Total nitrogen concentrations in surface water of typical agro- and forest ecosystems in China, 2004-2009.

We assessed the total nitrogen (N) concentrations of 28 still surface water (lake and pond), and 42 flowing surface water (river), monitoring sites under 29 typical terrestrial ecosystems of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) using monitoring data collected between 2004 and 2009. The results showed that the median total N concentrations of still surface water were significantly higher in the agro- (1.5 mg · L(-1)) and oasis agro- ecosystems (1.8 mg · L(-1)) than in the forest ecosystems (1.0 mg · L(-1)). This was also the case for flowing surface water, with total N concentrations of 2.4 mg · L(-1), 1.8 mg · L(-1) and 0.5 mg · L(-1) for the agro-, oasis agro- and forest ecosystems, respectively. In addition, more than 50% of the samples in agro- and oasis agro- ecosystems were seriously polluted (>1.0 mg · L(-1)) by N. Spatial analysis showed that the total N concentrations in northern and northwestern regions were higher than those in the southern region for both still and flowing surface waters under agro- and oasis agro- ecosystems, with more than 50% of samples exceeding 1.0 mg · L(-1) (the Class III limit of the Chinese National Quality Standards for Surface Waters) in surface water in the northern region. Nitrogen pollution in agro- ecosystems is mainly due to fertilizer applications, while the combination of fertilizer and irrigation exacerbates nitrogen pollution in oasis agro- ecosystems

Correlations of total nitrogen concentrations and soil N fertilizer application rates in agro- and oasis agro- ecosystems (<i>p</i> < 0.05, n = 15).

<p>The total nitrogen concentrations in this figure were the median values of agro- and oasis agro- ecosystems.</p

TN concentrations in still and flowing surface water under agro- and oasis agro- ecosystems.

<p>Note: The “n” values represent the number of sampling sites and the monitoring sites (within brackets). “-”s illustrate that no detection data were available.</p

Total nitrogen concentrations in still surface water (A) and flowing surface water (B) of the agro-, oasis agro- and forest ecosystems between 2004 and 2009.

<p>Box plots illustrate the 25^th, 50^th, and 75^th percentiles, the whiskers indicate the 10^th, 90^th percentiles, the “-”s indicate the maximum and minimum percentiles, the “×”s indicate the 1^th and 99^th percentiles, the “□”s indicate the mean values. Box plots labeled with different letters (a, b) indicate that differences in median values among the three ecosystem types are significant at <i>p</i> < 0.05. “—” illustrate the Class III guideline of 1.0 mg·L⁻¹ for total nitrogen according to the national quality standards for surface waters of China.</p

TN concentrations and background information of still and flowing surface water under the 9 forest ecosystems.

<p>Note: The “n” values represent the number of sampling sites and the monitoring sites (within brackets). “-”s illustrate that no detection data were available.</p

Distribution map of total nitrogen monitoring sites in agro- , oasis agro- and forest ecosystems of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN).

<p>Distribution map of total nitrogen monitoring sites in agro- , oasis agro- and forest ecosystems of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN).</p