Modelling groundwater flow and nitrate transport: a case study of an area used for precision agriculture in the middle part of the Vistula River valley, Poland
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Date
2018-12
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Publisher
Instytut Geologii UAM
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Abstract
The present paper discusses studies related to the preparation of a hydrogeological model of groundwater flow and
nitrate transport in an area where a precision farming system is applied. Components of water balance were determined
using the UnSat Suite Plus software (HELP model), while the average infiltration rate calculated for the study area
equalled 20 per cent. The Visual MODFLOW software was used for the purpose of modelling in the saturated zone. Hy-
drogeological parameters of the model layers, inclusive of hydraulic conductivity, were defined on the basis of results
of column tests that were carried out under laboratory conditions (column experiment). Related to the dose of mineral
nitrogen used in precision fertilisation (80 kg N/ha), scenarios of the spread of nitrates in the soil-water environment
were worked out. The absolute residual mean error calculated for nitrate concentrations obtained from laboratory and
modelling studies equalled 0.188 mg/L, the standard error of the estimate equalling 0.116 mg/L. Results obtained were
shown graphically in the form of hydroisohypse maps and nitrate isolines. Conclusions were drawn regarding the
possibility of using numerical modelling techniques in predicting transport and fate of nitrates from fertilisers applied
in precision agriculture systems.
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Keywords
hydrogeological modelling, agricultural pollution, mineral nitrogen, precision farming
Citation
Geologos, 2018, 24, 3, s.225-235
ISBN
978-83-232187-4-6