Nitrate fluxes to groundwater under citrus orchards in a Mediterranean climate: observations, calibrated models, simulations and agro-hydrological conclusions.

Nitrate contamination of groundwater under land used for intensive-agriculture is probably the most worrisome agro-hydrological sustainability problem worldwide. Vadose-zone samples from 0 to 9 m depth under citrus orchards overlying an unconfined aquifer were analyzed for variables controlling water flow and the fate and transport of nitrogen fertilizers. Steady-state estimates of water and NO3-N fluxes to groundwater were found to vary spatially in the ranges of 90-330 mm yr(-1) and 50-220 kg ha(-1) yr(-1), respectively.