167Life Cycle Assessment for Natural Fiber Composites
of downstream invertebrate communities. He reported that the Game Conservancy
Trust Allerton project revealed that phosphorus concentrations from septic tanks
were more than 10 times those from arable eld drains.
The nitrate anion, NO
3
−
, has high solubility in water and is not signicantly
adsorbed onto most soils (Abrahams 2002). When both soil nitrate levels and water
movement are high, leaching and run-off may be signicant contributors to the nitro-
gen load in watercourses. While fertilizers are a source of nitrates, Abrahams (2002)
suggested that in the climatic conditions of NW Europe, mineralization of soil organic
matter (SOM) and crop/animal residues is a more signicant source ...