Impact of land use on the content of nitrates in groundwater

Tsetska Simeonova, Dimitranka Stoicheva, Milena Kercheva

Abstract: The influence of different land use on the content of nitrates in groundwater in the three regions of the country Sredets village (near city of Stara Zagora), Tsalapitsa village (near city of Plovdiv) and Lozen village (near city of Sofia) during the period of 2005-2007 and 2015 year was studied. It was found that intensive agriculture (soil cultivation, fertilization, intensive crops growing, irrigation, application of herbicides, etc.) has influence on the chemical composition of shallow groundwater. It was found that the nitrate content is around Maximum Permissible Concentration Level (MPCL) for drinking water - 50 mg.l-1 as the higher concentrations were observed mainly during the spring and summer of the whole studied period. The Fluvisol with slight soil texture is a precondition for increased migration of chemical elements and mineral nitrogen in soil profile and nitrate enrichment of groundwater.

Keywords: intensive agriculture; leaching; nitrates; vulnerable areas

Date published: 2017-03-13