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La aplicación de sistemas de información geográfica (SIG) en el ámbito de las ciencias ambientales es cada vez mayor, como así se demuestra en la elevada cantidad de estudios en hidrología, edafología, gestión forestal, impacto ambiental, contaminación ambiental, auditoría ambiental, etc. Las aguas superficiales y subterráneas en el litoral de la Comunitat Valenciana se ven afectadas por la intrusión marina y por la contaminación por nitratos. En el siguiente proyecto se aplicarán los SIG para cartografiar la calidad de las aguas en la comarca de La Safor. Se generarán cartografías de distribución de cloruros y nitratos para analizar la situación de la comarca detectando zonas críticas y aptas. Aplicando superposición espacial entre las diferentes cartografías se va a estudiar la evolución de estas variables a lo largo del tiempo y finalmente se intentará proponer alternativas para que la situación se dirija al mejor estado ambiental posible., The application of geographical information systems (GIS) in environmental science field is constantly increasing such as studies of hydrology, soil science, forest management, environmental studies, etc. GIS techniques were applied in this project for mapping the quality of waters in the Safor region. This region is localized in the coast of Valencian region and both surface and ground waters are affected by marine intrusion and nitrate pollution. Cartography of distribution of those variables was generated for detecting critical and suitable regions. Spatial overlapping analysis was applied among different cartographies to study the evolution and finally some actuations will be proposed for achieving the best environmental situation.

NMR transverse relaxation time (T2) distribution of 1H nuclei of water has been used tomonitor the moisture condensation kinetics in Ca(NO3)2·4H2O-polluted Lecce stone, a calcareous stone with highly regular porous structure often utilized as basic material in Baroque buildings. Polluted samples have been exposed to water vapor adsorption at controlled relative humidity to mimic environmental conditions. In presence of pollutants, the T2 distributions of water in stone exhibit a range of relaxation time values and amplitudes not observed in the unpolluted case. These characteristics could be exploited for in situ noninvasive detection of salt pollution in Lecce stone or as damage precursors in architectural buildings of cultural heritage interest.

International audience; The present study associates groundwater nitrate pollution with agricultural activity in the Upper-Cheliff wich is known for intensive farming practices. The indicatory kriging method is used in order to elaborate a map of the spatial probability distribution of nitrate concentration that exceeds a threshold value of 50ppm during high watering period for the year 2012. The obtained results show that the areas exceeding nitrate concentrations of 50 ppm, occupy more than 80% of the Upper-Cheliff aquifer area. It appears, from this map, the most affected areas are those for which the level of intensification of the N-fertilizers is the strongest (zone of garden farming, potatoes in particular) throw condensed.These results are coherent with the experimental data, which show an average nitrate concentration value of 75 ppm, significantly higher than the World Health Organization (WHO)'S standards. In this study, the total nitrogen brought to the soils of the Upper-Cheliff is estimated at 247 kg ha-1 for this year, and compared to the results of New Computer models such as PILOTEN used to analyze alternative management practices together with soil, plant, and climate characteristics to determine the amount of nitrogen leached under the potatoes crops. The result of this model show that 60% of nitrogen input is leaching under potato crops which is relevant to the map showing the spatial evolution of nitrate. Nitrate pollution in the groundwater of the Upper-Cheliff appears to be significant and driven by the application of both inorganic fertilizer and land use.

Summary Zona Citricola is an important area for Mexico due to its citriculture activity. Situated in a sub-humid to humid climate adjacent to the Sierra Madre Oriental, this valley hosts an aquifer system that represents sequences of shales, marls, conglomerates, and alluvial deposits. Groundwater flows from mountainous recharge areas to the basin-fill deposits and provides base flows to supply drinking water to the adjacent metropolitan area of Monterrey. Recent studies examining the groundwater quality of the study area urge the mitigation of groundwater pollution. The objective of this study was to characterize the physical and chemical properties of the groundwater and to assess the processes controlling the groundwater’s chemistry. Correlation was used to identify associations among various geochemical constituents. Factor analysis was applied to identify the water’s chemical characteristics that were responsible for generating most of the variability within the dataset. Hierarchical cluster analysis was employed in combination with a post-hoc analysis of variance to partition the water samples into hydrochemical water groups: recharge waters (Ca–HCO 3 ), transition zone waters (Ca–HCO 3 –SO 4 to Ca–SO 4 –HCO 3 ) and discharge waters (Ca–SO 4 ). Inverse geochemical models of these groups were developed and constrained using PHREEQC to elucidate the chemical reactions controlling the water’s chemistry between an initial (recharge) and final water. The primary reactions contributing to salinity were the following: (1) water–rock interactions, including the weathering of evaporitic rocks and dedolomitization; (2) dissolution of soil gas carbon dioxide; and (3) input from animal/human wastewater and manure in combination with by denitrification processes. Contributions from silicate weathering to salinity ranged from less important to insignificant. The findings suggest that it may not be cost-effective to regulate manure application to mitigate groundwater pollution.

