Nitrate Leaching from Intensive Organic Farms to Groundwater

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Nitrate Leaching from Intensive Organic Farms to Groundwater Open Access Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 333–341, 2014 Hydrology and www.hydrol-earth-syst-sci.net/18/333/2014/ doi:10.5194/hess-18-333-2014 Earth System © Author(s) 2014. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Sciences Nitrate leaching from intensive organic farms to groundwater O. Dahan1, A. Babad1, N. Lazarovitch2, E. E. Russak3, and D. Kurtzman4 1Department of Environmental Hydrology & Microbiology, Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research, Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel 2Wyler Department of Dryland Agriculture, French Associates Institute for Agriculture and Biotechnology of Drylands, Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel 3Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel 4Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan, Israel Correspondence to: O. Dahan ([email protected]) Received: 18 June 2013 – Published in Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss.: 29 July 2013 Revised: 8 December 2013 – Accepted: 11 December 2013 – Published: 27 January 2014 Abstract. It is commonly presumed that organic agriculture productive agriculture must inherently include the leaching causes only minimal environmental pollution. In this study, of excess lower quality water below the root zone to the un- we measured the quality of percolating water in the vadose saturated zone and ultimately to the groundwater (Shani et zone, underlying both organic and conventional intensive al., 2007; Dudley et al., 2008). As such, maintaining the del- greenhouses. Our study was conducted in newly established icate balance between productive agriculture and groundwa- farms where the subsurface underlying the greenhouses has ter quality requires a broad perspective over different time been monitored continuously from their establishment. Sur- and dimensional scales. While agricultural productivity is prisingly, intensive organic agriculture relying on solid or- measured on a timescale of seasons (several months to sev- ganic matter, such as composted manure that is implemented eral years), its final impact on groundwater is a long-term in the soil prior to planting as the sole fertilizer, resulted in cumulative process with a timescale of years to decades. significant down-leaching of nitrate through the vadose zone Public awareness of healthy food products that are to the groundwater. On the other hand, similar intensive agri- free of chemical additives, along with a worldwide de- culture that implemented liquid fertilizer through drip irri- mand to reduce industrial pollution, has led, in recent gation, as commonly practiced in conventional agriculture, years, to the development of organic farming (http//www. resulted in much lower rates of pollution of the vadose zone organiccenterewales.org.uk/). Although numerous studies and groundwater. It has been shown that accurate fertilization have questioned organic agriculture’s efficiency (Seufert et methods that distribute the fertilizers through the irrigation al., 2012), sustainability (Trewavas, 2001) and health (Jensen system, according to plant demand, during the growing sea- et al., 2012) aspects, organic food markets seem to be thriv- son dramatically reduce the potential for groundwater con- ing in developed countries, as their output is perceived by the tamination from both organic and conventional greenhouses. public to be healthier for both consumers and the environ- ment. This type of agriculture depends mainly on fertilizers from biological sources, such as composted animal manure. Nevertheless, modern agriculture, whether practiced with 1 Introduction conventional or organic methods, needs to reach the goals of mass production, i.e., large quantities and high quality, to sat- Developing efficient productive agriculture, while preserving isfy market demand while maintaining economic standards groundwater quality, is one of the most important challenges of profitability. This goal is usually achieved through inten- in water resource sustainability. On the one hand, develop- sive agriculture in greenhouses where irrigation water and ing agriculture is straightforward wherever agricultural input, fertilizers are implemented in excess to satisfy crop demand such as water and nutrients, is unlimited. On the other hand, Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 334 O. Dahan et al.: Nitrate leaching from intensive organic farms to groundwater and maximize productivity. In arid and semi-arid regions, A newly established agricultural area that has recently where the climate is warm enough, intensive agriculture in been modified