Is a simple model based on two mixing reservoirs able to reproduce the intra-annual dynamics of DOC and NO3 stream concentrations in an agricultural headwater catchment?

Agriculture disturbs the biogeochemical cycles of major elements, which alters the elemental stoichiometry of surface stream waters, with potential impacts on their ecosystems. However, models of catchment hydrology and water quality remain relatively disconnected, even though the observation that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrate (NO₃^-) have opposite spatial and temporal patterns seems relevant for improving our representation of hydrological transport pathways within catchments. We tested the ability of a parsimonious model to simultaneously reproduce intra-annual dynamics of stream flow, DOC and NO₃^- concentrations using 15 years of daily data from a small headwater agricultural catchment (AgrHyS observatory). The model consists of an unsaturated reservoir, a slow reservoir representing the groundwater and a fast reservoir representing the riparian zone and preferential flow paths. The sources of DOC and NO₃^- are assumed to behave as infinite pools with a fixed concentration in each reservoir that contributes to the stream. Stream concentrations thus result from simple mixing of slow and fast reservoir contributions. The model simultaneously reproduced annual and storm-event dynamics of discharge, DOC and NO₃^- concentrations in the stream, with calibration KGE scores of 0.77, 0.64 and 0.58 respectively, and validation KGE scores of 0.72, 0.58 and 0.43 respectively. These results suggest that the dynamics of these concentrations can be explained by hydrological transport processes and thus by temporally variable contributions from slow (NO₃^- rich and DOC poor) and fast reservoirs (DOC rich and NO₃^- poor), with a poor representation of the biogeochemical transformations. Unexpectedly, using the concentration time series to calibrate the model increased uncertainty in the parameters that control hydrological fluxes of the model. The legacy storage of NO₃^- resulting from agricultural history in the studied catchment supports the assumption that the main DOC and NO₃^- sources behave as infinite pools at the scale of several years. Nevertheless, reproducing the long-term trends in solute concentration would require additional information about DOC and NO₃^- trends within the reservoirs.

Mitigation options to reduce phosphorus losses from the agricultural sector and improve surface water quality: a review

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) obliges Member States to improve the quality of surface water and groundwater. The measures implemented to date have reduced the contribution of point sources of pollution, and hence diffuse pollution from agriculture has become more important. In many catchments the water quality remains poor. COST Action 869 was an EU initiative to improve surface water quality that ran from 2006 to 2011, in which 30 countries participated. Its main aim was a scientific evaluation of the suitability and cost-effectiveness of options for reducing nutrient loss from rural areas to surface waters at catchment scale, including the feasibility of the options under different climatic and geographical conditions. This paper gives an overview of various categories of mitigation options in relation to phosphorus (P). The individual measures are described in terms of their mode of action, applicability, effectiveness, time frame, environmental side-effects (N cycling) and cost. In total, 83 measures were evaluated in COST Action 869.

Modeling the potential benefits of catch-crop introduction in fodder crop rotations in a Western Europe landscape

Among possible mitigation options to reduce agricultural-borne nitrate fluxes to water bodies, introduction of catch crop before spring crops is acknowledged as a cost-efficient solution at the plot scale, but it was rarely assessed at the catchment level. This study aims to evaluate a set of catch crop implantation scenarios and their consequences in a coastal catchment prone to eutrophication. The objectives are (i) to discuss the potential benefits of catch crop introduction taking into account the limitations due to the physiographic and agricultural context of the area (ii) to propose a multicriteria classification of these scenarios as a basis for discussion with stakeholders. We used the distributed agro-hydrological model TNT2 to simulate 25 scenarios of catch crop management, differing in length of catch crop growing period, place in the crop rotation and residue management. The scenarios were classified considering the variations in main crop yields and either nitrogen fluxes in stream or the global nitrogen mass balance at the catchment level. The simulations showed that in the catchment studied, little improvement can be expected from increasing the catch crop surface. Catch crop cultivation was always beneficial to reduce nitrogen losses, but led to adverse effects on main crop yields in some cases. Among the scenarios involving additional catch crop surface, introducing catch crop between two winter cereals appeared as the most promising. The classification of scenarios depended on the chosen criteria: when considering only the reduction of nitrogen fluxes in streams, exporting catch crop residues was the most efficient while when considering the global nitrogen mass balance, soil incorporation of catch crop residues was the most beneficial. This work highlights the interest, while using integrated models, of assessing simulated scenarios with multicriteria approach to provide stakeholder with a picture as complete as possible of the consequences of prospective policies.

Influence du réseau de haies des paysages bocagers sur le cheminement de l'eau de surface

En Bretagne, le bocage est un paysage typique constitué d'un réseau de haies planté sur un talus de terre entourant les parcelles. La première partie résume les connaissances actuelles sur le rôle hydrologique du bocage.

L'article porte sur le rôle du bocage sur les écoulements de surface (écoulement hortonien). Il s'agit d'une première étape pour intégrer le rôle des haies dans la modélisation hydrologique distribuée. On s'attache à la description de la modification du réseau de drainage par les haies.

Ce travail a nécessité la mise au pont d'un logiciel en C qui permet de créer le réseau de drainage sous contrainte topographique à partir d'un modèle numérique de terrain, puis de le modifier en intégrant la présence des haies. Cinq situations représentant une grande diversité bocagère (de 39 m/ha jusqu'à 200 m/ha) ont été étudiées.

On constate une profonde modification du réseau de drainage, puisque jusqu'à 90% des mailles voient leur place changer dans le réseau de drainage. Cependant, l'effet le plus important est la déconnexion de certaines branches du réseau de drainage, qui était précédemment continu jusqu'à l'exutoire. En effet, certaines haies jouent le rôle de puits, où l'eau ne peut que s'infiltrer (haies parallèles aux courbes de niveau). Ces puits contrôlent ainsi des zones du bassin versant, qui peuvent atteindre jusqu'à 40 % de la surface totale. Des modifications sont également observées sur la longueur de ruissellement réduite en moyenne, mais dans des proportions faibles (10 à 20 %). Enfin, les pentes des mailles dont la direction a été modifiée par la présence d'une haie à leur endroit sont également diminuées d'environ 50 %.

La densité de haies, qui est pourtant souvent le seul facteur disponible pour qualifier le bocage dans les opérations d'aménagement, apparaît insuffisante pour caractériser le rôle " tampon " du bocage sur le plan hydrologique. En conclusion, on attire l'attention sur la nécessité de prendre en compte la structure du bocage pour intégrer son rôle hydrologique dans les opérations d'aménagement.