Nutrient leaching and water quality from agricultural observation fields during 50 years of environmental monitoring in Sweden
2025
Lisbet Norberg | Maria Blomberg | Helena Linefur | Katarina Kyllmar
Throughout the last 50 years, 16 agricultural fields in Sweden have been monitored for nutrient leaching losses and water chemistry via subsurface drainage water and groundwater. The fields represent various climatic regions, soil types, and farming practices. Twelve fields were equipped with groundwater pipes. Typically, the shallow (1–2 m) groundwater varied due to weather and agricultural management, whilst the deeper (4–5 m) groundwater stayed at a steadier level. Long-term mean annual losses of total nitrogen (N) ranged between 2.8 and 58.0 kg N ha−1 yr−1 across the 12 fields operated with flow-proportional water sampling. This variation was primarily due to the location in Sweden, as higher losses of N could be monitored in the southern part compared to further north in the country. For the same 12 fields, the mean annual losses of total phosphorus (P) ranged between 0.01 and 1.48 kg P ha−1 yr−1. Here, the variation was mainly due to soil type, with higher losses from clay soils and lower losses from sandy soils, but with apparent exceptions. The well-known sites with long-term monitoring that the observation fields offer is a profound opportunity for assessing and understanding current nutrient losses and making predictions of water quality in the face of climate change.
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