AI Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates how agricultural practices influence groundwater quality, particularly focusing on sulfur compounds in areas with different farming systems in South Korea over a year-long period.
- - Groundwater chemistry showed significant variations due to factors like groundwater pumping, fertilizer use, and denitrification, leading to elevated levels of manganese, iron, and sulfate, while nitrate levels were low.
- - Periodic groundwater pumping and agricultural fertilizers were found to alter the oxidation processes affecting sulfur in the water, raising concerns about high sulfate concentrations that could pose health risks in drinking water.
Article Abstract
Physico-chemical characteristics of groundwater are often impacted by agricultural practices such as land use, fertilizer types, and groundwater pumping. This study aimed to identify contaminant sources and redox processes controlling the hydrogeochemistry of groundwater in riparian zones influenced by intensive agricultural activities, focusing on sulfur species. Groundwater samples were collected bimonthly from March 2014 to March 2015 from groundwater wells in two zones in South Korea with different agricultural systems. The water isotopic compositions of the groundwater indicated that all groundwater originated from the same meteoric water. Groundwater samples affected by periodic groundwater pumping exhibited wide variations in Mn (47.8 ± 18.2 μM) and Fe (123 ± 61.0 μM) and elevated SO, while NO was below the detection limit. Groundwater chemistry was affected by fertilizer and manure, and denitrification. The oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds by oxygen and nitrate did not fully account for the elevated SO concentrations and isotopic composition of sulfate (δS and δO) in the investigated aquifers. Therefore, we postulate that water level change due to periodic groundwater pumping and recharge enabled oxidants (MnO and Fe) to also contribute to oxidation of reduced sulfur. Additionally, fertilizers with distinct δS values and bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) affected groundwater chemistry and its sulfur species, including δS and δO. Removal of sulfate from the aquifer during pumping limited BSR. Consequently, the agricultural practices may further increase sulfate concentrations in the groundwater. This environmental impact should be thoroughly managed because high sulfate concentrations in drinking water cause ingestion problems in humans.
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| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175618 | DOI Listing |
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