Temporal-spatial variations and influencing factors of nitrogen in the shallow groundwater of the nearshore vegetable field of Erhai Lake, China

Nitrogen export from the nearshore vegetable field of Erhai Lake seriously threatens the water quality of Erhai Lake, which is the second largest highland freshwater lake in Yunnan Province, China. Among the nitrogen flows into Erhai Lake, shallow groundwater migration is a major pathway. The nitrogen variation and influencing factors in the shallow groundwater of the nearshore vegetable field of Erhai Lake are not well documented. A 2-year field experiment was conducted to determine the concentrations of nitrogen species in the shallow groundwater and their influencing factors in the nearshore vegetable field of Erhai Lake. The results showed that concentrations of TN, NO3−-N, and NO2−-N gradually increased with increasing elevation and distance from Erhai Lake, but the opposite was observed for NH4+-N in the shallow groundwater. The concentrations of nitrogen species in the rainy season were greater than those in the dry season. NO3−-N accounted for more than 79% of total nitrogen in shallow groundwater. Redundancy analysis showed that more than 70% of the temporal and spatial variations of nitrogen concentrations in the shallow groundwater were explained by shallow groundwater depth, and only approximately 10% of variation was explained by the factors of soil porosity, silt clay content of soil, and NH4+-N and NO3−-N concentrations of soil (p < 0.05). The shallow groundwater depth had more notable effects on nitrogen concentrations in the shallow groundwater than other factors. This result will strongly support the need for further research regarding the management practices for reducing nitrogen concentrations in shallow groundwater.