Nitrate dynamics in a sub-surface drained agricultural watershed

This study is a multi-scale experiment in an upstream drained watershed. In small upstream rural watersheds, potential for nitrogen retention is favored by high nitrate concentrations but also undermined by small water residence times. The actual flow paths are thus the key to understanding nitrogen retention. The objective of this work was to characterize and quantify the hydrological and biogeochemical processes, which are involved in the transfer and retention of nitrogen at a small watershed scale (104 km²) integrating drained cultivated fields and forested zones.