Identification of nitrate sources in the Jing River using dual stable isotopes, Northwest China

Nitrate (NO₃^-) contamination has become a dominant international problem in the aquatic environment, so identifying the sources and transformations of NO₃^- is the basis for improving water quality. Since the Jing River is the largest tributary of the Wei River, to understand its water quality, this study collected surface water samples from the Shaanxi section of the Jing River during the dry season. The potential sources of NO₃^- were analyzed by hydrochemical and bi-isotopic methods, and the SIAR model was used to estimate the proportional contribution of each source. Results indicated that NO₃^--N was the main form of inorganic nitrogen in this area, and the average total nitrogen content was 10.23 mg·L^-1, which showed that nitrogen pollution was highly serious; the transformation process of nitrogen in this study area was mainly nitrification; The results of Bayesian model showed that manure and sewage contributed to the most NO₃^- (64.39%) in the dry season, followed by soil nitrogen, which was 26.35%. These results help to adopt better nitrogen management measures to meet the national environmental quality standards for surface water.