Modeling of Groundwater Nitrate Contamination Due to Agricultural Activities—A Systematic Review

Abstract

Groundwater nitrate contamination is a significant concern in agricultural watersheds worldwide with it becoming a more pervasive problem in the last three decades. Models are great tools that are used to identify the sources and spatial patterns of nitrate contamination of groundwater due to agricultural activities. This Systematic Review (SR) seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of different models used to estimate nitrate contamination of groundwater due to agricultural activities. We described different types of models available in the field of modeling groundwater nitrate contamination, the models used, the input requirements of different models, and the evaluation metrics used. Out of all the models reviewed, stand-alone process-based models are predominantly used for modeling nitrate contamination, followed by integrated models, with HYDRUS and LEACHM models being the two most commonly used process-based models worldwide. Most models are evaluated using the statistical metric Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) followed by the correlation coefficient (r). This study provides the current basis for model selection in modeling nitrate contamination of groundwater due to agricultural activities. In addition, it also provides a clear and concise picture of the state of the art and implications to the scientific community doing groundwater quality modeling studies.