2026-06-09T09:42:44+02:00 https://library.wur.nl/oai

oai:library.wur.nl:wurpubs/398962 2026-03-31

urn:nbn:nl:ui:32-398962 2026-03-31 urn:nbn:nl:ui:32-398962/mods Multiscale Effects of Management, Environmental Conditions, and Land Use on Nitrate Leaching in Dairy Farms Oenema J. 073980609 0000000390468303 aut Burgers S.L.G.E. 262194260 0000000389355600 aut Verloop J. 256222010 0000000391315288 aut Hooijboer A. aut Boumans L. aut ten Berge H.F.M. 071734112 0000000082684944 aut text info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2010 10.2134/jeq2010.0035 2-s2.0-78650780530 000283897200016 en Nitrate leaching in intensive grassland- and silage maize-based dairy farming systems on sandy soil is a main environmental concern. Here, statistical relationships are presented between management practices and environmental conditions and nitrate concentration in shallow groundwater (0.8 m depth) at farm, field, and point scales in the Netherlands, based on data collected in a participatory approach over a 7-yr period at one experimental and eight pilot commercial dairy farms on sandy soil. Farm milk production ranged from 10 to 24 Mg ha-1 Soil and hydrological characteristics were derived from surveys and weather conditions from meteorological stations. Statistical analyses were performed with multiple regression models. Mean nitrate concentration at farm scale decreased from 79 mg L-1 in 1999 to 63 in 2006, with average nitrate concentration in groundwater decreasing under grassland but increasing under maize land over the monitoring period. The effects of management practices on nitrate concentration varied with spatial scale. At farm scale, nitrogen surplus, grazing intensity, and the relative areas of grassland and maize land significantly contributed to explaining the variance in nitrate concentration in groundwater. Mean nitrate concentration was negatively correlated to the concentration of dissolved organic carbon in the shallow groundwater. At field scale, management practices and soil, hydrological, and climatic conditions significantly contributed to explaining the variance in nitrate concentration in groundwater under grassland and maize land. We conclude that, on these intensive dairy farms, additional measures are needed to comply with the European Union water quality standard in groundwater of 50 mg nitrate L-1 The most promising measures are omitting fertilization of catch crops and reducing fertilization levels of first-year maize in the rotation. Biometris PPO/PRI AGRO Duurzame Bedrijfssystemen cattle slurry fertilizer nitrogen grassland management grazed grassland nitrogen mineralization nutrient management organic-carbon upper groundwater use efficiency water-quality Biometris PPO/PRI AGRO Duurzame Bedrijfssystemen Journal of Environmental Quality 39 2016 2028 00472425 urn:nbn:nl:ui:32-398962/obj 2026-03-31 http://purl.org/eprint/accessRights/RestrictedAccess