from non-intensive open field agriculture greenhouses operates year round. Moreover, in many of these to intensive organic and conventional agriculture in green- areas the agriculture is heavily dependent on groundwater houses provided a unique opportunity to investigate the con- resources for irrigation and therefore its quality is of great tamination potential of these two agricultural regimes. As importance. such, the main objective of the study was to compare the Mass production through intensive organic farming is groundwater pollution potential of organic versus conven- very similar to conventional agriculture in its use of agri- tional greenhouses as it is expressed through the down- cultural machinery and modern irrigation techniques; the leaching of nitrate through the vadose zone underlying these main differences between the two approaches lie in fer- farms. The study was conducted using VMSs that allowed tilization and pest-control methodologies (http://www.epa. in situ monitoring of the unsaturated zone under selected or- gov/oecaagct/torg.html; EPA, 2013). Unfortunately, the de- ganic and conventional greenhouses. velopment of intensive agriculture is often associated with the long-term deterioration of groundwater quality, which is expressed mainly in elevated concentrations of nitrate and 2 Method salinity (Vitousek et al., 2009; Burow et al., 2010; Kurtzman and Scanlon, 2011; Melo et al., 2012; Morari et al., 2012). 2.1 Study area Groundwater pollution is usually attributed to a very large array of chemicals. Nevertheless, on a global scale the main The study area consists of 100 ha of new greenhouses that cause for drinking-water well shutdowns is a high nitrate were constructed during 2008–2009 on land that had previ- concentration in the aquifer water (Osenbruck et al., 2006; ously been cultivated for ∼ 6 decades under a non-intensive Kourakos et al., 2012; Liao et al., 2012; Kurtzman et al., growing regime (mostly rain-fed open field crops). The site is 2013). located on the Mediterranean coastal plain, south of the city The potential for groundwater contamination by nitrate of Ashkelon, Israel (∼ 3–6 km from the sea shoreline). Most from intensive agriculture is well known (Oren et al., 2004; of the greenhouses in this area produce high-quality vegeta- Vazquez et al., 2006; Thompson et al., 2007). Two main ap- bles year round through organic methods (80 %), while the proaches are often used for characterizing nitrate leaching rest practice conventional methods. from agricultural fields: (1) characterization of the chemi- Underneath these agricultural fields (∼ 15–30 m below the cal composition of the soil pore water in shallow depths un- surface) lies a phreatic sandy aquifer that is characterized by − −1 − −1 der the root zone, as may be obtained by application suc- high water quality (Cl < 200 mg L ; NO3 < 40 mg L ). tion lysimeters or sediment samples (Feaga et al., 2010), and This part of the aquifer is an important water source for the (2) determining the cumulative long-term impact on ground- region. Its water is used for domestic and agricultural pur- water as may be obtained from the chemical composition poses through a large number of pumping wells. In addition, of well water (Harter et al., 2002). Apparently, the chemical the aquifer in the region serves as an underground storage characteristics of the root zone pore water may vary dramat- area through the artificial infiltration of flood water from the ically in timescales of days to seasons, according to irriga- Shikma ephemeral stream and the water surplus from the na- tion patterns, fertilizer applications and crop-growing phases. tional water carrier. However, the cumulative impact on groundwater develops in The climate in the area is Mediterranean with an annual timescales of years to decades. The time lag between the ini- average precipitation of 458 mm (Israeli Water Authority, tiations of a contamination event near the land surface to its 2013). The majority of the rain events take place during the detection in the aquifer water depends on the mechanisms winter, between December and February. The annual average controlling flow and transport in the vadose zone. The abil- temperature is 20.2 ◦C. The coldest month is January with ity to characterize flow and transport processes in the vadose average maximum and minimum temperatures of 17.2 ◦C zone was recently improved following the development of and 8.1 ◦C, respectively. The warmest month is August with a vadose zone monitoring system (VMS) that provides real- average maximum and minimum temperatures of 31.1 and time, in situ information on the hydraulic and chemical state 21.4 ◦C, respectively (Israel Meteorological Service, 2013). of the percolating water across the
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