Limited N removal by denitrification in agricultural drainage ditches in the Taihu Lake region of China

Purpose Agricultural drainage ditches constitute corridor wetlands that facilitate agricultural non-point nitrogen (N) load transportation into river systems. Quantifying sediment denitrification in ditches provides relationships between N losses from agriculture and water quality. However, high denitrification rate potential and limited N residence time make the total denitrification removal capacity in ditches uncertain. The purpose of this work was to identify N removal by denitrification in agricultural ditches in the Taihu Lake region of China.