Journals Proceedings

Abstract

Amik Plain is one of the most important and productive agricultural areas of Turkey. It was aimed to determine nitrate (NO3 -), ammonium (NH4 +) and phosphorus (P) concentration and dissolved oxygen (DO) and salt content (SC) to assess its pollution levels in groundwater of Amik plain. A total of 42 groundwater samples were collected from wells and were analyzed for temperature (T), salt content (SC), dissolved oxygen (DO), ammonium (NH4 +), nitrate (NO3 −), and phosphorus (P). The temperature, SC, DO, NH4 +, and NO3 − parameters were measured in situ immediately. Phosphorus was determined using ascorbic acid method. Descriptive statistical analyses were calculated to characterize distribution of data of groundwater. Correlation analysis was also used to assess the possible relationships among the parameters. Result shows that the highest and lowest coefficient of variation occurred for P (PO4 3-) respectively. The T, DO, SC, NO3 -, NH4 + and P values in the groundwater ranged from 18.70- 29.20 oC, 1.57-6.69 mg L-1, 0.22-7.56 g/L, 1.04-42.20 mg L-1, 0.18-6.89 mg L-1 and 0.35-203.50 μg L-1, respectively. The 13 of 42 groundwater samples exceeded the permissible limit of 25 0C suggesting for very high quality classes. The DO concentration in all samples found lowe contents of all the samples are lower than the desirable limit of 50 mg/L. In only one samples, NH4 + contents was higher than the permissible limit of 6.44 mg L-1 recommended by FAO. All the groundwater examined samples in this research were lower than PO4 = limits of 6130 μg L-1 by FAO. There were positive and negative correlations between some parameters. Dissolved oxygen deficiency was the main problem in the all examined groundwater in Amik Plain.