Dynamics of copper and zinc sedimentation in a lagooning system receiving landfill leachate

This study characterises the sediment dredged from a lagooning system composed of a settling pond and three lagoons that receive leachates from a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill in France. Organic carbon, carbonate, iron oxyhydroxides, copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) concentrations were measured in the sediment collected from upstream to downstream in the lagooning system. In order to complete our investigation of sedimentation mechanisms, leachates were sampled in both dry (spring) and wet (winter) seasonal conditions. Precipitation of calcite and amorphous Fe-oxyhydroxides and sedimentation of organic matter occurred in the settling pond. Since different distributions of Zn and Cu concentrations are measured in sediment samples collected downstream in the lagooning system, it is suggested that these elements were not distributed in a similar way in the leachate fractions during the first stage of treatment in the settling pond, so that their sedimentation dynamics in the lagooning system differ. In the lagoons, it was found that organic carbon plays a major role in Cu and Zn mobility and trapping. The presence of macrophytes along the edges provided an input of organic matter that enhanced Cu and Zn scavenging. This edge effect resulted in a two-fold increase in Cu and Zn concentrations in the sediment deposited near the banks of the lagoons, thus confirming the importance of vegetation for the retention of Cu and Zn in lagooning systems.     

Quantifying the contribution of nitrification and denitrification to the nitrous oxide flux using 15N tracers

Microbial transformations of nitrification and denitrification are the main sources of nitrous oxide (N2O) from soils. Relative contributions of both processes to N2O emissions were estimated on an agricultural soil using 15N isotope tracers (15NH4+ or 15NO3-), for a 10-day batch experiment. Under unsaturated and saturated conditions, both processes were significantly involved in N2O production. Under unsaturated conditions, 60% of N-N2O came from nitrification, while denitrification contributed around 85-90% under saturated conditions. Estimated nitrification rates were not significantly different whatever the soil moisture content, whereas the proportion of nitrified N emitted as N2O changed from 0.13 to 2.32%. In coherence with previous studies, we interpreted this high value as resulting from the decrease in O2 availability through the increase in soil moisture content. It thus appears that, under limiting aeration conditions, some values for N2O emissions through nitrification could be underestimated.