The effects of nutrient losses from agriculture on ground and surface water quality: the position of science in developing indicators for regulation

Schröder, J.J.; Scholefield, D.; Cabral, F. M.; Hofman, Georges

doi:10.1016/j.envsci.2003.10.006

Cited by 173 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The NiD is the most important piece of European (EU) regulation for reducing environmental impacts of fertilizer and manure and for increasing nitrogen use efficiency. The gross nitrogen balance, or nitrogen surplus, (Schröder et al, 2004;Vries et al, 2011) is an important indicator to evaluate the environmental impacts of the Nitrates Directive, particularly for the water compartment. This makes the NiD an important supporting instrument for other EU directives i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management, regulation and environmental impacts of nitrogen fertilization in northwestern Europe under the Nitrates Directive; a benchmark study

et al. 2012

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Abstract. Implementation of the Nitrates Directive (NiD) and its environmental impacts were compared for member states in the northwest of the European Union (Ireland, United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Northern France and Germany). The main sources of data were national reports for the third reporting period for the NiD (2004NiD ( -2007 and results of the MITERRA-EUROPE model. Implementation of the NiD in the considered member states is fairly comparable regarding restrictions for where and when to apply fertilizer and manure, but very different regarding application limits for N fertilization. Issues of concern and improvement of the implementation of the NiD are accounting for the fertilizer value of nitrogen in manure, and relating application limits for total nitrogen (N) to potential crop yield and N removal. The most significant environmental effect of the implementation of the NiD since 1995 is a major contribution to the decrease of the soil N balance (N surplus), particularly in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This decrease is accompanied by a modest decrease of nitrate concentrations since 2000 in fresh surface waters in most countries. This decrease is less prominent for groundwater in view of delayed response of nitrate in deep aquifers. In spite of improved fertilization practices, the southeast of the Netherlands, the Flemish Region and Brittany remain to be regions of major concern in view of a combination of a high nitrogen surplus, high leaching fractions to groundwater and tenacious exceedance of the water quality standards. On average the gross N balance in 2008 for the seven member states in EU-ROSTAT and in national reports was about 20 kg N ha −1 yr −1 lower than by MITERRA. The major cause is higher estimates of N removal in national reports which can amount to more than 50 kg N ha −1 yr −1 . Differences between procedures in member states to assess nitrogen balances and waterPublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. H. J. M. van Grinsven et al.: Benchmarking the Nitrates Directive in northwestern Europequality and a lack of cross-boundary policy evaluations are handicaps when benchmarking the effectiveness of the NiD. This provides a challenge for the European Commission and its member states, as the NiD remains an important piece of legislation for protecting drinking water quality in regions with many private or small public production facilities and controlling aquatic eutrophication from agricultural sources.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management, regulation and environmental impacts of nitrogen fertilization in northwestern Europe under the Nitrates Directive; a benchmark study

et al. 2012

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“…Nitrogen is an essential nutrient compound for plant growth and sustainable agriculture around the world (Lake et al 2003;Schröder et al 2004). The excessive use of nitrogen fertilisers may have a negative impact on the functioning of the natural environment in each ecosystem (Follet and Delgado 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrates and phosphates in cave waters of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, southern Poland

Różkowski

Rahmonov

et al. 2017

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The paper presents the varied presence of nitrates and phosphates in water from caves located in Częstochowa and Kraków, in urban, strongly anthropogenic conditions, representing the vadose zone of the fissure-karstic-porous massif of Upper Jurassic limestones. Hydrochemical research was carried out by the authors in the Cave on the Stone in Częstochowa in 2012-2015, in caves of the Zakrzówek horst from 1996 to 2002, and in the Dragon's Cave by the research team of J. Motyka in 1995Motyka in -1998. A number of NO 3 and PO 4 measurements were performed in waters sampled at these research sites: 20 measurements each of NO 3 and PO 4 at the Cave on the Stone, 228 of NO 3 and 422 of PO 4 at Zakrzówek, and 19 each of NO 3 and PO 4 at the Dragon's Cave. To assess the quality aspect of N and P compounds in waters from the Cave on the Stone, the results of geochemical modelling were processed using PHREEQC software. In cave waters, the oxidised form of nitrogen NO 3 − predominates; in surface wa- , and the insoluble form CaHPO 4 ; in surface waters, these forms are practically absent. Transformations of water chemistry in 'urban' caves, often centuries old, manifest themselves in, inter alia, the occurrence of multi-ionic waters, including seasonal variations and extremely diversified concentrations, with very high concentrations in subpopulations of NO 3 (0.2-485 mg dm −3 ) and P (0.02-6.87 mg dm −3 ). The common presence of NO 3 in waters of the phreatic zone of the Częstochowa Upland, an area developed in an agricultural direction, is documented by, inter alia, the exploitation of intakes supplying the city of Częstochowa (10-57 mg dm −3 , 2011) and crenological studies from 2008 to 2015 (NO 3 , 2-58 mg dm −3 ), at simultaneously low phosphate concentrations (PO 4 , 0.02-0.24 mg dm −3 ).

