{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"Research Square"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,14]],"date-time":"2025-05-14T06:40:23Z","timestamp":1747204823814,"version":"3.40.5"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,11]]},"group-title":"In Review","reference-count":0,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,11]],"date-time":"2023-09-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1694390400000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,7]]},"abstract":"<title>Abstract<\/title>\n        <p>Monitoring networks show that the European Union Nitrates Directive (ND) has had mixed success in reducing nitrate concentrations in groundwater. By combining machine learning and monitored nitrate concentrations (1992-2019), we estimate the nitrate hotspot area in Europe to be 401,000 km2, with 47% occurring outside of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZs). We also found contrasting increasing or decreasing trends, varying per country and time periods. We estimate that only 5% of the 122,000 km2 of hotspots in 2019 will meet nitrate quality standards by 2040 and that these may be offset by the appearance of new hotspots. Our results reveal that the effectiveness of the ND is limited by time-lags between the implementation of good practices and pollution reduction and an inadequate designation of NVZs. Significant improvements in the designation and regulation of NVZs are necessary, if the objectives of EU legislation to protect groundwater are to be achieved.<\/p>","DOI":"10.21203\/rs.3.rs-3334769\/v1","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,11]],"date-time":"2023-09-11T04:25:16Z","timestamp":1694406316000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Assessing nitrate groundwater hotspots in Europe reveals a severely inadequate designation of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones"],"prefix":"10.21203","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3561-5350","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o","family":"Serra","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Centre CEF, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronom\u00eda, Universidade de Lisboa"}]},{"given":"Cl\u00e1udia","family":"Marques-dos-Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Centre CEF, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronom\u00eda, Universidade de Lisboa"}]},{"given":"Joana","family":"Marinheiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Centre CEF, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronom\u00eda, Universidade de Lisboa"}]},{"given":"Soraia","family":"Cruz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Forest Research Centre CEF, Associate Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronom\u00eda, Universidade de Lisboa"}]},{"given":"Ros\u00e1rio","family":"Cameira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"LEAF-Linking Landscape, Environment, Agriculture and Food-Research Center, Associated Laboratory TERRA, Instituto Superior de Agronomia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9974-0612","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wim","family":"de Vries","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wageningen University and Research"}]},{"given":"Tommy","family":"Dalgaard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aarhus Universitet, Aarhus, Denmark"}]},{"given":"Nicholas","family":"Hutchings","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University"}]},{"given":"Morten","family":"Graversgaard","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University"}]},{"given":"Franca","family":"Giannini-Kurina","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9428-2149","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Luis","family":"Lassaletta","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2119-5620","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alberto","family":"Sanz-Cobena","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5793-2835","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Miguel","family":"Quemada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid"}]},{"given":"Eduardo","family":"Aguilera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CEICGRAM\/ETSIAAB, Universidad Polit\u00e9cnica de Madrid"}]},{"given":"Sergiy","family":"Medinets","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Odesa National I. I. Mechnikov University"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7587-6280","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rasmus","family":"Einarsson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences"}]},{"given":"Josette","family":"Garnier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"SU CNRS EPHE"}]}],"member":"297","container-title":[],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.researchsquare.com\/article\/rs-3334769\/v1","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/www.researchsquare.com\/article\/rs-3334769\/v1.html","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,11]],"date-time":"2023-09-11T12:40:52Z","timestamp":1694436052000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.researchsquare.com\/article\/rs-3334769\/v1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,11]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.21203\/rs.3.rs-3334769\/v1","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,11]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}