Integrated Geophysical, Geological And Geomorphological Investigations For Study The Impact Of Agricultural Activities On A Complex Karstic Area

In the Salento peninsula (southern Apulia, Italy)., agriculture is a major land use and the<br>most important source for local economy; unfortunately, herbicids and pesticides are widely used.<br>Due to the environmental characteristics of this complex karstic area, pollutants are washed from<br>soil by running waters which rapidly infiltrate underground throughout a number of sinkholes<br>posing a relevant threat to the main karstic aquifer.<br>A multidisciplinary research was carried out aiming to determine the climatic (analysis of<br>the series of rainfall), geological (lithology, fault lines, etc.), morphological (slope, sinkholes<br>position), geophysical (impervious cover thickness, bedrock depth, etc.), hydrogeological (drainage<br>network) and anthropic (land use, land-reclaimation works, channels, etc.) conditions as a base for<br>the prevention and mitigation of groundwater pollution due to agricultural activities.