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“…Only 50% of N applied to agricultural soils is taken up by crops [13]; an additional ~25% is emitted to the atmosphere, ~2%-5% accumulates in the soil, and the remaining ~20% is discharged into aquatic systems [9]. While other factors contribute to groundwater nitrate concentrations [8,14,15], the proportion of the total area covered by cropland, pasture, and well-drained soil (which tends to be favored for agricultural production) are often prominent determinants of risk of nitrate leaching to groundwater [16][17][18], report a positive relationship between the amount of residual soil mineral N at harvest and the concentration of upper groundwater NO3 concentrations.…”

Section: Agricultural Water Nitrogen Use and Groundwater Nitrate Immentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, we propose the concept of a protective agricultural buffer zone, and analyze its feasibility with respect to local economics and policy options through an interdisciplinary approach employing economics, social sciences, and water sciences. Using a heavily nitrate polluted irrigated agricultural basin in California's Central Valley as our study area, we first test whether the potential for raising agricultural revenue is correlated with nitrogen fertilizer use and whether that then leads to higher nitrate contamination in affected communities [8,18,36]. We then examine specific agricultural land use alternatives, including managed recharge basins, which allow for significant amounts of recharge that would be both economically and environmentally beneficial as potential recharge buffer zone land uses.…”

Section: Groundwater Nitrate Treatment Non-treatment and Preventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Economic Feasibility of Irrigated Agricultural Land Use Buffers to Reduce Groundwater Nitrate in Rural Drinking Water Sources

Mayzelle

Viers

Medellín–Azuara

et al. 2014

Water

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Agricultural irrigation leachate is often the largest source for aquifer recharge in semi-arid groundwater basins, but contamination from fertilizers and other agro-chemicals may degrade the quality of groundwater. Affected communities are frequently economically disadvantaged, and water supply alternatives may be too costly. This study aimed to demonstrate that, when addressing these issues, environmental sustainability and market profitability are not incompatible. We investigated the viability of two low impact crops, alfalfa and vineyards, and new recharge basins as an alternative land use in recharge buffer zones around affected communities using an integrated hydrologic, socio-geographic, and economic analysis. In the southern Central Valley, California, study area, alfalfa and vineyards currently constitute 30% of all buffer zone cropland. Economic analyses of alternative land use scenarios indicate a wide range of revenue outcomes. Sector output gains and potential cost saving through land use conversion and resulting flood control result in gains of at least $2.3 billion, as compared to costs of $0.3 to $0.7 billion for treatment options over a 20 year period. Buffer zones would maintain the economic integrity of the region and concur with prevailing OPEN ACCESSWater 2015, 7 13 policy options. Thus, managed agricultural recharge buffer zones are a potentially attractive option for communities facing financial constraint and needing to diversify their portfolio of policy and infrastructure approaches to meet drinking water quality objectives.

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The effects of nutrient losses from agriculture on ground and surface water quality: the position of science in developing indicators for regulation

Cited by 173 publications

References 29 publications

Management, regulation and environmental impacts of nitrogen fertilization in northwestern Europe under the Nitrates Directive; a benchmark study

Management, regulation and environmental impacts of nitrogen fertilization in northwestern Europe under the Nitrates Directive; a benchmark study

Nitrates and phosphates in cave waters of Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, southern Poland

Economic Feasibility of Irrigated Agricultural Land Use Buffers to Reduce Groundwater Nitrate in Rural Drinking Water Sources

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