Short-Term Effects of the EU Nitrate Directive Reintroduction: Reduced N Loads to River from an Alluvial Aquifer in Northern Italy

Abstract

The Po Plain (northern Italy) is one of the largest aquifers in Europe, and 67% of the utilized agricultural land in this area is classified as a nitrate vulnerable zone (NVZ). However, it hosts intensive agriculture and livestock farming. In a stretch of the Mincio River (a tributary of the Po River), hydraulic heads and physico-chemical parameters of river and groundwater were monitored for a hydrologic year (2020–2021), to evaluate the effects of manure fertilization and flooding irrigation on surface- and groundwater chemistry. From 2020 the Nitrate Directive’s fertilization limit was reintroduced and a comparison has been performed comparing surface- and groundwater data from the 2019 fertilization period (before limit reintroduction) and 2020 (after). Results suggest that in 2021 the phreatic aquifer displayed elevated nitrate (NO3−) concentrations, exceeding 50 mg L−1, although average values were lower than those of 2019. Nitrate loads in the Mincio River reached 6670 kg NO3− d−1 and resulted from the overfertilization in the surrounding area and the quick transfer of nitrogen from groundwater to the river. As compared to 2019, the river loads decreased by 59%, suggesting that the introduction of fertilization limits can produce measurable, short-term responses in alluvial aquifers.