Earlier Observation of Applicability of Biomolecular and Chemical Analysis to Soil and Shallow Groundwater in Nitrogen Biogeochemical Local Cycle Evaluation

The presence of nitrate in groundwater has long been considered as one of the main issues on a global scale. The identification of various contamination sources is then particularly relevant, along with the assessment of the negative impact of agricultural activities. This work presents the first attempt to apply the developed methodologies to phenomena of groundwater contamination from nitrates, with the purpose of distin-guishing the type of contamination when related to particular microbiomes environ-ments of soil and shallow groundwater. Analyses of the main chemical parameters and of the microbiome involved in the nitrogen biogeochemical cycle were carried out through specific definition of metagenomics techniques. The analytical procedure adopted, implemented with further quantitative real-time to estimate specific microbial communities in different matrices, showed to be suitable for the identification of factors responsible for nitrate contamination. In addition, it provides useful information on the relationship and possible interaction between soil and groundwater. Interesting differences emerge between the possible chemical and microbiological exchange between soil and groundwater, and the quality of soil itself, due to different agronomic practices a soil use. Future application of the Real Time and the quantification of population abundance per species will allow more detailed information about these phenomena.