Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nitrogen mineralization and geochemical characteristics of amino acids in surface sediments of a typical polluted area in the Haihe River Basin, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Studies of nitrogen mineralization and diagenetic status of organic matter evaluated by total hydrolysable amino acids (THAAs) were designed to test the hypothesis that nitrogen mineralization in sediments was a potential source of ammonium in strongly artificially disturbed rivers such as the Ziya River watershed. Ammonium and organic nitrogen in both water and sediment samples were the major forms of nitrogen in the watershed. NH3-N was significantly correlated with organic nitrogen in both water (R = 0.823, P < 0.01) and sediments (R = 0.787, P < 0.01). Organic nitrogen with an average content of 3,275.21 ± 1,476.10 mg · kg−1, accounted for 82.73 % of total nitrogen (TN) in sediments. Organic nitrogen was a potential source of ammonia release into overlying water. Nitrogen mineralization experiments showed that accumulated dissolved inorganic nitrogen ranged from 326.15 to 545.72 mg · kg−1 and accumulated NH3-N ranged from 320.95 to 533.93 mg · kg−1. Most of the mineralized nitrogen was NH3-N ( approximately 98.17 %) and mineralized nitrogen in sediments ranged from 6.20 to 22.10 % of TN. Twenty amino acids were detected, accounting for 45.70 % of organic nitrogen. Protein amino acids, accounting for 89.22 % of THAAs, were the dominant THAAs in sediments. The ratio of L-glutamic acid to γ-aminobutyric acid and degradation index showed that the organic matter was poorly degraded and presented a high potential risk of ammonium mineralization.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andersson E, Simoneit BRT, Holm NG (2000) Amino acid abundances and stereochemistry in hydrothermally altered sediments from the Juan de Fuca Ridge, northeastern Pacific Ocean. Appl Geochem 15(8):1169–1190

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Aufdenkampe AK, Hedges JI, Richey JE, Krusche AV, Llerena CA (2001) Sorptive fractionation of dissolved organic nitrogen and amino acids onto fine sediments within the Amazon Basin. Limnol Oceanogr 46(8):1921–1935

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benbi DK, Richter J (2002) A critical review of some approaches to modelling nitrogen mineralization. Biol Fertil Soils 35(3):168–183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beuve N, Rispaill N, Laine P, Cliquet JB, Ourry A et al (2004) Putative role of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as a long-distance signal in up-regulation of nitrate uptake in Brassica napus L. Plant Cell Environ 27(8):1035–1046

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bouché N, Lacombe B, Fromm H (2003) GABA signaling: a conserved and ubiquitous mechanism. Trends Cell Biol 13(12):607–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Camargo JA, Alonso A (2006) Ecological and toxicological effects of inorganic nitrogen pollution in aquatic ecosystems: a global assessment. Environ Int 32(6):831–849

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Canfield DE, Glazer AN, Falkowski PG (2010) The evolution and future of Earth’s nitrogen cycle. Science 330(6001):192–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cowie GL, Hedges JI (1994) Biochemical indicators of diagenetic alteration in natural organic matter mixtures. Nature 369:304–307

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cowie GL, Hedges JI, Gregory C (1992) Sources and reactivities of amino acids in a coastal marine environment. Limnol Oceanogr 37(4):703–724

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dauwe B, Middelburg JJ (1998) Amino acids and hexosamines as indicators of organic matter degradation state in North Sea sediments. Limnol Oceanogr 43(5):782–798

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dettmer K, Stevens AP, Fagerer SR, Kaspar H, Oefner PJ (2012) Amino acid analysis in physiological samples by GC–MS with propyl chloroformate derivatization and iTRAQ–LC–MS/MS. Amino Acids Anal Methods Mol Biol 828:165–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eickenscheidt T, Heinichen J, Augustin J, Freibauer A, Drösler M (2014) Nitrogen mineralization and gaseous nitrogen losses from waterlogged and drained organic soils in a black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) forest. Biogeosciences 11:2961–2976

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fait A, Fromm H, Walter D, Galili G, Fernie AR (2008) Highway or byway: the metabolic role of the GABA shunt in plants. Trends Plant Biol 13(1):14–19