This paper extends the empiricalanalysis of non-point source pollution to thecase where the pollutant is stochastic andalternative regulatory instruments havedifferent administrative costs. It also appliesa method of stochastic programming whereemissions are log-normally distributed. Forthe Kennet catchment in South West England werank a range of policies in terms of abatementcosts alone, and total costs (abatement andadministrative costs). On the basis ofabatement costs alone, a uniform emission taxis the cost minimising policy, but on the basisof total cost a nitrogen input tax is theleast-cost policy. Furthermore, the policyranking, based on total costs, changes as thereliability standard increases.

One of the primary justifications for using transferable permits for pollution control is that they achieve a given level of emission reduction at the lowest cost. Although the initial allocation of pollution permits may have no impact in terms of efficiency, it does have a significant impact on equity. In this paper, we examine a variety of permit allocation rules for a small catchment in South West England. An asymmetric Nash bargaining framework is employed to characterise agents’ co-operative behaviour and to explain their likely preferences over permit allocation rules. The results indicate that the preferred allocation scheme depends upon the relative bargaining power of the agents. Furthermore, some potential links between ex-ante and ex-post equity criteria were also discussed.

Special attention should be paid to the choice of the proper N-fertilizer, in order to avoid a further acidification and degradation of acid soils and at the same time to improve nitrogen use efficiency and to limit the nitrate pollution of the ground waters. Therefore, the risk of leaching of the fertilizer and of the acidification of the soils must be considered prior to any N-fertilizer application. The application of N-fertilizers to the soil requires a good knowledge of the soil–fertilizer relationship, which those who are planning the fertilization policy and/or applying it might not have. In this study, a fuzzy classification methodology is presented for mapping the agricultural soils according to the kind and the rate of application of N-fertilizer that should be used. The values of pH, clay, sand and carbonates soil variables are estimated at each point of an area by applying geostatistical techniques. Using the pH values three fuzzy sets: ‘no-risk-acidification’; ‘low-risk-acidification’; and ‘high-risk-acidification’ are produced and the memberships of each point to the three sets are estimated. Additionally, from the clay and sand values the membership grade to the fuzzy set ‘risk-of-leaching’ is calculated. The parameters and their values, which are used for the construction of the fuzzy sets, are based on the literature, the existing knowledge and the experimentation, of the soil–fertilizer relationships and provide a consistent mechanism for mapping the soils according to the type of N-fertilizers that should be applied and the rate of applications. The maps produced can easily be interpreted and used by non-experts in the application of the fertilization policy at national, local and farm level. The methodology is presented through a case study using data from the Amfilochia area, west Greece.

Irrigated agriculture is closely linked to water quality problems throughout the western United States. In this paper it is argued that the market failure paradigm is not adequate as an environmental policy guide, especially for water quality problems involving individual irrigators. An alternative stewardship paradigm is developed and applied to nitrate pollution of groundwater in central Nebraska. This paradigm holds that producers are not profit maximizers, that information is imperfect and that producers care enough about the environment to voluntarily substitute some environmental quality for income. The analysis suggests that education can produce significant improvements in environmental quality, and that in some circumstances education may be more effective than regulations or incentive-based strategies.

