An Assessment of the N Load from Animal Farms in Saline Wetland Catchments in the Ebro Basin, NE Spain

María Tierra, José R. Olarieta and Carmen Castañeda ()
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María Tierra: Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, EEAD-CSIC, Ave. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain
José R. Olarieta: Department of Chemistry, Physics, Environmental and Soil Sciences, University of Lleida, Ave. Alcalde Rovira Roure 191, 25198 Lleida, Spain
Carmen Castañeda: Estación Experimental de Aula Dei, EEAD-CSIC, Ave. Montañana 1005, 50059 Zaragoza, Spain

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-21

Abstract: Inland saline wetlands in the Ebro Basin (Spain) are protected by international regulations but are also threatened by the expansion of animal farms. We studied the input–output budgets of N from animal farms in four catchments of wetlands in the central Ebro Basin designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. We used the N produced in animal farms as inputs and the N extracted by the crops on which manures and slurries are applied as outputs in each catchment. The balances considered the regulations concerning the slope of land where animal excreta may be applied and the doses of application. At a detailed scale, we applied the Water Erosion Prediction Program (WEPP) to the Farnaca catchment to assess the runoff and nutrients arriving to its wetland. While the Bujaraloz-Sástago basin showed a high excess of N load, in the Gallocanta basin, N extraction by crops was significantly higher than the N produced by the animal farms. Despite this lack of surplus of N from animal excreta, the groundwaters in the Gallocanta catchment are polluted by nitrates. The emphasis on N from animal farms in plans to prevent water pollution is missing the role of mineral fertilizers as the sources of pollution in basins with small N loads from animal farms. Agricultural plots in the Farnaca catchment produce significant amounts of sediments and nutrients that eventually pollute the wetland. Modelling approaches at detailed scales are required to assess the flows of materials to individual wetlands.

Keywords: arid wetlands; intensive animal production; Nitrates Directive; salinity; Water Erosion Prediction Project (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:6:p:1170-:d:1667181

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