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes L, Garg A, Borole DV (2014) Amino acid biogeochemistry and bacterial contribution to sediment organic matter along the western margin of the Bay of Bengal. Deep-Sea Res I Oceanogr Res Pap 83:81–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao HF, Bai JH, Xiao R, Yan DH, Huang LB et al (2012) Soil net nitrogen mineralization in salt marshes with different flooding periods in the Yellow River Delta, China. Clean Soil Air Water 40(10):1111–1117

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao HF, Bai JH, He XH, Zhao QQ, Lu QQ et al (2014) High temperature and salinity enhance soil nitrogen mineralization in a tidal freshwater marsh. PLoS ONE 9(4):e95011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grutters M, Raaphorst WV, Helder W (2001) Total hydrolysable amino acid mineralisation in sediments across the northeastern Atlantic continental slope (Goban Spur). Deep-Sea Res I Oceanogr Res Pap 48(3):811–832

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hansen LS, Blackburn TH (1991) Aerobic and anaerobic mineralization of organic material in marine sediment microcosms. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 75(2):283–291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joye SB, Hollibaugh JT (1995) Influence of sulfide inhibition of nitrification on nitrogen regeneration in sediments. Science 270(5236):623–625

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser K, Benner R (2005) Hydrolysis-induced racemization of amino acids. Limnol Oceanogr Methods 3:318–325

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kalvelage T, Lavik G, Lam P, Contreras S, Arteaga L et al (2013) Nitrogen cycling driven by organic matter export in the South Pacific oxygen minimum zone. Nat Geosci 6(3):228–234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kemp WM, Sampou P, Caffrey J, Mayer M, Henriksen K et al (1990) Ammonium recycling versus denitrification in Chesapeake Bay sediments. Limnol Oceanogr 35(7):1545–1563

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kristensen E, Andersen F, Holmboe N, Holmer M, Thongtham N (2000) Carbon and nitrogen mineralization in sediments of the Bangrong mangrove area, Phuket, Thailand. Aquat Microb Ecol 22(2):199–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Wang X, Yang F (2003) Studies on the function and application of non-protein amino acids. J Shanghai Inst Tech 3(3):194–198

    Google Scholar 

  • Li SS, Shan BQ, Zhang H (2013) Characteristics and ecological risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in surface sediments of Fuyang River. Acta Sci Circumst 33(8):2277–2284

    Google Scholar 

  • Li XF, Hou LJ, Liu M, Lin XB, Li Y et al (2014) Primary effects of extracellular enzyme activity and microbial community on carbon and nitrogen mineralization in estuarine and tidal wetlands. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99(6):2895–2909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu XB, Li GF, Liu ZG, Guo WH, Gao NY (2010) Water pollution characteristics and assessment of lower reaches in Haihe River Basin. Procedia Environ Sci 2:199–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lomstein BA, Jorgensen BB, Schubert CJ, Niggemann J (2006) Amino acid biogeo-and stereochemistry in coastal Chilean sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 70(12):2970–2989

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig R, Pringault O, De Wit R, De Beer D, Jonkers HM (2006) Limitation of oxygenic photosynthesis and oxygen consumption by phosphate and organic nitrogen in a hypersaline microbial mat: a microsensor study. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 57(1):9–17

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ma LH, Duan Y, Song ZG (1999) Compositions and contents of amino acids in core sediments from Chinese Nanshan Sea area and paleoenvironment. Acta Sedimentol Sin 17(S1):794–797

    Google Scholar 

  • Ming TY, Li JJ, Huo P, Wei YL, Chen XH (2014) Analysis of free amino acids in Russula griseocarnosa harvested at different stages of maturity using iTRAQ®-LC-MS/MS. Food Anal Methods 7(9):1816–1823

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ni SQ, Ni JY, Hu DL, Sung S (2012) Effect of organic matter on the performance of granular anammox process. Bioresour Technol 110:701–705

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Olk D (2007) Organic forms of nitrogen. Soil sampling and method of analysis. In: Carter MR, Gregorich EG (eds) 667–674

  • Pathak H, Rao DLN (1998) Carbon and nitrogen mineralization from added organic matter in saline and alkali soils. Soil Biol Biochem 30(6):695–702

