Results from the Italian ICP Waters network: a focus on nitrogen

The chemistry of a number of water bodies in the area of Lake Maggiore, North-Western Italy, has been monitored since the 1970s, in the framework of studies on eutrophication and acidification. An analysis of long term trends of N deposition in the study area highlighted a recent decrease, mainly due to decreasing emissions and partly to the lower amount of precipitation occurring between 2003 and 2009. The results of long-tem studies on N levels in surface waters in the Lake Maggiore area provide evidence that these sites responded to decreasing levels of N deposition in the last few years. This positive signal may mean that a phase of recovery from N saturation is beginning across the region.