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Nitrate movement in shallow ground water from swine-lagoon-effluent spray fields managed under current application
Daniel W Israel1, William J Showers, Matthew Fountain
1USDA-ARS and Department of Soil Science, North Carolina State University, Box 7619, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. dan_israel@ncsu.edu
North Carolina
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Hydrology
- Soil Science
Background:
- Swine farming expansion in the 1990s raised concerns about nitrate N pollution.
- North Carolina implemented stringent waste management regulations in 1993 to mitigate pollution.
Purpose of the Study:
- Characterize nitrate N movement in shallow groundwater from waste application fields (WAFs).
- Identify soil, hydrologic, and biological factors affecting stream nitrate N levels.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a 36-month groundwater monitoring study on a regulated swine farm.
- Analyzed water table contours, groundwater flow paths, and nitrate N concentrations and isotopes (delta15N, delta18O).
Main Results:
- Average nitrate N in WAF shallow groundwater was 30 mg L(-1), decreasing significantly towards the stream.
- Groundwater isotopic signatures indicated limited denitrification within the WAF-riparian system.
- Stream nitrate N averaged 1 mg L(-1), with evidence of shallow groundwater contributing waste-derived nitrate N.
Conclusions:
- Shallow horizontal groundwater flow dominates nitrate N movement from WAFs.
- Stream nitrate N levels are kept low by dilution with deeper groundwater, and denitrification in the stream bed and riparian zone.
- Current regulations appear effective in limiting nitrate N pollution in adjacent streams.
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