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts KL, Eate VM, Eyre BD, Holland DP, Cook PLM (2012) Hypoxic events stimulate nitrogen recycling in a shallow salt-wedge estuary: the Yarra River estuary, Australia. Limnol Oceanogr 57(5):1427–1442

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schulten HR, Schnitzer M (1998) The chemistry of soil organic nitrogen: a review. Biol Fertil Soils 26(1):1–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schütta M, Borkena W, Spottb O, Stangec CF, Matzner E (2014) Temperature sensitivity of C and N mineralization in temperate forest soils at low temperatures. Soil Biol Biochem 69:320–327

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song JM, Ma HB, Lu XX, Yuan HM (2003) Biogeochemicalfunctions of nitrogen in Bohai Sea sediments. Stud Mar Sin 45:86–100

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanford G, Smith SJ (1972) Nitrogen mineralization potentials of soils. Soil Sci Soc Am J 36(3):465–472

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stanford G, Frere MH, Schwaninger DH (1973) Temperature coefficient of soil nitrogen mineralization. Soil Sci 115(4):321–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang WZ, Cui JG, Shan BQ, Wang C, Zhang WQ (2014) Heavy metal umulation by periphyton is related to eutrophication in the Hai River Basin, Northern China. PLoS ONE 9(1)

  • Tenore KR (1983) Organic nitrogen and caloric content of detritus III. Effect on growth of a deposit-feeding polychaete, Capitella capitata. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 17(6):733–742

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tripathi BN, Gaur JP (2004) Relationship between copper-and zinc-induced oxidative stress and proline accumulation in Scenedesmus sp. Planta 219(3):397–404

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Van Cleve K, Yarie J, Erickson R, Dymess CT (1993) Nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in successional ecosystems on the Tanana River floodplain, interior Alaska. Can J For Res 23(5):970–978

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vandewiele S, Cowie G, Soetaert K, Middelburg JJ (2009) Amino acid biogeochemistry and organic matter degradation state across the Pakistan margin oxygen minimum zone. Deep-Sea Res II Top Stud Oceanogr 56(6–7):376–392

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang C, Shan BQ, Zhang H, Zhao Y (2014) Limitation of spatial distribution of ammonia-oxidizing microorganisms in the Haihe River, China, by heavy metals. J Environ Sci (China) 26(3):502–511

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Zhang R, Wu Q, Xu N (2012) Diagenetic alterations of amino acids and organic matter in the upper Pearl River Estuary surface sediments. Biogeosciences 9(1):555–564

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang R, Zeng FX, Liu WJ, Zeng RJ, Jiang H (2014a) Precise and economical dredging model of sediments and its field application: case study of a river heavily polluted by organic matter, nitrogen, and phosphorus. Environ Manag 53(6):1119–1131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang YL, Kaiser K, Li L, Zhang DN, Ran Y et al (2014b) Sources, distributions, and early diagenesis of sedimentary organic matter in the Pearl River region of the South China Sea. Mar Chem 158:39–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao DY, Han LS, He ZJ, Zhang J, Zhang YJ (2014) Identification of the plasma metabolomics as early diagnostic markers between biliary atresia and neonatal hepatitis syndrome. PLoS ONE 9(1):e85694

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 21107126) and the National Water Pollution Control and Management Technology Major Projects of China (No. 2012ZX07203-006 and No. 2012ZX07203-003).

Ethical statement

I certify that this manuscript is original and has not been published and will not be submitted elsewhere for publication. The study is not split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time. No data have been fabricated or manipulated (including images) to support your conclusions. No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were our own.

The submission has been received explicitly from all co-authors. And authors whose names appear on the submission have contributed sufficiently to the scientific work and therefore share collective responsibility and accountability for the results.

No specific permissions were required for these locations, because the study area is not privately-owned or protected in any way. The field studies did not involve endangered or protected species.

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors. Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory on Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

    Yu Zhao, Baoqing Shan, Wenzhong Tang & Hong Zhang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing, China

    Yu Zhao

Authors
  1. Yu Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Baoqing Shan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wenzhong Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Hong Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Baoqing Shan.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Zhihong Xu

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhao, Y., Shan, B., Tang, W. et al. Nitrogen mineralization and geochemical characteristics of amino acids in surface sediments of a typical polluted area in the Haihe River Basin, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 17975–17986 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4873-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-4873-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation