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  • Title:  Revealing the drivers of unexpected high nitrogen levels in tropical rainforest rivers in winter
  • Authors:  12:Article 0489
  • Corresponding Author:  Tingtian Wu, Xiaoyan Pan, Yuanling Li, Zongzhu Chen*, Xiaohua Chen, Jinrui Lei, Dezhi Wang, Wenshi Zhang, Hao Jiang*
  • Pubyear:  2026
  • Title of Journal:  Ecosystem Health and Sustainability
  • Paper Code: 
  • Volume:  12
  • Number: 
  • Page:  Article 0489
  • Others: 
  • Classification: 
  • Source: 

    Abstract:

  • Elevated river nitrogen (N) concentrations have contributed to eutrophication and subsequent ecological damage worldwide. However, current research has mostly focused on nitrate (NO3-) in rivers, with relatively few studies on the sources of different N forms, especially in tropical rainforest rivers. This study combined multiple natural abundance isotopes (delta 15N/delta 18O-NO3-, delta 15N-NH4+, delta 15N-PON, and delta D/delta 18O-H2O) and 15N-pairing incubations to demonstrate the processes underlying the unexpectedly high N concentrations in the rivers draining the National Park of Hainan Tropical Rainforest (the largest rainforest in China) in winter. The natural abundance isotopes revealed that NO3- in the rivers was largely from forest soils. NH4+-N in the rivers was from precipitation (30.3%), sewage (19.3%), forest soil (27.4%), and agriculture (23.1%), and the PON were largely terrestrial plants and, to a lesser extent, phytoplankton. 15N-pairing experiments revealed that nitrification in the soils was associated with the soil organic carbon and NH4+-N contents. The strong nitrification, together with the high NO3--N contents and moisture, contributed to the substantial denitrification. Meanwhile, we found that the soil-to-river transports of NO3- and NH4+ were largely regulated by soil N production rates. Increases in the soil N contents, either anthropogenically or naturally, can directly increase the river NO3--N and NH4+-N loadings. These results are essential for advancing our understanding of elevated river N concentrations in rainforests and other minimally impacted or pristine regions.
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