Grey water footprint as an indicator for diffuse nitrogen pollution: The case of Navarra, Spain

Autor: Maite M. Aldaya, Corina Iris Rodriguez, María José Beriain, Alex Fernández-Poulussen, Daniel Merchan, Ramón Llamas
Přispěvatelé: Universidad Pública de Navarra / Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. ISFOOD - Institute on Innovation & Sustainable Development in Food Chain, Universidad Pública de Navarra. Departamento de Ingeniería, Nafarroako Unibertsitate Publikoa. Ingeniaritza Saila
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Academica-e. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad Pública de Navarra
instname
ISSN: 0048-9697
2017-0564
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134338
Popis: Nitrogen is an essential element for plant growth, while its application and associated pollution is a worldwide concern. Generally, diffuse source pollution and its impacts on ecosystem health are difficult to monitor and regulate. Here we used the grey water footprint (GWF) and water pollution level (WPL) indicators, based on a soil nitrogen balance approach to differentiate between surface and groundwater, in order to better understand and quantify the pressure that nitrogen fertilisation generates on freshwater. For the first time, we compared the results of these indicators with actual nitrogen concentration data in surface and groundwater bodies, showing in both cases a positive significant correlation according to Spearman correlation coefficient. This means that the theoretical WPL results might be valuable to anticipate and identify nitrate pollution in surface and groundwater bodies. However, several factors influence the N-related processes that should be considered, such as natural attenuation. We estimated the agricultural and livestock nitrogen loads delivered to freshwater and the associated GWFs and WPLs at the municipality level in Navarra. Large GWFs are observed in southern Navarra, particularly in intensive agricultural regions such as Ribera Alta-Aragón and Ribera Baja. We estimated that 64% of the GWF related to nitrogen loads came from artificial fertilisers, 16% from manure, 11% from atmospheric deposition and the remaining 9% from biological fixation, seeds and other organic fertilisers. Among the crops, cereals had the largest contribution to the nitrogen-related GWF (54%) followed by vegetables (17%) and fodder (11%). This research has been carried out with the support of Obra Social La Caixa, Caja Navarra Foundation (Spain), UNICEN, CONICET, National Agency for Scientific and Technological Promotion (PICT 2017-0564) (Argentina), and research project CGL2015-64284-C2-1-R of the Spanish Ministry for the Economy and Competitiveness.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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