engleski

Assessment of groundwater quality using multivariate statistical techniques in intensive agricultural area

Intensive agricultural activities can be linked also with larger agrochemical application which can lead to soil and water pollution. Multivariate statistical techniques, cluster analysis(CA) and multidimensional scaling (MDS) were applied on data set from intensive crop production area. Data was collected during two periods of water table elevation (i) low stage and (ii) high stage. Samples were collected from 43 sites (piezometers) from 4 meters depth shallow groundwater aquifer. Also, in that area there are many pig and dairy farms (point sources). Analyses were conducted for major cations and anions. The results confirm similar grouping of the piezometers, which points to the fact that in the wider area of research there are similar biogeochemical processes in the groundwater. The analysis confirmed continuous high nitrate concentrations (>50 mg L-1) in piezometers (P-2, P-16, P-37) due to the impact of anthropogenic point sources (organic fertilizer disposal) of pollution that are close to these piezometers, while the other, lower values, due to diffuse sources of pollution, were caused by intensive agriculture (application of fertilizer).

Agriculture ; Multivariate statistic ; Contamination ; Groundwater

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