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Nitrate-nitrogen (NO3--N) pollution of water resources is a worldwide problem. Field trials were conducted from 1997 to 1998 to investigate the combined impacts of water table management (WTM) and N fertilization rate on soil NO3--N level and concentration of NO3--N in drainage water. Treatments consisted of two water table treatments: free drainage (FD) with open drains at a 1.0-m depth from the soil surface and subirrigation (SI) with a design water table of 0.6 m below the soil surface, and two N fertilizer rates: 200 kg N ha-1 (N200) and 120 kg N ha-1 (N120) in a split-plot design. Subirrigation reduced NO3--N concentration in the soil compared to FD by 37% in the spring of 1997 but not significantly (2%) in 1998; and 45% and 19% in the fall of 1997 and 1998, respectively. Higher rates of fertilization (N200) resulted in greater levels of NO3--N in the soil profile than the N120. Nitrate-N concentrations in drainage water from SI were 74% and 80% lower than those from FD in 1997 and 1998, respectively. Water table management can effectively reduce NO3--N pollution of water.

On the basis of long-term studies, the role of agricultural chemicals in enhancing the production process and the rate of nitrate accumulation in plants is shown. Their influence on the state of plants is evaluated from physiological and agrochemical standpoints. The possibility of improving the resistance of agroecosystems to various adverse factors is considered.

Groundwater quality is one of the most important aspects for sustainable development of social and economic life. In present study, 41 groundwater samples were collected systematically during the pre-monsoon (May 2015) and post-monsoon (December 2015) periods. Nine parameters, i.e. EC, Ca, Mg, Na, K, NO3, SO4, HCO3 and Cl were analyzed in the laboratory adapting a standard protocol of APHA, 1995. The analyzed samples were compared with BIS and WHO standard for drinking purpose and spatial distribution map was prepared using Arc GIS Software. In present study, it is found that Ca, Mg, K and NO3 are above permissible limit and SO4 is above an acceptable limits according to BIS standard. Present study reflecting that main causes of groundwater pollution in study area are anthropogenic activities.

En este artículo se presentan los resultados de un análisis de las concentraciones de nitratos en 24 fuentes de agua de los acuíferos de Barva, Colima Superior y Colima Inferior, Costa Rica, en el periodo 2006-2015, compararlos con un trabajo similar realizado en el periodo 1989-2005 e identificar el cumplimiento del valor máximo permisible de 50 mg/L estipulado en el Reglamento para la Calidad del Agua Potable de Costa Rica y sus tendencias. Se analizaron cerca de 2.500 datos históricos del Programa de Vigilancia y Control de la Calidad del Agua del Laboratorio Nacional de Aguas del Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados. Los resultados indican que las 24 fuentes son potables por nitratos y cumplen con el valor máximo permisible, con promedios inferiores a 25 mg/L, excepto La Libertad y el pozo Belén 3, y que el acuífero más vulnerable a la contaminación es Colima Superior. El punto de muestreo con mayor tendencia a la contaminación es la fuente de La Libertad, con 26,3 mg/L y 30,30 mg/L en los periodos 1989-2005 y 2006-2015, respectivamente. Se debe continuar con el monitoreo frecuente de estas fuentes y aplicar la legislación vigente, para proteger las zonas de recarga de estos tres importantes acuíferos.

Water is a precious and essential natural resource for multiple uses. Its use for food or hygiene requires excellent physicochemical and microbiological quality. To assess the quality of well water for human consumption in the Al Hoceima region which is located in North of Morocco, a physico-chemical and bacteriological control was carried out on the basis of 10 water samples from wells in this area. The analyzes were performed on these samples by measuring the following physic-chemical parameters: temperature, pH, electric conductivity (EC), chloride (Cl -),dissolved oxygen, nitrate (NO3 -), and possibly seeking unwanted bacteria (total bacteria, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, fecal streptococci). The samples were analyzed systematically to measure all the physicochemical indicators of pollution. Correlation between pollution parameters were conducted to give a reponse element on the main causes pollution. The results performed analysis, revealed a pollution of an agricultural origin. This is confirmed by the maximum levels of chlorides, which exceed 2640 mg/l, thereby explaining the high conductivity levels (4800μs/cm). In addition 14% of analyzed wells have nitre levels 50mg/l nitrate pollution a not alarming. However, if a pollution of agricultural origin is mentioned, the lithological contribution can not be neglected on the results obtained.

