Effects of animal waste on ground water and creation of impact maps: Adana-Ceyhan district example

Wastes and animal manure from livestock activities are important pollution threats to surface and underground water resources and the natural environment. Animal waste may cause various environmental problems if not managed properly. Animal manure is an important source of fertilizer used in agricultural areas. However, its overuse and mistakes in its management can increase the risk of groundwater pollution. Shallow ground water is an important parameter in water monitoring. Understanding the impacts of agricultural and livestock practices on shallow groundwater is a critical step towards sustainable water management. At this point, the development of sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry practices and the effective treatment of animal waste are of great importance. This study aims to examine the environmental impacts in the livestock and agriculture sectors on the axis of shallow ground water quality by focusing on the complex connections between animal waste, animal manure, ground water and environmental relations. For this purpose, ground water observation wells were drilled in the selected study area by creating an experimental design and shallow ground water samples were taken from these wells and analyzed by spectrophotometer. As a result of the analyses, the highest and lowest concentrations were measured as; 108.47 mgL-1 and 3.34 mg L-1 for nitrate; 1.989 mg L-1 and 0.005 mg L-1 for nitrite; 2.13 mg L-1 and 0.02 mg L-1 for phosphorus; 2.31 mS cm-1 and 0.36 mS cm-1 for EC; 8.67 and 7.01 for pH, respectively. Distribution maps were created to track the distribution of the results obtained over the area. Survey and observation studies were also carried out in order to determine the current status of livestock activities in the selected study area, as livestock activities are carried out both collectively and widely. It was determined that 70% of the interviewed enterprises did not have manure storage and that they accumulated manure in bulk in the environment.