Nitrogen compounds are essential nutrients for plants, and nitrates are the only form in which plants can take in nitrogen. Plants use nitrates from the soil which, over time, can deplete the soil of nitrates and make it difficult for future crops to grow and thrive. To help solve this problem, people treat the soil with nitrogen-based fertilizers and lawn treatments. When nitrogen-based fertilizers are used, any excess nitrates can filter down into the groundwater supplies and contaminate wells. Nitrates are commonly used to indicate the overall quality of drinking water.
Atmospheric deposition is the second-most prevalent source of nitrogen.
Nitrate compounds are known to be highly soluble in water. If they are present in the soil they will dissolve in any water that is present. The resulting nitrate ions will be highly mobile. They will move downward into ground water areas or into adjacent streams. We hypothesize that soils that are found to have high concentrations of nitrate will have a positive effect on the concentration of nitrates found in the water downstream.