Whose waters, whose nutrients? Knowledge, uncertainty, and controversy over eutrophication in the Mar Menor

Abstract

This work explores the role of knowledge claims and uncertainty in the public dispute over the causes and solutions to nonpoint-driven overfertilization of the Mar Menor lagoon (Spain). Drawing on relational uncertainty theory, we combine the analysis of narratives and of uncertainty. Our results show two increasingly polarized narratives that deviate in the causes for nutrient enrichment and the type of solutions seen as effective, all of which relate to contested visions on agricultural sustainability. Several interconnected uncertainties are mobilized to dispute the centrality of agriculture as a driver for eutrophication and to confront strategies that may hamper productivity. Yet, both narratives rest on a logic of dissent that strongly relies on divergent knowledge to provide legitimacy, ultimately reinforcing contestation. Transforming the ongoing polarization dynamics may require different inter- and transdisciplinary approaches that focus on sharing rather than assigning responsibility and that unpack rather than disregard existing uncertainties.

Green Manuring and Irrigation Strategies Positively Influence the Soil Characteristics and Yield of Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) Crop under Salinity Stress

“…Similar results were found by Benidire et al [44]. On the other hand, the NO 3 − dynamics observed in the lysimeters confirm its decrease in the surface horizons during the coriander vegetative cycle, a trend clearly attributable to the absorption of this constituent, but also to leaching towards deeper horizons, which is confirmed by the increase in the lysimeters installed at 60 cm during some stages of cultivation in treatments with optimal and surplus irrigation, a process that may be behind the eutrophication observed in nearby aquatic ecosystems [45][46][47] and which satisfies the third hypothesis of this paper.…”