Dissimilatory nitrate reduction processes, including denitrification, anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX), and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), play an important role in controlling the nitrate dynamics and fate in estuarine and coastal environments. We investigated potential rates of denitrification, ANAMMOX, and DNRA in the sediments of the Yangtze Estuary via slurry incubation experiments combined with isotope‐tracing techniques to reveal their respective contributions to total nitrate reduction in this hypereutrophic estuarine ecosystem. Measured rates of denitrification, ANAMMOX, and DNRA ranged from 0.06 to 4.51 µmol N kg⁻¹ h⁻¹, 0.01 to 0.52 µmol N kg⁻¹ h⁻¹, and 0.03 to 0.89 µmol N kg⁻¹ h⁻¹, respectively. These potential dissimilatory nitrate reduction process rates correlated significantly with salinity, sulfide, organic carbon, and nitrogen. Denitrification contributed 38–96% total nitrate reduction in the Yangtze Estuary, as compared to 3–45% for DNRA and 1–36% for ANAMMOX. In total, the denitrification and ANAMMOX processes removed approximately 25% of the external inorganic nitrogen transported annually into the estuary. In contrast, most external inorganic nitrogen was retained in the estuary and contributes substantially to the severe eutrophication of the Yangtze Estuary.

Over the past several decades, human activities have caused substantial enrichment of reactive nitrogen in China’s coastal wetlands. Although anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox), the process of oxidizing ammonium into dinitrogen gas through the reduction of nitrite, is identified as an important process for removing reactive nitrogen, little is known about the dynamics of anammox and its contribution to nitrogen removal in nitrogen-enriched environments. Here, we examine potential rates of anammox and associate them with bacterial diversity and abundance across the coastal wetlands of China using molecular and isotope tracing techniques. High anammox bacterial diversity was detected in China’s coastal wetlands and included Candidatus Scalindua, Kuenenia, Brocadia and Jettenia. Potential anammox rates were more closely associated with the abundance of anammox bacteria than to their diversity. Among all measured environmental variables, temperature was a key environmental factor, causing a latitudinal distribution of the anammox bacterial community composition, biodiversity and activity along the coastal wetlands of China. Based on nitrogen isotope tracing experiments, anammox was estimated to account for approximately 3.8–10.7% of the total reactive nitrogen removal in the study area. Combined with denitrification, anammox can remove 20.7% of the total external terrigenous inorganic nitrogen annually transported into China’s coastal wetland ecosystems.

This study investigated net anthropogenic nitrogen inputs (NANI, including atmospheric nitrogen deposition, nitrogenous fertilizer use, net nitrogen import in food and feed, and agricultural nitrogen fixation) and the associated relationship with riverine dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) export in the Yangtze River basin during the 1980–2012 period. The total NANI in the Yangtze River basin has increased by more than twofold over the past three decades (3537.0 ± 615.3 to 8176.6 ± 1442.1 kg N km⁻² yr⁻¹). The application of chemical fertilizer was the largest component of NANI in the basin (51.1%), followed by net nitrogen import in food and feed (26.0%), atmospheric nitrogen deposition (13.2%), and agricultural nitrogen fixation (9.7%). A regression analysis showed that the riverine DIN export was strongly correlated with NANI and the annual water discharge (R² = 0.90, p < 0.01). NANI in the Yangtze River basin was estimated to contribute 37–66% to the riverine DIN export. We also forecasted future variations in NANI and riverine DIN export for the years 2013 to 2030, based on possible future changes in human activities and the climate. This work provides a quantitative understanding of NANI in the Yangtze River basin and its effects on riverine DIN export and helps to develop integrated watershed nitrogen management strategies.