The EU “Water” Directive establishes a common European framework for the environmental protection of inland, coastal and marine waters. Environmental pressures related to agri-livestock systems are still a major concern among the general public and policy makers. In this study, carried out in Umbria region, Italy, a novel spatial database for a multi-scale analysis was designed and implemented integrating different agricultural and livestock farming datasets. Beyond descriptive indicators about agricultural and livestock farming systems, this database allows to assess, at different geographic levels of investigation (cadastral sheets, municipalities, provinces, entire region, Nitrogen Vulnerable Zones, bodies of groundwater, sub-basins), the potential nitrogen crop supply, the potential nitrogen availability from livestock manure, and, by means of a scenario analysis, the total potential nitrogen load. These indicators appear to be very relevant to support decision making and to pursue the environmental objectives established by EU and national regulations.

Potential Nitrogen Load from Crop-livestock Systems: an Agri-environmental Spatial Database for a Multi-scale Assessment

VIZZARI, Marco;CASAGRANDE, LUCA;PAUSELLI, Mariano;BENINCASA, Paolo;FARNESELLI, Michela;ANTOGNELLI, SARA;MORBIDINI, Luciano;BORGHI, Piero;
2015

Abstract

The EU “Water” Directive establishes a common European framework for the environmental protection of inland, coastal and marine waters. Environmental pressures related to agri-livestock systems are still a major concern among the general public and policy makers. In this study, carried out in Umbria region, Italy, a novel spatial database for a multi-scale analysis was designed and implemented integrating different agricultural and livestock farming datasets. Beyond descriptive indicators about agricultural and livestock farming systems, this database allows to assess, at different geographic levels of investigation (cadastral sheets, municipalities, provinces, entire region, Nitrogen Vulnerable Zones, bodies of groundwater, sub-basins), the potential nitrogen crop supply, the potential nitrogen availability from livestock manure, and, by means of a scenario analysis, the total potential nitrogen load. These indicators appear to be very relevant to support decision making and to pursue the environmental objectives established by EU and national regulations.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11391/1350092
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