Fertilization management in zones vulnerable to nitrate: a new perspective based on G.I.S. mapping of residual nitrogen availability

Nitrogen losses from agricultural sources have been recognised as one of the most serious threats in industrialised and emerging countries, determining ecosystem eutrophication and groundwater nitrate contamination. This issue has recently become a priority within the European Community Framework Directive for water protection (WFD) which has established a list of measures and limitations to be applied in areas declared “vulnerable to nitrate from agricultural sources”. An example is the Ferrara Province (Northern Italy), an intensively cultivated area affected by serious nitrate pollution since decades.