Open landscape nitrate retention mapping
Projekt rOpen (kortlægning af kvælstoftilbageholdelse i det åbne land) er et spændende samarbejdsprojekt mellem landbrugserhvervet og forskningen, hvor vi har fået mulighed for at opnå bedre viden om kvælstoftilbageholdelse i danske landbrugsjorde.
Med viden fra projektet håber vi at blive klogere på, hvordan man kan optimere dyrkningspraksis og samtidig vurdere, hvor der er behov for at gøre en indsats for at tilbageholde kvælstof, f.eks. ved frivillig placering af miljøtiltag på og udenfor dyrkningsfladen. Projektet er støttet af Innovationsfonden og udføres af bl.a. Aarhus- og Københavns Universiteter, GEUS, Orbicon, Region Midtjylland, Region Syddanmark og Danske regioner i samarbejde med Sønderjysk landboforening, LMO og SEGES.
The consequences of nitrate (N) loading on water resources and agricultural yields are important and much debated. Recent legislation allows farmers to increase N‐application considering only economic benefits. This poses a risk of an increased N‐load to the surface- and groundwater.
To counteract this, detailed regulation is scheduled to reduce N-emissions from 2019, allowing farmers to target measures for the largest effect. The current N-reduction maps, based on approx. 15 km2 (ID15) areas, are too large for effective management. Our vision is that more effective targeting can be achieved using innovative geophysical mapping in combination with hydrogeological and geochemical modeling. This higher resolution will improve the prediction of nitrate transport in the open landscape at field scale (a few hectares). Furthermore, it will lead to a transparent, data-driven decision support tool that will be cost effective on a national scale. Such improved management can lead to targeted regulation and more efficient fertilizer utilization benefiting both the agricultural sector and the environment.
Read more about the project on the project website here.