Scientific literature in social sciences that deals with nitrate embraces two centuries, whereas very little socio-economic work has addressed other forms of reactive nitrogen. Nitrogen has always had an ambivalent role as both a raw material indispensable for the development of agricultural and a source of negative impacts. This ambivalence has accompanied the social history of livestock production and can explain the conflicting nature of the subject and the moderate environmental efficiency of environmental policies. The legal system is particularly complex. The main cause of territorial pollutions is linked to the industrialisation and spatial concentration of livestock production in France, as in numerous countries in Europe and North America. This conglomeration movement is translated by a concentration of animal manure, which drives to nitrogen balance surplus and associated serious environmental consequences. (Resume d'auteur)

The directional distance function defined in a DEA type non-parametric framework provides a highly flexible structure for modelling producer behaviour in the presence of polluting emissions and environmental regulations. This article presents five models describing different “command and control” type policy measures as an economic one about nitrogen pollution of agricultural origin. These measures concern the management of the mandatory constraint on the spreading of organic manure and the investment in manure treatment facilities. The study also simulates the use of an economic instrument by enforcing the individual manure constraint at an aggregated level. Using individual and aggregated DEA models, this paper provides insights into the impact of individual and collective management of environmental policy instruments., JRC.J.4-Agriculture and Life Sciences in the Economy

In this paper a methodology for the stochastic management of groundwater quality problems is presented, which can be used to provide agricultural advisory services. A stochastic algorithm to solve the coupled flow and mass transport inverse problem is combined with a stochastic management approach to develop methods for integrating uncertainty; thus obtaining more reliable policies on groundwater nitrate pollution control from agriculture. The stochastic inverse model allows identifying non-Gaussian parameters and reducing uncertainty in heterogeneous aquifers by constraining stochastic simulations to data. The management model determines the spatial and temporal distribution of fertilizer application rates that maximizes net benefits in agriculture constrained by quality requirements in groundwater at various control sites. The quality constraints can be taken, for instance, by those given by water laws such as the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD). Furthermore, the methodology allows providing the trade-off between higher economic returns and reliability in meeting the environmental standards. Therefore, this new technology can help stakeholders in the decision-making process under an uncertainty environment. The methodology has been successfully applied to a 2D synthetic aquifer, where an uncertainty assessment has been carried out by means of Monte Carlo simulation techniques. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; Within a context of known and alarming deterioration of water bodies and under pressure from the European Water Framework Directive, in 2009 the French government designated slightly more than 500 priority catchments. In so doing, it declared its objective of concentrating its efforts on these areas, trying out a methodology for action, and proving to the European Union that it was taking action. The present study has documented the on-going situations and actions on these Grenelle catchment areas and identified the broad types of actions and situations as part of a critical analysis of the approach retained by the government. After constructing an analytical framework of these areas, we assembled together a large collection of data to be analyzed with multivariate statistical analysis.These data were either gathered from surveys based on a questionnaire encompassing biophysical, agricultural, social, and economic aspects or based on spatialized statistical data sources. This work demonstrates key factors characterizing the catchment areas: the hydrological entry point for the definition of a field of action involves great variability of territorial size and therefore of the players involved (municipalities, farmers, cooperatives, users). Little attention is given to this aspect in the relatively rigid single legal procedure presently in force. On these catchment areas, we emphasize two main lines of structuring parameters: on the one hand, the relative diversity of land use and forms of agriculture, and on the other, the relative strength of the administrative structure. These results could be useful for those managing these issues in the different government agencies, those implementing the approaches, or local authorities responsible for resource management, as they provide a better understanding of how to adapt these experiments to other areas concerned by water resource issues.

Large increases in livestock production have led to increased pressures on the natural environment in many regions of the world. In the absence of new environmental policies, these environmental problems are projected to worsen as demand for livestock products continues to grow. In this paper we investigate the linkages between growth, trade and the environment for livestock to the year 2005, including Uruguay Round trade reform. We focus on nitrate pollution from livestock sources, given projected changes in the world economy. Our analysis suggests that the aggregate environmental implications of Uruguay Round‐type trade policy reform appear to be small or even positive for world livestock production. On the other hand, in the absence of improved environmental policies, the aggregate environmental impact of growth and structural economic change to 2005 is likely to be of much greater consequence to those concerned about environmental damage.

