The amended Water Law Act together with the "Program of measures aimed at reducing the pollution of waters with nitrates from agricultural sources and prevention of further pollution" was adopted in August 2018. The new regulations completely changed the implementation of the Nitrates Directive, recognizing the whole country as one large area of NVZ (nitrate vulnerable zone). In addition, "pole of cold" and "pole of heat" areas were designated where fertilization time-lines were shortened or extended accordingly. It is too early to confirm the efficiency of the new regulations based on monitoring data or quantify their contribution to limiting nitrogen load in surface waters. Therefore, in this article, a DNS/SWAT macromodel was employed as a prognostic tool to develop three variant scenarios simulating the effects of limitation or extension of fertilization periods in the exemplary catchment of Przymorze (Slupia river, Charnowo profile). The results obtained allowed for a precise determination of both the total nitrogen load in the selected calculation profile and the anticipated degree of its reduction or increase depending on the assumed length of the fertilization period. The results indicate that more restrictive regulations regarding fertilization periods translate into a reduction in total nitrogen load in surface waters. Recently developed tools such as Polish Atlas of Rainfall Intensity (PANDa rainfall model) may significantly improve validation of the models employed. In these models, the meteorological module plays a central role like in the DNS/SWAT macromodel equipped to perform water quality analyses with a particular focus on agrotechnical measures implemented in the catchment.
1.Inst Meteorol & Gospodarki Wodnej, Panstwowy Inst Badawczy, Sekcja Modelowania Jakosci Wod Powierzchniowych, Ul Podlesna 61, PL-01673 Warsaw, Poland 2.AGH Akad Gorniczo Hutnicza, Wydzial Geol Geofizyki & Ochrony Srodowiska, Katedra Ochrony Srodowiska, Al Adama Mickiewicza 30, PL-30059 Krakow, Poland
Recommended Citation:
Wilk, Pawel,Orlinska-Wozniak, Paulina,Szalinska, Ewa. Assessment of Total Nitrogen Loads Discharged from Agricultural Catchments in the Context of Changes in the Nitrates Directive Implementation[J]. OCHRONA SRODOWISKA,2019-01-01,41(1):55-64