University of Bayreuth, Press release No. 048/2022 - 06 April 2022
New study: Agricultural streams reduce pollutants in water cycle
Ditches and small streams at the edge of agricultural land contribute significantly to reducing agricultural pollutants in the water cycle. They promote nitrate reduction by microorganisms and thus have an important influence on nitrogen fluxes towards larger rivers and lakes. A research team led by Prof. Dr. Tillmann Lüders of the University of Bayreuth has now demonstrated this for the first time. The scientists were able to show that the stream water is in intensive exchange with the surrounding groundwater, thus stimulating microbial activities. They present their research in the journal "Water Research".
The CAMPOS team after successful field sampling in front of the Wurmlinger Chapel near Tübingen: Tillmann Lueders, Zhe Wang, Marc Schwientek, Oscar Jimenez-Fernandez, Aileen Jakobs (from left). Photo: Tillmann Lueders.
Groundwater monitoring well in the Schönbrunnen, the stream near Tübingen investigated in the study. Photo: Tillmann Lueders.
Processing of sediment samples for microbiological investigation. Photo: Nia Blackwell.
Taking a sediment core in the streambed (from left: Zhe Wang, Tillmann Lueders (from left). Photo: Tillmann Lueders.