Assessment of denitrification potential for coastal and inland sites using groundwater and soil analysis: the multivariate approach.

In an effort to determine the reason behind excellent nitrate remediation capacity at Kelantan region, a multivariate approach is employed to evaluate extent to which the influence of sea on soil geochemical composition affect variation pattern of groundwater quality. The results obtained from geochemical analysis of paleo-beach soil in coastal site at Bachok revealed multiple redox activity at different soil strata, involving both heterotrophic and autotrophic denitrification. In soil and water analysis, eight of the fourteen hydro-geochemical parameters (conductivity, temperature, soil texture, oxidation reduction potential, pH, total organic carbon, Fe, Cu, Mn, Cl, SO, NO, NO and PO) measured using standard procedures were subjected to multivariate analysis.