Distinctive Patterns and Controls of Nitrous Oxide Concentrations and Fluxes from Urban Inland Waters

Abstract

Inland waters are significant sources of nitrous oxide (N₂O), a powerful greenhouse gas. However, considerable uncertainty exists in the estimates of N₂O efflux from global inland waters due to a lack of direct measurements in urban inland waters, which are generally characterized by high carbon and nitrogen concentrations and low carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. Herein, we present direct measurements of N₂O concentrations and fluxes in lakes and rivers of Beijing, China, during 2018-2020. N₂O concentrations and fluxes in the waters of Beijing exceeded previous estimates of global rivers due to the high carbon and nutrient concentrations and high aquatic productivity. In contrast, the N₂O emission factor (N₂O-N/DIN, median 0.0005) was lower than global medians and the N₂O yield (ΔN₂O/(ΔN₂O + ΔN₂), average 1.6%) was higher than those typically observed in rivers and streams. The positive relationship between N₂O emissions and denitrifying bacteria as well as the Michaelis-Menten relationship between N₂O emissions and NO₃^--N concentrations suggested that bacteria control the net production of N₂O in waters of Beijing with N saturation, leading to a low N₂O emission factor. However, low carbon-to-nitrogen ratios are beneficial for N₂O accumulation during denitrification, resulting in high N₂O yields. This study demonstrates the significant N₂O emissions and their distinctive patterns and controls in urban inland waters and suggests that N₂O emission estimates based on nitrogen loads and simple emission factor values are not appropriate for urban inland water systems.