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2020 Vol.53, Issue 4

Original research article

Validation of Stable Isotope Analysis in R (SIAR) Model for Source Appointment of Agricultural Water Pollution
Hyun-Jin Park1
,
Sang-Sun Lim2†
,
Woo-Jung Choi3†
1Lecture and Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Rural and Bio-systems Engineering & Education and Research Unit for Climate-Smart Reclaimed-Tideland Agriculture, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
2Senior Researcher, Bio R&D Center, CJ Cheiljedang, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 16495, Korea
3Professor, Department of Rural and Bio-systems Enginnering & AgriBio Institute of Climate Change Management, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, Korea
*ss.lim1@cj.net
**wjchoi@chonnam.ac.kr
30 November 2020. pp. 391-404
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Abstract

The ‘Stable Isotope Analysis in R (SIAR)’ is useful in estimating the contribution of non-point pollution source to water pollution in intensive land-use areas with divergent pollution sources. However, the accuracy of the SIAR model has not been validated. In this study, the accuracy of the SIAR model was validated using simulation data set, and the applicability of the SIAR model was tested using literature data set. For source appointment of water pollution using SIAR, chemical variables including stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotope ratios as well as stoichiometry of C, N, and phosphorus (P) such as C/N, N/P, and C/P were used as end-members, which are the representative values of water chemistry variables for each potential source. In the simulation study, it was found that at least (n-1) end-members are required for accurate (r2>0.90 for regression between given and estimated contribution of pollution sources) estimation of pollution source when the number of sources is n. However, it was also suggested that using correct tracer that represents the source characteristics is critical for the accurate estimation of pollution source. Therefore, it is recommended to use end-members > (n-1) for more accurate estimation of pollution sources. In the study of SIAR model application to a case study with 5 sources and 2 or 3 end-members (C/N, C/P, and δ13C for total C; C/N, N/P, and δ15N for total N; and C/P and N/P for total N), it was possible to appoint source contribution for total C, N, and P in water. However, the accuracy of the estimation is expected to be low due to less number of end-member used in SIAR than the recommendation (i.e., n-1). Therefore, it is highly necessary to develop end-members to represent the sources of total C, N, and P for improvement of the accuracy of source appointment using SIAR model.

Diagrams of model output of SIAR: (a) bi-plot, (b) histogram, (c) matrix plot, and (d) box plot.
Keywords
SIAR
Accuracy
Non-point sources
Isotope mixing model
Water pollution
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Information
  • Publisher :Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Publisher(Ko) :한국토양비료학회
  • Journal Title :Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
  • Journal Title(Ko) :한국토양비료학회 학회지
  • Volume : 53
  • No :4
  • Pages :391-404
  • Received Date : 2020-10-22
  • Revised Date : 2020-10-23
  • Accepted Date : 2020-10-25
  • DOI :https://doi.org/10.7745/KJSSF.2020.53.4.391
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