Speciation and spatial distribution of nitrogen in surface sediments of in Ming Lake

To reveal the diverse occurrence forms and spatial distribution characteristics of nitrogen in the surface sediments of Ming Lake, a sequential leaching method was employed to determine the nitrogen in the surface sediments of Ming Lake. The results show that the total Nitrogen (TN) of the surface sediments of Ming Lake are between 383.23 and 3270.38 ug/g, and the spatial distribution is generally shown as southwest>middle>southeast>west of the lake. The results indicate the nutrient level of the whole lake is not very high. However, for some local areas a risk of high eutrophication pollution may exist due to excessive content; the average TTN is 638.77 ug/g which occupying 36 % of the lake; the spatial distribution is the same with TN; the average (NTN) is 928.61 ug/g that occupied 61 % of TN. With the exception of SAEF-N, every occurrence form of nitrogen was positive with TOM, indicating that the content and spatial distribution of organic matter in the surface sediments of Minghu Lake are the main controlling factors for the content and spatial distribution characteristics of various forms of nitrogen in the sediments.