Management of agriculture land use based on groundwater sustainability scenarios. A case-study in Portugal

Abstract

WFD states "MS shall implement the measures necessary to prevent or limit the input of pollutants into groundwater and prevent the deterioration of all bodies of groundwater status". This will only be possible if more sustainable and integrated water management procedures are taken at basin scale, where the land cover - land use options consider downgradient water quality. This project gathers and integrates knowledge of the processes that interfere in the migration of pollutants originated by soil fertilisation, for different media (soil, vadose, and groundwater), encouraging future use of more sustainable agriculture practices, helping a better prevention and control of diffuse pollution, at basin scale. The results of two years monitoring are presented, for several cultures and soils, at Ferreira do Alentejo, Portugal. The data gathered were modelled in a prospective way aiming to evaluate the effect that different land cover scenarios would have in the regional groundwater quality by 2015