Nitrate leaching from intensive organic farms to groundwater
Open Access
- 27 January 2014
- journal article
- Published by Copernicus GmbH in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
- Vol. 18 (1), 333-341
- https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-333-2014
Abstract
It is commonly presumed that organic agriculture causes only minimal environmental pollution. In this study, we measured the quality of percolating water in the vadose zone, underlying both organic and conventional intensive greenhouses. Our study was conducted in newly established farms where the subsurface underlying the greenhouses has been monitored continuously from their establishment. Surprisingly, intensive organic agriculture relying on solid organic matter, such as composted manure that is implemented in the soil prior to planting as the sole fertilizer, resulted in significant down-leaching of nitrate through the vadose zone to the groundwater. On the other hand, similar intensive agriculture that implemented liquid fertilizer through drip irrigation, as commonly practiced in conventional agriculture, resulted in much lower rates of pollution of the vadose zone and groundwater. It has been shown that accurate fertilization methods that distribute the fertilizers through the irrigation system, according to plant demand, during the growing season dramatically reduce the potential for groundwater contamination from both organic and conventional greenhouses.Keywords
This publication has 32 references indexed in Scilit:
- Infiltration Mechanism Controls Nitrification and Denitrification Processes under Dairy Waste LagoonJournal of Environmental Quality, 2012
- Water percolation through a clayey vadose zoneJournal of Hydrology, 2012
- Solute transport in the vadose zone and groundwater during flash floodsWater Resources Research, 2011
- Nitrate in Groundwater of the United States, 1991−2003Environmental Science & Technology, 2010
- Long‐Term Nitrate Leaching Under Vegetable Production with Cover Crops in the Pacific NorthwestSoil Science Society of America Journal, 2010
- In Situ Monitoring of Water Percolation and Solute Transport Using a Vadose Zone Monitoring SystemVadose Zone Journal, 2009
- Drainage Water Reuse: Biological, Physical, and Technological Considerations for System ManagementJournal of Environmental Quality, 2008
- Effect of irrigation water salinity on transpiration and on leaching requirements: A case study for bell peppersAgricultural Water Management, 2008
- Dynamics of Flood Water Infiltration and Ground Water Recharge in Hyperarid DesertGroundwater, 2008
- Direct measurements of floodwater infiltration into shallow alluvial aquifersJournal of Hydrology, 2007