Nitrate transfer from land to freshwater bodies: Can we add a transfer control option to the source control approach?
Nitrate transfer from land to freshwater bodies: Can we add a transfer control option to the source control approach?
Stenger, Roland ; Clague, Juliet ; Woodward, Simon ; Moorhead, B. ; Wilson, Scott
Stenger, Roland
Clague, Juliet
Woodward, Simon
Moorhead, B.
Wilson, Scott
Date
Type
Conference Contribution - unpublished
Collections
Fields of Research
Abstract
• Minimising nitrate leaching from agricultural land (‘source control’) is essential for environmental as well as economic reasons.
• Source control has been favoured as it is usually the most effective option and is in the control of the individual land user.
• However, not all leached nitrate inevitably contaminates groundwater and groundwater-fed surface water bodies.
• Many groundwater systems exhibit some degree of assimilative capacity for nitrate, which attenuates the effect of root zone losses on receiving freshwater bodies (impact sites).