Oxygen exchange with water alters the oxygen isotopic signature of nitrate in soil ecosystems

Combined oxygen (O) and nitrogen (N) stable isotope analyses are commonly used in the source determination of nitrate (NO3-). The source and fate of NO3- are studied based on distinct O and N isotopic signatures (delta O-18 and delta N-15) of various sources and isotopic effects during NO3- transformation processes, which differ between sources like fertilizer, atmospheric deposition, and microbial production (nitrification). Isotopic fractionation during production and consumption of NO3- further affects the delta O-18 and delta N-15 signal. Regarding the delta O-18 in particular, biochemical O exchange between O from NO3- and H2O is implicitly assumed not to affect the 8180 signature of NO3-. This study aimed to test this assumption in soil-based systems. In a short (24 h) incubation experiment, soils were treated with artificially O-18 and N-15 enriched NO3-. Production of NO3- from nitrification during the incubation would affect both the O-18 and the N-15 enrichment. Oxygen exchange could therefore be studied by examining the change in O-18 relative to the N-15. In two out of the three soils, we found that the imposed O-18 enrichment of the NO3- declined relatively more than the imposed N-15-NO3- enrichment. This implies that O exchange indeed affected the O isotopic signature of NOT, which has important implications for NO3- source determination studies. We suggest that O exchange between NO3- and H2O should be taken into consideration when interpreting the O isotopic signature to study the origin and fate of NO3- in ecosystems. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.