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2 2024

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Nitrate and Ammonia Contamination in Groundwater and their Effect on Microbial Community in Apulia Region

Calabrese Angelantonio, Campanale Mariavirginia, Iurino Fabiola

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

2024

Vol. 25, iss. 6

371--382

Due to its widespread presence in groundwater, nitrate contamination has become a major global concern. Identifying the different sources of this contamination, particularly those related to agricultural practices, is therefore crucial to assess its negative impacts. The European Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) requires the protection of all natural freshwater resources with a maximum nitrate concentration threshold of 50 mgNO3 + L-1, applicable to all groundwater, regardless of its intended use. Many studies have used a chemical approach to identify these contaminations, but one of the possible approaches to identify contamination and the source of the contamination is a microbiological approach. An aquifer’s unique groundwater fingerprint: its hydrology, chemistry, and geology are shaped by the communities of heterotrophic bacteria that thrive in this underground environment. The present study carries out an evaluation of the impact of nitrate and ammonia on the bacterial community of groundwater, in particular by studying the correlations between the two chemical forms analyzed and some of the native species most present in nitrifying and denitrifying groundwater. These evaluations make it possible to identify the microbial species subject to the variation of ammonia and nitrate concentrations and to evaluate the extent of variation in the natural environment, providing useful information on the variation of the chemical compound, validating the innovative thesis of being used as a natural tracer for the identification of potential direct or indirect contamination.

Agricultural Nitrate Leaching into Groundwater – Case of Study in Apulia Region

Calabrese Angelantonio, Campanale Mariavirginia

Ecological Engineering & Environmental Technology

2024

Vol. 25, iss. 12

387--394

Nitrogen compounds, which are naturally present in the environment, are essential for the sustenance of life and for the growth of plants. However, to meet the needs of agricultural production and increase crop yields, they are often added in the form of fertilizers to the soil. These nitrogen compounds can then infiltrate deep soil layers, leach until they reach underground aquifers. Leaching of nitrates from soil is a serious environmental problem in modern agriculture as it can contaminate groundwater and degrade soil quality. Both nitrogen fertilization practices and irrigation methods contribute greatly to increased nitrate leaching. The present study aims to demonstrate the real impact of nitrate used in agriculture on groundwater comparing concentration of the chemical element between the soil and the aquifer at different depths. The case study involves a series of soil and groundwater sampling with the related analyses for the identification of nitrate concentrations. The sites considered as case of study have the same type of soil (lithology, texture) and the same land use (arable land with the same type of fertilization and irrigation). The experimentation carried out has shown that there is a correlation between the nitrate present in the soil and that present in the groundwater only for a limited distance from the emission point (<10m from the ground level), while for higher soil packages the correlation is absent as structures, such as vadose areas, intervene which intercept and accumulate nitrate leaching. This study demonstrate that a contamination of nitrate in the groundwater is correlated to the agricultural activities present in the impacting area only to a depth of 10 m and which therefore needs further investigation.