Citation:

Yuan, Y., R. Book, K. Mankin, L. Koropeckyj-Cox, L. Christianson, T. Messer, AND R. Christianson. An Overview on Effectiveness of Agricultural Conservation Practices for Water Quality Improvement. Journal of the ASABE. AMERICAN SOCIETY OF AGRICULTURAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERS, ST. JOSEPH, MI, 65(2):419-426, (2022). https://doi.org/10.13031/ja.14503

Impact/Purpose:

Water bodies and coastal areas around the world are threatened by excessive amounts of nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) from upstream watersheds, which can cause rapid proliferation of algae. These algal blooms negatively impact drinking water sources, aquatic species, and recreational services of water bodies by producing toxins, also called harmful algal blooms (HABs). Finding ways reducing nutrient losses from agricultural fields is paramount important for EPA program offices and regional partners to make informed decisions to better control nutrient losses from agricultural fields.

Description:

This article introduces a Special Collection of literature reviews documenting the performance and cost-effectiveness of six agricultural conservation practices (ACPs): conservation crop rotation, cover crop, filter strip, nutrient management, denitrifying bioreactor, and constructed wetland. The overall objectives of the Special Collection are to: (1) review published studies on ACP effectiveness in reducing nutrient and sediment losses from agricultural fields; (2) compare, integrate, and synthesize the results from those studies to obtain a systematic understanding of the mitigation efficacy of each ACP in a consistent format across the selected ACPs; and (3) assemble cost analyses and obtain general insights on performance-based costs of the ACPs. The specific objectives of this introductory article are to summarize key information from each of the six review articles and develop a comparative understanding of the performance and cost-effectiveness of the six ACPs. Among the selected ACPs, denitrifying bioreactor, constructed wetland, cover crop, crop rotation, and nutrient management were all effective in reducing nitrate-N loads in subsurface drainage, with performance effectiveness in load reduction ranging from 23% to 40%. A corn-soybean rotation (relative to continuous corn) was the most cost-effective among the selected ACPs and can reduce nitrate-N load at a net benefit of about USD $5 per kg nitrate-N compared to continuous corn. Filter strip was most effective in reducing sediment, total nitrogen (N), and total phosphorus (P) loads from surface runoff and can be effective in reducing nitrate-N and dissolved P. Cover crop was also effective in reducing sediment and total P loads. Studies of the selected ACPs for their performance effectiveness for dissolved P are limited, and results varied among the ACPs included; thus, more research is needed relative to ACP effectiveness in reducing dissolved P loss, particularly in subsurface flow. Finally, although each review article included cost-analysis information, more data and analyses are needed to better understand the cost-effectiveness of ACPs and their ecological benefits. 

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