water-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Agricultural Water Protection in Europe under Pressure: Current State of Nutrient Flux Modeling and Assessment of the Impact of Mitigation Measures at National Level

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Resources Management, Policy and Governance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 August 2024) | Viewed by 6346

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forschungszentrum Juelich, Institute of Bio- and Geosciences (IBG), Institute 3: Agrosphere, 52425 Juelich, Germany
Interests: modeling groundwater recharge through rainfall
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Forschungszentrum Jülich, Agrosphere-Institute, IBG-3, Jülich, Germany
Interests: phosphate pollution; surface water; modelling; water resources management; water erosion; artificial drainage; point sources; mitigation measures

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
Interests: water quality; environment; environmental impact assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

High nutrient inputs into groundwater and surface waters continue to be a Europe-wide issue. For implementing the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Nitrates Directive effectively, it is necessary to know the areas contributing significantly to the total nutrient load in river basins and the corresponding nutrient input pathways. In addition, it is indispensable to assess the extent of the required N and P reduction to reach the environmental targets set and to predict the expectable effects of regulations before implementation. Additionally, the time delay until changes in agricultural practice are measurable in groundwater and surface waters must be assessed.

We are happy to introduce this Special Issue, which focuses on regional and national examples for sophisticated nutrient modelling approaches that have been applied successfully to determine nitrogen and phosphorous inputs into groundwater and surface waters, to assess river-basin-specific nutrient management targets, and to evaluate the effectiveness of possible action scenarios on a country-wide level. This Special Issue has a regional focus on Europe; however, comparable regional examples for modelling studies from other parts of the world are welcome, too. Interdisciplinary working groups with backgrounds in hydrology, agriculture and administration are especially encouraged to submit their research manuscripts. Successful papers should be scientifically sound but practice-oriented.

Prof. Dr. Frank Wendland
Dr. Björn Tetzlaff
Dr. Markus Venohr
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • integrated water resources management
  • eutrophication
  • EU water framework directive
  • EU nitrate directive
  • mitigation measures

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

21 pages, 21660 KiB  
Article
Modelling High Resolution Agricultural Nitrogen Budgets: A Case Study for Germany
by Maximilian Zinnbauer, Elke Brandes, Max Eysholdt, Martin Henseler and Philipp Löw
Water 2024, 16(17), 2376; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16172376 - 24 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2493
Abstract
Water pollution with nitrogen (N) from agriculture constitutes a persisting environmental problem in intensive farming regions worldwide. Understanding the spatio-temporal interconnection between agricultural N emissions and N inputs to water bodies is key to evaluating and improving existing mitigation policies. Nitrogen flux models [...] Read more.
Water pollution with nitrogen (N) from agriculture constitutes a persisting environmental problem in intensive farming regions worldwide. Understanding the spatio-temporal interconnection between agricultural N emissions and N inputs to water bodies is key to evaluating and improving existing mitigation policies. Nitrogen flux models are an indispensable tool for addressing these complex research questions in the land use–water nexus, requiring adequate data on agricultural N surpluses. However, high-resolution farm management data are not readily available to the scientific community. We develop a municipality-level agricultural N budget model for Germany based on farm-level administration data from the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) and regional expert knowledge. We estimate a total agricultural N surplus of 58 kg N ha−1 of utilised agricultural area as the three-year average for 2014–2016. About 90% of municipalities exhibit N surpluses between 21 and 99 kg N ha−1. Evaluation with collected farm accountancy data revealed a good fit of the modelled (with observed) mineral N quantities applied. Our results highlight the potential of farm-level data for N flux models. Due to the ubiquitous reporting of land use and farming structures in the IACS, our approach can be adapted in other countries of the EU to serve as a harmonised backbone of monitoring and policy impact assessments. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

24 pages, 16339 KiB  
Article
Modelling Current-State N- and P-Fluxes into Surface Waters in Germany
by Björn Tetzlaff, Ralf Kunkel, Max Eysholdt, Hong Hanh Nguyen, Markus Venohr, Tim Wolters, Maximilian Zinnbauer and Frank Wendland
Water 2024, 16(13), 1872; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16131872 - 29 Jun 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1142
Abstract
For the first time, the AGRUM model consortium—consisting of the agro-economic model RAUMIS, the water balance model mGROWA, the hydrological nutrient transport models DENUZ, WeKu and MEPhos, and the urban emission model MONERIS—was jointly set up throughout Germany (357,000 km2). This [...] Read more.
For the first time, the AGRUM model consortium—consisting of the agro-economic model RAUMIS, the water balance model mGROWA, the hydrological nutrient transport models DENUZ, WeKu and MEPhos, and the urban emission model MONERIS—was jointly set up throughout Germany (357,000 km2). This provided a nationwide consistent nutrient model to capture the current status of N and P inputs to surface waters from diffuse sources and urban areas. Diffuse nutrient emissions were quantified in high spatial resolution for the input pathways’ groundwater, drainage runoff, and natural interflow (100 m × 100 m), as well as for water erosion and wash-off (25 m × 25 m). The sum of diffuse nutrient inputs to surface waters is about 385,000 metric tons N/yr and ca. 11,530 metric tons P/yr. Urban emissions were quantified either as point source inputs (wastewater treatment plants, industrial direct dischargers) or at municipality scale for different collection and treatment systems, e.g., rainwater sewers or decentralized treatment plants, and sum up to ca. 95,000 t N/yr and 7500 t P/yr. As modelled, total N and P inputs into surface waters correspond well with observed N and P loads in rivers. The model results represent valuable information for water managers, being responsible for the preparation of management plans for the third management cycle of the EC Water Framework Directive spanning from 2021 to 2027. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 7580 KiB  
Article
Germany-Wide High-Resolution Water Balance Modelling to Characterise Runoff Components as Input Pathways for the Analysis of Nutrient Fluxes
by Tim Wolters, Ian McNamara, Björn Tetzlaff and Frank Wendland
Water 2023, 15(19), 3468; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15193468 - 30 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2124
Abstract
The input of nutrients into surface waters and groundwater is directly linked to runoff components. Due to the different physicochemical behaviour of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, the individual runoff components have different significance as input pathways. Within the scope of the Germany-wide project [...] Read more.
The input of nutrients into surface waters and groundwater is directly linked to runoff components. Due to the different physicochemical behaviour of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, the individual runoff components have different significance as input pathways. Within the scope of the Germany-wide project AGRUM-DE, spatially differentiated runoff components were modelled with the water balance model mGROWA at a resolution of 100 m. The modelled distributed runoff components include total runoff, surface runoff, drainage runoff, natural interflow, direct runoff from urban areas, and groundwater recharge. Although the mGROWA model operates in daily time steps, modelled runoff components can be aggregated to mean long-term hydrologic reference periods—for this study, 1981–2010. We obtained good model agreement through the comparison of measured discharge from 298 river gauges against the spatial means of the modelled runoff components over their corresponding catchment areas. Therefore, the model results provide reliable input for input pathway-specific modelling of actual nutrient inputs as well as scenario analyses expected from the application of nutrient reduction initiatives. This ensures that any differences in the model results stem exclusively from differences in nutrient supply (fertilisation of the soils) and not from climatic effects, such as the influence of wet or dry years. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop