Abstract
In the agricultural areas near Santiago, Chile, ca. 780kg N ha-1 yr-1 are added to vegetable crops via irrigation with untreated sewage effluent draining from the metropolitan area. Nitrate levels in surface wells in the area, from which drinking water is derived, often exceed established limits for human consumption. Of the 779 kg N ha-1 added to crops in one year, 161–287 kg N ha-1 yr-1 were removed by crop harvest and much of the remainder apparently eventually leached to the 1–15 m deep water table.
Resumen
En areas dedicadas al cultivo de hortalizas cercanas a Santiago de Chile se añaden a los cultivos ca. 780kg N ha-1 año-1 con el agua de riego proveniente de efluentes municipales no tratados. De esta cantidad entre 161 y 287 kg N ha-1 año-1 es extraido por cosecha y gran parte del remanente aparentemente alcanza el agua freática que está a profundidades entre 1 y 15 m. El nivel de nitratos en los pozos utilizados para el consumo humano excede los valores máximos permisibles.
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© 1982 Martinus Nijhoff/Dr W. Junk Publishers, The Hague
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Schalscha, B.E., Vergara, F.I. (1982). The nitrogen balance of vegetable crops irrigated with untreated effluent. In: Robertson, G.P., Herrera, R., Rosswall, T. (eds) Nitrogen Cycling in Ecosystems of Latin America and the Caribbean. Developments in Plant and Soil Sciences, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7639-9_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7639-9_19
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