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Assessment of Nitrate Hazards in Umbria Region (Italy) Using Field Datasets: Good Agriculture Practices and Farms Sustainability

Author

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  • Ombretta Paladino

    (DICCA—Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica e Ambientale, Università di Genova, Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genova (I), Italy)

  • Marco Massabò

    (CIMA Research Foundation, Via Magliotto 2, 17100 Savona (I), Italy)

  • Edoardo Gandoglia

    (DICCA—Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica e Ambientale, Università di Genova, Via Opera Pia 15, 16145 Genova (I), Italy)

Abstract

The Nitrates Directive, EU 91/676/EEC, obliged all European Union member states to introduce laws that guarantee the use of proper agriculture and farm methods, with the aim to reduce pollution resulting from the excessive use of nitrates. In this work, we estimated the potential and effective nitrogen load from agriculture, farms, civil, and industrial sources in Umbria region, Italy, and assessed the previous (and actual) contamination by nitrates at different scales. The adopted methodology uses databases of the sources, such as the type of fertilizer (inorganic or manure), the type of industrial site, the census of livestock and field data at a local, basin, and regional scale. Hydrological and geological models are used to compute infiltration. The study shows that the contribution of farms to nitrate pollution is in the order of swine > cattle > sheep and goats; while the highest agricultural load is due to arable land, followed by olive and grape. The study also shows that municipalities that have values of nitrates over the threshold for both groundwater and surface water can rapidly change their status during consecutive years. This means that rules for farm sustainability, complying with the Nitrates Directive, EU 91/676/EEC, should be defined at a sub-basin scale, where the hydrogeological conditions strongly influence infiltration.

Suggested Citation

  • Ombretta Paladino & Marco Massabò & Edoardo Gandoglia, 2020. "Assessment of Nitrate Hazards in Umbria Region (Italy) Using Field Datasets: Good Agriculture Practices and Farms Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-26, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:22:p:9497-:d:445326
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Matzeu, Anna & Secci, Romina & Uras, Gabriele, 2017. "Methodological approach to assessment of groundwater contamination risk in an agricultural area," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 46-58.
    2. Kuhn, T. & Enders, A. & Gaiser, T. & Schäfer, D. & Srivastava, A.K. & Britz, W., 2020. "Coupling crop and bio-economic farm modelling to evaluate the revised fertilization regulations in Germany," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
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