Table 14.5 - Area coefficients for nitrate losses to surface waters from river catchments with different landuse characteristics
| Country/region | Characteristics of catchment area | Area coefficient, kg N/ha/year | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 EU/EFTA countries (average of 30 catchments) | Forest, scrub, heath or grassland | 1.6** | Hornung et al (1990) |
| France | Forest | 27 | Pierre and Prat (1989) |
| Nordic countries | <10 per cent agriculture | 0.6 | EEA-TF questionnaire |
| Finland | Forest | 1.33.1* | Rekolainen (1989) |
| Sweden | Forest | 1.3 | Ryding and Forsberg (1979) |
| Sweden | Mixed agriculture | 16 | Ryding and Forsberg (1979) |
| Switzerland | Mixed agriculture | 1621 | Gächter and Furrer (1972) |
| Finland | Mixed agriculture | 7.620* | Rekolainen (1989) |
| UK (Devon) | Grassland | 851 | Webb and Walling (1985) |
| Northern Ireland | Mainly grassland | 3.417 | Smith (1977) |
| Poland (Pomerania) | 5575 per cent arable land | 11.3 | Taylor et al (1986) |
| Denmark | Averages for various types of agriculture on different soil types | 1320 | Christensen et al (1993) |
| France | Intensive cereal production | 1518 | Pierre and Prat (1989) |
| Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania) | >50 per cent agriculture | 3.0 | EEA-TF questionnaire |
| former USSR (different regions) | Various types of arable land | 31104* | Kudeyarov and Bashkin (1984) |
| UK (Shenley Brook) | Clay soils, 23 per cent arable land | 1774 | Roberts (1987) |
| Wales | Agricultural grazing | 525 | Brooker and Johnson (1984) |
Notes:
| * | Total nitrogen. |
|---|---|
| ** | A few of these baseline catchments, however, show relatively large output of nitrate (>10 kg N/ha/year); this is either because of changed N dynamics due to forest damage or site preparation for afforestation including ploughing and drainage. |