aquatic environments. Carbon ({delta}{sup 13}C) and nitrogen ({delta}{sup 15}N) isotopes of sediments, as well as algae and invertebrates from aquatic systems can be used as proxies to record both short and long term environmental change. Excess nitrogen (or nitrogen-compounds) derived from urbanization, industry, forestry, farming and agriculture, increase the bioavailability of nitrogen to aquatic organisms, changing their natural {delta}15N isotopic signatures. Allochthonous (terrestrial) input from soil destabilization and human activity in surrounding catchments changes {delta}{sup 13}C isotopic compositions and increases the C:N ratio of sediments. Heavy metal and other organic pollutants can also be used to indicate urbanization and industrial contamination. The combined use of carbon and nitrogen isotopes, C:N ratios and heavy metals are powerful environmental monitoring tools, which are useful indicators of source and transport pathways of terrestrial derived material and anthropogenic pollutants into streams, rivers and estuaries. (author)}
place = {IAEA}
year = {2013}
month = {May}
}