Squaring the cycle: the integration of Groundwater processes in nutrient budgets for a basin-oriented remediation Strategy

Long term projection of N and P concentrations in surface and ground waters cannot be entirely achieved unless groundwater features and processes affecting nutrients at the watershed scale are considered. This work presents the general approach of the INTEGRON project whose aim is to "square the cycle" in nutrient budgets, evaluating the role of groundwater as a temporary/permanent sink or as a release term at the catchment scale, in the Adda and the Ticino basins (northern Italy). An integrated approach is currently tested, which considers surface and groundwater, N and P species combining hydrogeology, biogeochemistry and socio-hydrogeology.