Critical review of measures and decision support tools for groundwater nitrate management: A surface-to-groundwater profile perspective

摘要

Excessively high levels of nitrate in groundwater constitute an increasing threat to human health and environment, which is raising wide-spread concerns at the global scale. Although the monitoring targets merely on nitrate concentration in groundwater, the transfer of nitrate occurs through the whole internally connected vadose zone-groundwater system. Therefore, managers should address the groundwater nitrate problem from a surface-to-groundwater profile perspective, which, however, is relatively poorly understood. In this review, we systematically outline nitrate management measures including source reduction (source-targeted), in-situ groundwater remediation (receptor-targeted), and polluted groundwater reuse (resource-targeted). Furthermore, researchers have started incorporating the surface-to-groundwater profile view into developing the management decision support tools. Recent advances in the development of mathematical simulation models which coupled unsaturated and saturated zones and life cycle assessment-based multi-criteria decision analysis methods which considered the total environmental impacts are examined. These available measures and decision support tools have significant implications for selecting an optimal nitrate management strategy. Finally, we emphasize the necessity of creating a management framework from a surface-to-groundwater profile perspective and identify the directions of future research works and related challenges.