An Integrated Framework to Assess the Environmental and Economic Impact of Fertilizer Restrictions in a Nitrate-Contaminated Aquifer

IF 3.1 Q2 WATER RESOURCES

Hydrology Pub Date : 2024-01-04 DOI:10.3390/hydrology11010008

I. Siarkos, Zisis Mallios, Pericles Latinopoulos

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Groundwater nitrate contamination caused by the excessive use of nitrogen-based fertilizers has been widely recognized as an issue of significant concern in numerous rural areas worldwide. To mitigate nitrate contamination, corrective management practices, such as regulations on fertilizer usage, should be implemented. However, these measures often entail economic consequences that impact farmers’ income, and thus should be properly assessed. Within this context, an integrated framework combining the environmental and economic assessment of fertilization restrictions through multi-criteria decision analysis is presented in an effort to efficiently manage groundwater nitrate contamination in rural areas. For this task, various scenarios involving reductions (10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50%) in fertilizer application were investigated, evaluated and ranked in order to determine the most suitable option. The environmental assessment considered occurrences of nitrates in groundwater, with a specific emphasis on nitrate concentrations in water-supply wells, as obtained by a nitrate fate and transport model, while the economic analysis focused on the losses experienced by farmers due to the reduced fertilizer usage. Our case-study implementation showed that a 30% reduction in fertilization is the most appropriate option for the area being studied, highlighting the importance of adopting such an approach when confronted with conflicting outcomes among alternatives.

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评估硝酸盐污染含水层施肥限制的环境和经济影响的综合框架

过量使用氮基化肥造成的地下水硝酸盐污染已被广泛认为是全球众多农村地区严重关切的问题。为减轻硝酸盐污染，应实施纠正性管理措施，如化肥使用规定。然而，这些措施往往会带来影响农民收入的经济后果，因此应进行适当评估。在此背景下，本文提出了一个综合框架，通过多标准决策分析将施肥限制的环境和经济评估结合起来，以有效管理农村地区的地下水硝酸盐污染。为此，对涉及减少施肥量（10%、20%、30%、40% 和 50%）的各种方案进行了调查、评估和排序，以确定最合适的方案。环境评估考虑了硝酸盐在地下水中的出现情况，重点是硝酸盐归宿和迁移模型得出的供水井中的硝酸盐浓度，而经济分析则侧重于农民因减少化肥使用量而遭受的损失。我们的案例研究结果表明，减少 30% 的施肥量是所研究地区最合适的选择，这凸显了在面临各种替代方案的冲突结果时采用这种方法的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Hydrology Earth and Planetary Sciences-Earth-Surface Processes

CiteScore

4.90

自引率

21.90%

发文量

192

审稿时长

6 weeks

期刊介绍： Journal of Hydrology publishes original research papers and comprehensive reviews in all the subfields of the hydrological sciences, including water based management and policy issues that impact on economics and society. These comprise, but are not limited to the physical, chemical, biogeochemical, stochastic and systems aspects of surface and groundwater hydrology, hydrometeorology, hydrogeology and hydrogeophysics. Relevant topics incorporating the insights and methodologies of disciplines such as climatology, water resource systems, ecohydrology, geomorphology, soil science, instrumentation and remote sensing, data and information sciences, civil and environmental engineering are within scope. Social science perspectives on hydrological problems such as resource and ecological economics, sociology, psychology and behavioural science, management and policy analysis are also invited. Multi-and interdisciplinary analyses of hydrological problems are within scope. The science published in the Journal of Hydrology is relevant to catchment scales rather than exclusively to a local scale or site. Studies focused on urban hydrological issues are included.