Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district

In agricultural regions, especially in arid and semi-arid irrigation districts with shallow groundwater, contamination of aquifers with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from fertilization and irrigation has been a growing concern, leading to downstream surface water quality degradation. This work sim...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tingting Wei, Yanan Jiang, Xun Zhang, Yanan Chen, Qihao Ma, Jianzhe Hou, Yakun Wang, Bingwei Tong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Agricultural Water Management
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001763
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850197519443689472
author Tingting Wei
Yanan Jiang
Xun Zhang
Yanan Chen
Qihao Ma
Jianzhe Hou
Yakun Wang
Bingwei Tong
author_facet Tingting Wei
Yanan Jiang
Xun Zhang
Yanan Chen
Qihao Ma
Jianzhe Hou
Yakun Wang
Bingwei Tong
author_sort Tingting Wei
collection DOAJ
description In agricultural regions, especially in arid and semi-arid irrigation districts with shallow groundwater, contamination of aquifers with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from fertilization and irrigation has been a growing concern, leading to downstream surface water quality degradation. This work simulates the reactive transport and interaction of NO3, NH4 and soluble P in the soil-aquifer flow system by SWAT-MODFLOW-RT3D model and investigates the effectiveness of different Best Management Practices (BMPs) in reducing N and P pollution load, including nutrient management, residue cover, vegetation filter strip, and grassed waterways. The results show that the pollution load hotspots are distributed in the drainage ditch with groundwater depth less than 2 m, accounting for 25 % of the total area of the study area but contributing more than 50 % of the pollutant output. Among BMPs, the 30 % reduction in fertilizer (FR 30 %) led to limited pollution reduction, while implementing grass waterways resulted in the most significant improvements, with reductions of up to 31.5 % for total phosphorus (TP) and 19.6 % for total nitrogen (TN). The most effective strategy which combines 30 % fertilizer reduction, vegetation filter strip and grassed waterways can achieve reductions of 44.3 % for TP and 46.2 % for TN. These results emphasize the potential of tailored BMP strategies to mitigate nutrient pollution in groundwater- dominated watersheds, providing valuable insights for sustainable agricultural management and water quality protection.
format Article
id doaj-art-a6a025fd0b4046dea5c08c009eabc70d
institution OA Journals
issn 1873-2283
language English
publishDate 2025-05-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Agricultural Water Management
spelling doaj-art-a6a025fd0b4046dea5c08c009eabc70d2025-08-20T02:13:07ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-05-0131210946210.1016/j.agwat.2025.109462Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation districtTingting Wei0Yanan Jiang1Xun Zhang2Yanan Chen3Qihao Ma4Jianzhe Hou5Yakun Wang6Bingwei Tong7College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR ChinaCollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR China; Key Laboratory of Arid Agricultural Soil and Water Engineering of Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR China; Corresponding author at: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR China.College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR ChinaCollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR ChinaCollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR ChinaCollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR ChinaCollege of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, PR ChinaNingxia Institute of Water Resources Research, Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 750021, PR ChinaIn agricultural regions, especially in arid and semi-arid irrigation districts with shallow groundwater, contamination of aquifers with nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from fertilization and irrigation has been a growing concern, leading to downstream surface water quality degradation. This work simulates the reactive transport and interaction of NO3, NH4 and soluble P in the soil-aquifer flow system by SWAT-MODFLOW-RT3D model and investigates the effectiveness of different Best Management Practices (BMPs) in reducing N and P pollution load, including nutrient management, residue cover, vegetation filter strip, and grassed waterways. The results show that the pollution load hotspots are distributed in the drainage ditch with groundwater depth less than 2 m, accounting for 25 % of the total area of the study area but contributing more than 50 % of the pollutant output. Among BMPs, the 30 % reduction in fertilizer (FR 30 %) led to limited pollution reduction, while implementing grass waterways resulted in the most significant improvements, with reductions of up to 31.5 % for total phosphorus (TP) and 19.6 % for total nitrogen (TN). The most effective strategy which combines 30 % fertilizer reduction, vegetation filter strip and grassed waterways can achieve reductions of 44.3 % for TP and 46.2 % for TN. These results emphasize the potential of tailored BMP strategies to mitigate nutrient pollution in groundwater- dominated watersheds, providing valuable insights for sustainable agricultural management and water quality protection.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001763Arid irrigation districtsNon-point source pollutionSWAT-MODFLOW-RT3D modelBest management practices
spellingShingle Tingting Wei
Yanan Jiang
Xun Zhang
Yanan Chen
Qihao Ma
Jianzhe Hou
Yakun Wang
Bingwei Tong
Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district
Agricultural Water Management
Arid irrigation districts
Non-point source pollution
SWAT-MODFLOW-RT3D model
Best management practices
title Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district
title_full Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district
title_fullStr Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district
title_short Evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district
title_sort evaluation of best management practices for controlling water pollution in an arid irrigation district
topic Arid irrigation districts
Non-point source pollution
SWAT-MODFLOW-RT3D model
Best management practices
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425001763
work_keys_str_mv AT tingtingwei evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict
AT yananjiang evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict
AT xunzhang evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict
AT yananchen evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict
AT qihaoma evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict
AT jianzhehou evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict
AT yakunwang evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict
AT bingweitong evaluationofbestmanagementpracticesforcontrollingwaterpollutioninanaridirrigationdistrict