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

Martínez Aldaya, Maite; Rodríguez, Corina Iris; Fernández Poulussen, Álex; Merchán Elena, Daniel; Beriain Apesteguía, María José; Llamas, Ramón

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

dc.contributor.author	Martínez Aldaya, Maite
dc.contributor.author	Rodríguez, Corina Iris
dc.contributor.author	Fernández Poulussen, Álex
dc.contributor.author	Merchán Elena, Daniel
dc.contributor.author	Beriain Apesteguía, María José
dc.contributor.author	Llamas, Ramón
dc.contributor.department	Ingeniaritza	eu
dc.contributor.department	Institute on Innovation and Sustainable Development in Food Chain - ISFOOD	en
dc.contributor.department	Ingeniería	es_ES
dc.date.accessioned	2019-09-16T09:33:26Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-01T00:00:12Z
dc.date.issued	2019
dc.description.abstract	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%).	en
dc.description.sponsorship	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.	en
dc.embargo.lift	2022-01-01
dc.embargo.terms	2022-01-01
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en
dc.format.mimetype	application/zip	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134338
dc.identifier.issn	1879-1026 (Electronic)
dc.identifier.uri	https://academica-e.unavarra.es/handle/2454/34834
dc.language.iso	spa	en
dc.publisher	Elsevier	en
dc.relation.ispartof	Science of The Total Environment 698 (2020) 134338	en
dc.relation.projectID	info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/MINECO//CGL2015-64284-C2-1-R/ES/
dc.relation.publisherversion	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134338
dc.rights	© 2019 Elsevier B.V. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0.	en
dc.rights.accessRights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights.uri	https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subject	Grey water footprint	en
dc.subject	Water pollution level	en
dc.subject	Nitrogen	en
dc.subject	Agriculture	en
dc.subject	Livestock	en
dc.subject	Navarre	en
dc.title	Grey water footprint as an indicator for diffuse nitrogen pollution: the case of Navarra, Spain	en
dc.type	info:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.type.version	info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion
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