Journal article
REDUCING NITROGEN EXPORT FROM THE CORN BELT TO THE GULF OF MEXICO: AGRICULTURAL STRATEGIES FOR REMEDIATING HYPOXIA
Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol.51(1), pp.263-289
02/01/2015
DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12246
Abstract
SPAtially Referenced Regression on Watershed models developed for the Upper Midwest were used to help evaluate the nitrogen-load reductions likely to be achieved by a variety of agricultural conservation practices in the Upper Mississippi-Ohio River Basin (UMORB) and to compare these reductions to the 45% nitrogen-load reduction proposed to remediate hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Our results indicate that nitrogen-management practices (improved fertilizer management and cover crops) fall short of achieving this goal, even if adopted on all cropland in the region. The goal of a 45% decrease in loads to the GoM can only be achieved through the coupling of nitrogen-management practices with innovative nitrogen-removal practices such as tile-drainage treatment wetlands, drainage-ditch enhancements, stream-channel restoration, and floodplain reconnection. Combining nitrogen-management practices with nitrogen-removal practices can dramatically reduce nutrient export from agricultural landscapes while minimizing impacts to agricultural production. With this approach, it may be possible to meet the 45% nutrient reduction goal while converting less than 1% of cropland in the UMORB to nitrogen-removal practices. Conservationists, policy makers, and agricultural producers seeking a workable strategy to reduce nitrogen export from the Corn Belt will need to consider a combination of nitrogen-management practices at the field scale and diverse nitrogen-removal practices at the landscape scale.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- REDUCING NITROGEN EXPORT FROM THE CORN BELT TO THE GULF OF MEXICO: AGRICULTURAL STRATEGIES FOR REMEDIATING HYPOXIA
- Creators
- Eileen McLellan - Environmental Defense FundDale Robertson - University of Wisconsin SystemKeith Schilling - University of IowaMark Tomer - National Laboratory for Agriculture and the EnvironmentJill Kostel - The Wetlands Initiative Chicago Illinois 60604Doug Smith - USDA ARS, Natl Soil Eros Res Lab, W Lafayette, IN 47906 USAKevin King - Agricultural Research Service
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol.51(1), pp.263-289
- Publisher
- Wiley
- DOI
- 10.1111/jawr.12246
- ISSN
- 1093-474X
- eISSN
- 1752-1688
- Number of pages
- 27
- Grant note
- McKnight Foundation Walton Family Foundation Keith Campbell Foundation
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 02/01/2015
- Academic Unit
- Earth and Environmental Sciences; IIHR--Hydroscience and Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984383926902771
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