Nitrogen dynamics in lotic ecosystems have been intensively studied in the light of eutrophication caused by anthoropogenic input of nitrogen. Natural abundance of
15N (δ
15N) is a promising tool to elucidate in-situ processes in lotic ecosystems because δ
15N can be a conservative tracer. However, many processes in intact ecosystems can exert isotope effects in different ways resulting in complex behavior of δ
15N, which often makes our understanding origins and processes of nitrogenous compounds semiquantitative. Especially it is not easy to discuss quantitatively the effect of anthoropogenic N input in an intact ecosystem with δ
15N data because endmembers of natural and anthoropogenic N compounds with respect to δ
15N are not easy to define. Here, we summarized the existing isotopic data of inorganic N (ammonium and nitrate), the variability of with δ
15N data, processes causing such variabilities in intact lotic ecosystems, and explore the possibility to use δ
15N data for the better understanding of N dynamics.
View full abstract