Abstract
The objectives of this study are to diagnose and prevent environmental problems that threaten urban sustainability, the impact of changes in lifestyle (diet, domestic sanitation, and motorization), and production style (agriculture, industry, and services) with the rapid urbanization on regional nitrogen (N) flows, and the water environment was quantitatively evaluated. The megacity Shanghai was chosen as a case study to investigate the temporal changes in nitrogen flow during 1980–2008 by a multidisciplinary approach (a field survey, a regional nitrogen mass balance model, input-output analysis, etc.). Although the total potential nitrogen load in Shanghai has decreased in the 2000s and water pollution problems seem to have improved, the problem has shifted and expanded to affect a wider area through the food/product chain and water/air movement. Further effective solutions that aim at material cycles are necessary and have to be implemented on a large scale.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker LA (2009) New concepts for managing urban pollution. In: Baker LA (ed) The water environment of cities. Springer Scientific, Lowell, pp 69–91
Department of Industrial and Transport Statistics of National Bureau of Statistics (1991-2009) China Energy Statistical Yearbook. China Statistics Press, Beijing (in Chinese)
Fissore C, Baker LA, Hobbie SE, King JY, McFadden JP, Nelson KC, Jakobsdottir I (2011) Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus fluxes in household ecosystems in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, urban region. Ecol Appl 21:619–639
Gao Y, Yu G, Luo C, Zhou P (2012) Groundwater nitrogen pollution and assessment of its health risks: a case study of a typical village in rural-urban Continuum, China. PLoS ONE 7(4):e33982
Ge HZ (1999) Surface water pollution and control in Shanghai. http://www.envir.gov.cn/wp/wp6-5.asp (retrieved on April 3, 2013)
Grimm NB, Faeth SH, Golubiewski NE, Redman CL, Wu J, Bai X, Briggs JM (2008) Global change and the ecology of cities. Science 319:756–760
Gu B, Chang J, Ge Y, Ge H, Yuan C, Peng C, Jiang H (2009) Anthropogenic modification of the nitrogen cycling within the Greater Hangzhou Area system, China. Ecol Appl 19(4):974–988
Gu B, Dong X, Peng C, Luo W, Chang J, Ge Y (2012) The long-term impact of urbanization on nitrogen patterns and dynamics in Shanghai, China. Environ Pollut 171:30–37
Helmer R, Hespanhol I (1997) Water pollution control—a guide to the use of water quality management principles. Published on behalf of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Water Supply & Sanitation Collaborative Council and the World Health Organization, WHO/UNEP, ISBN 0 419 22910 8
Kaye JP, McCulley RL, Burke IC (2005) Carbon fluxes, nitrogen cycling, and soil microbial communities in adjacent urban, native, and agricultural ecosystems. Glob Chang Biol 11:575–587
Li ZP (2005) Challenges of China’s discharge permit system and effective solutions. Temple J Sci Technol Environ Law 375–395
Li MT, Xu KX, Watanabe M, Chen ZY (2007) Long-term variations in dissolved silicate, nitrogen, and phosphorus flux from the Yangtze River into the East China Sea and impacts on estuarine ecosystem. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 71:3–12
Liu C, Huang T (2014) Recent trends in wastewater flow and pollutant loads due to urbanization in shanghai. Water Environment Research 86(5):433–444
Liu C, Wang QX, Mizuochi M, Wang KL, Lin YM (2008a) Human behavioral impact on nitrogen flow—a case study in the rural areas of the middle and lower reaches of Changjiang River, China. Agric Ecosyst Environ 125:84–92
Liu C, Watanabe M, Wang QX (2008b) Changes in nitrogen budgets and nitrogen use efficiency in the Agroecosystems of the Changjiang River Basin between 1980 and 2000. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 80:19–37
Liu C, Wang QX, Lei AL, Yang YH, Ouyang Z, Lin YM, Li Y, Wang KL (2009) Parameters of the regional nitrogen balance model: a field investigation of 6 ecosystems of China. Biogeochemistry 94:175–190
Liu C, Wang QX, Wang KL, Yang YH, Ouyang Z, Lin YM, Li Y, Lei AL, Yasunari T (2012) Recent trends and problems of nitrogen flow in agro-ecosystems of China. J Sci Food Agric 92(5):1046–1053
Liu C, Zou CJ, Wang QX, Hayashi Y, Yasunari T (2014) Impact assessment of human diet changes with rapid urbanization on regional nitrogen and phosphorus flows—a case study of the megacity Shanghai. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21(3):1905–1914
Ministry of Water Resources of China (1997, 2002, 2007) China water resources bulletin. China Waterpower Press, Beijing (in Chinese)
National Bureau of Statistics of China (1998, 2005-2012) China statistical yearbook on environment. China Statistics Prss, Beijing (in Chinese)
Shanghai Statistics Yearbook (1981, 1991, 2001, 2009) http://www.statssh.gov.cn/data/release.xhtml (in Chinese; retrieved on May 3, 2013)
The China Science Center of International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, China Association of Mayors and UN-HABITAT (2012) The state of China’s cities 2012/2013
Wang JY, Da LJ, Song K, Li BL (2008) Temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas during rapid urbanization in Shanghai, China. Environ Pollut 152(2):387–393
Yin Z, Walcott S, Kaplan B, Cao J, Lin W, Chen M, Liu D, Ning Y (2005) An analysis of the relationship between spatial patterns of water quality and urban development in Shanghai, China. Comput Environ Urban Syst 29:197–221
Zhou JC, Shi GT, Chen ZL, Bi CJ, and Xu SY (2009) Contamination characteristics of nitrogen in rainwater of Shanghai. Environmental Pollution and Control 31(11):30–34 (in Chinese with English abstract)
Acknowledgments
This study was supported by the Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) “Diagnosis methods and preventive treatment measures for the impact of human activities on urban ecosystems” (2013-2015) sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), and by the Nagoya University Global Center of Excellence Program “From Earth System Science to Basic and Clinical Environmental Studies” (FY2009-2013).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, C., Wang, Q., Zou, C. et al. Recent trends in nitrogen flows with urbanization in the Shanghai megacity and the effects on the water environment. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 3431–3440 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3825-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3825-4