Digital map of groundwater vulnerability to nitrate pollution in the Segura Hydrographic District (Spain) based on the LU-IV Procedure
Creators: name: Arauzo, Mercedes
name: Valladolid, Maria
name: Andries, Delia Marina
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025

description: This digital map pertains to the paper:

Arauzo, M., Valladolid, M. & Andries, D.M. (2025) Mapping groundwater vulnerability to nitrate pollution in the Segura Hydrographic District (Spain) by the LU-IV Procedure. Estudios Geológicos (in press)

Here, we present a raster map of GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY TO NITRATE POLLUTION and an intermediate raster of INTRINSIC GROUNDWATER VULNERABILITY. These maps effectively represent the specific vulnerability to nitrate pollution from diffuse sources according to the LU-IV Procedure (LU-IV= Land Use–Intrinsic Vulnerability; step 2 of the Procedure) and the intrinsic vulnerability according to the IV Index (IV=Intrinsic Vulnerability; step 1 of the Procedure) across the groundwater bodies of the Segura Hydrographic District (Arauzo, 2017; Arauzo et al. 2019, 2022, 2025).

 Key specifications:

Number of bands: 1.

Cell size: 25, 25 m.

Format: TIFF.

Spatial reference: ETRS_1989_UTM_Zone_30

To generate the map legend, ensure you import the legend's colour code (leyenda_código de color. Lyr) into ArcGIS using Layer Properties/ Symbology/ Import symbology.

 

REFERENCES:

Original design, validations and applicability of the LU-IV Procedure:

Arauzo, M. (2017). Vulnerability of groundwater resources to nitrate pollution: A simple and effective procedure for delimiting Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Science of the Total Environment, 575: 799-812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.09.139

 

Improved design of the LU-IV Procedure:

Arauzo, M., García, G., Valladolid, M. (2019). Assessment of the risks of N-loss to groundwater from data on N-balance surplus in Spanish crops: An empirical basis to identify Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. Science of the Total Environment, 696: 133713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133713

Arauzo, M., Valladolid, M., Andries, D.M. (2022). Would delineation of nitrate vulnerable zones be improved by introducing a new parameter representing the risk associated with soil permeability in the Land Use–Intrinsic Vulnerability Procedure?  Science of the Total Environment, 840: 156654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156654

 

LU-IV Procedure applied to different territories:

Arauzo, M., Valladolid, M., García, G. (2020). Mapping groundwater vulnerability to nitrate pollution from diffuse sources in the Ebro river basin (N.E. Spain). Estudios Geológicos, 76(2): e132. https://doi.org/10.3989/egeol.43868.586

Salman, A.A., Arauzo, M., Elnazer. A.A. (2019). Groundwater quality and vulnerability assessment in west Luxor Governorate, Egypt. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 8: 271-280. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2018.11.009

Arauzo, M., Valladolid, M., Andries, D.M. (2025). Mapping groundwater vulnerability to nitrate pollution in the Segura Hydrographic District (Spain) by the LU-IV Procedure. Estudios Geológicos (in press).

 

 TWO FOLDERS INCLUDED:

1.     Map of specific vulnerability to nitrate pollution_LU-IV Procedure_DEMARCACION SEGURA.zip. It includes the digital map of groundwater vulnerability to nitrate pollution in the Segura Hydrographic District based on the LU-IV Procedure in TIFF format, the metadata file, a Summary Diagram of the LU-IV Procedure in JPG format, a README.txt file and the legend's colour code file.

2.     Map of intrinsic vulnerability_IV Index_DEMARCACION SEGURA.zip. It includes the digital map of the intrinsic vulnerability of groundwater in the Segura Hydrographic District in TIFF format (intermediate map generated in step 1 of the LU-IV Procedure), the metadata file, a Summary Diagram of the LU-IV Procedure (including the IV Index in step 1) in JPG format, a README.txt file and the legend's colour code file.