Eighteen pan lysimeters were installed at a depth of 1.2 m in a Hagerstown silt loam soil in a corn field in central Pennsylvania in 1988. In 1995, wick lysimeters were also installed at 1.2 m depth in the same access pits. Treatments have included N fertilizer rates, use of manure, crop rotation (continuous corn, corn-soybean, alfalfa-corn), and tillage (chisel plow-disk, no-till). The leachate data were used to evaluate a number of nitrate leaching models. Some of the highlights of the 11 years of results include the following: 1) growing corn without organic N inputs at the economic optimum N rate (EON) resulted in NO3–-N concentrations of 15 to 20 mg l-1in leachate; 2) use of manure or previous alfalfa crop as partial source of N also resulted in 15 to 20 mg l-1of NO3–-N in leachate below corn at EON; 3) NO3–-N concentration in leachate below alfalfa was approximately 4 mg l-1; 4) NO3–-N concentration in leachate below soybeans following corn was influenced by fertilizer N rate applied to corn; 5) the mass of NO3–-N leached below corn at the EON rate averaged 90 kg N ha-1(approx. 40% of fertilizer N applied at EON); 6) wick lysimeters collected approximately 100% of leachate vs. 40–50% collected by pan lysimeters. Coefficients of variation of the collected leachate volumes for both lysimeter types were similar; 7) tillage did not markedly affect nitrate leaching losses; 8) tested leaching models could accurately predict leachate volumes and could be calibrated to match nitrate leaching losses in calibration years, but only one model (SOILN) accurately predicted nitrate leaching losses in the majority of validation treatment years. Apparent problems with tested models: there was difficulty estimating sizes of organic N pools and their transformation rates, and the models either did not include a macropore flow component or did not handle macropore flow well.

電極を用いた新しい原位置脱窒法の地下水浄化性能について, 実験室規模の砂質帯水層を用い, 実験的ならびに理論的検討を行った. その結果, 本法の脱窒性能は電極の配置と材質に大きく影響されるが, 地下水流れ方向に対して電極を直交して配置する直交配置が電極を並行して配置する並行配置より電場の影響を受け難く優れていることがわかった. また, 電極を直交配置する場合の浄化性能を表す二次元数理モデルを構築し, 種々の通電条件下の実測値と比較することによってモデルの妥当性を検証した.

Nitrate pollution of groundwater is paid more and more attention for its hazardous to environments and human health. A strain of DN11 was isolated from soil and used in the laboratory columns filled with various media for nitrate removal. The experimental results showed that DN11 could reduce nitrate at different rates in different media under the aerobic condition. The mechanism for nitrate removal with DN11 is explained meanwhile.

窒素肥料の溶脱に伴う地下水の硝酸汚染の実態を把握するため、1997年9月に荒川扇状地地帯(福島盆地南部)の約90箇所で不圧地下水を採取し、硝酸イオン濃度を測定した。この濃度分布図から、1)扇状地地帯の上流側にまとまって分布する畑地(樹園地・草地を含む)が主たる窒素負荷源となっていること、2)この窒素負荷源地帯から下流方向へ濃度が急激に低下し不連続な濃度分布の形成されていることが明らかになった。新たに作成した地下水面図に基づき推定した地下水流動系を考慮すると、濃度分布に現れたこの不連続現象は、上流側の畑地で窒素負荷を受けた地下水流(硝酸性窒素濃度5～10mg・l^)が、扇状地の中・下流部で合流する別系統の地下水流(硝酸性窒素濃度0.2mg・l^)により著しく希釈された結果であると理解された。, A newly constructed pollution map of nitrates produced in fertilizer nitrogen leaching shows that clusters of uplands in the proximal fan of the Arakawa River are pollution sources and that nitrate concentration abruptly decreases from the middle fan. Given groundwater flow system determined from a water table map, we concluded that the drop lowering in concentration resulted from dilution associated with the confluence of other groundwater flow originating in the Arakawa River, whose nitrate-concentration was very low.

The issue of water contamination with plant protection products is one which is being raised ever more frequently. But in fact a lot of useful experience has already been gained in avoiding the risk of nitrate pollution thanks to Ferti-Mieux operations which are based on an obligation to use cultivation techniques which reduce the risks of pollution as much as possible. The aricle sets out to demonstrate how this experience con also be applied to the case of plant protection products. In order to do this, we begin by examining the differences between nitrogen and plant protection products, especially in terms of the responsibilities of farmers and their consultants.Then we deal with prevention methods, training the farmers, and the concepts of crop systems and land management. In the conclusion we discuss joint action measures aimed at risk prevention.