En undersökning av gödselfria skyddszoner inom nitratkänsligt område : Hur efterlevs regelverket gällande två meters gödselfri skyddszon på jordbruksmark som gränsar till vattendrag

The Nitrates Directive, established by EU in 1991, aimed to reduce nitrates leaking from agricultural areas to surface-, ground- and marine waters. The Directive applies to all EU member countries, obliging them to identify nitrate vulnerable zones. In Sweden, a fertilizerfree buffer zone (of at least two meters width) is required in fields adjacent to water sources in order to reduce the nutrient leakage. The aim of this study was to find out whether or not the two-meter buffer zone is applied. The results of this study are based upon fieldwork and interviews which were conducted within nitrate vulnerable zones in four different counties. The fieldwork was limited to checking fields with winter wheat where chemical fertilizer had been spread. Farmers, plant advisors and inspectors were interviewed in order to find out how the rule of the two meter buffer zone is perceived. There is a certain difference in outcome for the field inspections which can be explained by several factors. Those factors includes: the presence of fields with winter wheat, when the first distribution occurs, the prevailing weather and the work period. There are also similarities that shows that 36 percent of the controlled field violated the rule of two meters buffer zone. Some possible reasons for this could be economic-, technical- or knowledge issues. One possible measure to get around the knowledge problem could be if Swedish authorities (i.e. the Swedish board of agriculture) clarified in law to which watercourse the two-meters buffer zone rule is applied