Assessing the groundwater vulnerability to pesticide pollution within the geospatial decision support system LandSupport

This work presents the new web-based, freely-available dynamical tool, named the pesticide fate tool, developed within the geospatial Decision Support system (DSS) of LandSupport, for the assessment of groundwater vulnerability to pesticides. The tool is based on the extended transfer function model, specifically expanded to consider the transport of reactive solutes, such as pesticides. The tool has also been extended using the COMPSs programming frame- work, that allows to parallelize the execution of multiple model runs. Principal inputs of the tool are: soil physical and hydrological properties, climate, groundwater table depth, type of crops and related pesticides in terms of their quantities and time of application. Results of the model are shown through the LandSupport GUI both as coloured maps, representing the rela- tive concentration of pesticide at the arrival to the water table at the end of the simulation pe- riod, and as cumulative charts of the solute arrival at the depth of interest. The work presents the tool implementation for five case studies, with different spatial scales and pedo-climatic conditions: Valle Telesina and Regione Campania, IT, Marchfeld, AT, Zala County, HU, and Rmel, TU. These are shown as examples of application of the LandSupport DSS in supporting the Water and Pesticides directives, demonstrating that it represents a valuable instrument for public authorities, environmental planners, as well as agricultural extension services