Ammonium threshold values for groundwater quality in the EU may not protect groundwater fauna: evidence from an alluvial aquifer in Italy

• Published in: Hydrobiologia Vol. 743; no. 1; pp. 139 - 150
• Main Authors: Di Lorenzo, T, Cifoni, M, Lombardo, P, Fiasca, B, Galassi, D. M. P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer-Verlag 01.01.2015; Springer International Publishing; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural practices; Agriculture; Alluvial aquifers; Ammonia; Ammonium; Analysis; Aquifers; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Copepoda; Ecology; European Union; fauna; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Groundwater; Groundwater pollution; Intensive farming; Life Sciences; Management; oxygen; phosphorus; Primary Research Paper; seasonal variation; Seasonal variations; Toxicity; Water; Water quality; Water, Underground; Zoology; Italy; Ammonium; Groundwater; Aquifer; Toxicity; Stygobiotic; Threshold
• ISSN: 0018-8158; 1573-5117
• DOI: 10.1007/s10750-014-2018-y

The European Union (EU) threshold values for [Formula: see text] in groundwater range from a minimum of 0.084 mg l⁻¹to the maximum allowed of 5 mg l⁻¹. The aim of our study was to determine whether these values are adequate to protect groundwater copepods in alluvial aquifers underlying intensive agriculture. To this end, we analyzed abiotic (including [Formula: see text] concentration) and biological patterns (copepod assemblages) in an alluvial aquifer in an area of intensive agriculture. Groundwater was collected from pre-existing farmer-owned bores. Abiotic and biological patterns were not related to seasonal variation in agricultural practices, and pollutant concentrations were typically below the legal maximum threshold values. However, both abiotic and biological variables differed significantly between two groups of bores, with high and low [Formula: see text] conditions based on separate ecotoxicological assays that set the [Formula: see text] toxicity threshold for stygobiotic copepods at 2.5× below the current EU lowest legal threshold. In particular, phosphorus concentration was higher, and oxygen and copepod abundance and richness were lower in high [Formula: see text] bores. Our results suggest that the present threshold value range for [Formula: see text] adopted by EU Member States may not protect stygobiotic copepod assemblages in alluvial aquifers underlying densely cultivated areas.