Mitigation of Agricultural Water Pollution in Finland: An Evaluation of Management Practices

1993 ◽  
Vol 28 (3-5) ◽  
pp. 529-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Rekolainen ◽  
M. Posch ◽  
E. Turtola
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Nitrogen Loss ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Phosphorus Load ◽  
Filter Strips ◽  
Permanent Grassland ◽  
Soluble Phosphorus ◽  
Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus ◽  
Reactive Phosphorus

This paper summarizes the results of recent studies concerning the agricultural nutrient load to surface waters in Finland and possible management practices for reducing nutrient losses from agricultural land. Both the nitrogen and the phosphorus load exceed the loads from municipal and industrial sources together, thus being mainly responsible for the eutrophication of surface and coastal waters. 25% of the total agricultural phosphorus load is bioavailable dissolved reactive phosphorus, and 5% of the paniculate phosphorus load is available for algae. Reduced tillage, filter strips and permanent grassland on the set-aside land are means investigated for reducing erosion and nutrient losses. Based on experiments and model simulations, it is estimated that a wide adoption of all these practices would reduce total phosphorus load by about 40%. Soluble phosphorus and nitrogen losses can be reduced by adjusting the amount and timing of fertilization and manure application to the actual needs of plants. If the whole set-aside area was under permanent grassland, the nitrogen loss would decrease by about 17%, but the effect of cover or undersown crops in Finnish conditions is still unknown. More investigations are also needed of the effects of all these management practices on the soluble phosphorus load.

Development of a Coupled Water Quality Model

2017 ◽  
Vol 60 (4) ◽  
pp. 1153-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Wang ◽  
Dennis C. Flanagan ◽  
Keith A. Cherkauer
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Time Series ◽  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Total Phosphorus ◽  
Land Management ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Nitrate Nitrogen ◽  
Storm Events ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Soluble Phosphorus

Abstract. . Nonpoint-source (NPS) pollutants, especially from agriculture, continue to be a primary source of waterquality degradation problems. Effective land management decisions at the field scale must be made to minimize nutrient losses that could pollute streams. Existing NPS models often cannot directly estimate the impacts of different land management practices or determine the effectiveness of combined best management practices (BMPs) in a distributed way at the farm scale. In many cases, they rely on application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) or its improved versions, which represent fields in a lumped fashion and use empirical rather than process-based modeling methodologies. In this study, a coupled Water Erosion Prediction Project and Water Quality (WEPP-WQ) model was completed, updated, improved, and evaluated for simulation of hydrology, soil erosion, and water quality. The WEPP model is a well-established process-based model that simulates runoff and erosion processes from a hillslope. The water quality components are based on those of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). A single overland flow element (OFE) on a hillslope is used to represent a single soil and land use management. The WEPP-WQ model was tested by comparing simulated values from the coupled model with observed nutrient and sediment concentrations in surface runoff following storm events at experimental sites near Waterloo in northeastern Indiana and at the Throckmorton Purdue Agricultural Center in west central Indiana. Time series evaluation of the WEPP-WQ model was performed with observed nutrient and sediment losses from an experimental plot near Tifton, Georgia. The model performed quite well in simulating nutrient losses for single storm events, with R2 greater than 0.8, Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) greater than 0.65, and percent bias (PBIAS) less than 31% for runoff, sediment, nitrate nitrogen, total nitrogen, soluble phosphorus, and total phosphorus losses. In predicting time series nutrient loss, the WEPP-WQ model simulated daily nitrate nitrogen losses adequately, with the ratio of the root mean square error to the standard deviation of measured data (RSR) less than 0.7, NSE greater than 0.55, and PBIAS within the range of ±40%. Comparisons between simulated soluble phosphorus, total phosphorus, and literature results were performed due to the absence of an available observational dataset. The WEPP-WQ model with a single OFE in this study provides a basic but important step for the development of WEPP-WQ models with multiple OFEs that can evaluate the effectiveness of BMPs Keywords: Modeling, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Soil erosion, Water quality, WEPP.

scholarly journals A systematic review of European farmer and non-farmer attitudes towards landscapes, ecosystem services, and agricultural management practices: Implications for permanent grassland management

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie J. Tindale ◽  
John Elliott ◽  
Marjolein Elings ◽  
Rosa Gallardo-Cobos ◽  
Erik Hunter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Permanent Grassland ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Stakeholder Attitudes

AbstractPermanent grassland (PG) is an important agricultural land use for the delivery of multiple ecosystem services (ES), including carbon sequestration, water quality protection, food production, habitat provision, and cultural activities. However, PG environments are threatened by sub-optimal management, cultivation, and abandonment that are influenced by context, land manager’s attitudes and societal demand for ES. Therefore, the perceptions and attitudes of key decision-makers (farmers) and other stakeholders (non-farmers, including citizens and consumers of the products of permanent grasslands, and ES) need to be understood to ensure the sustainability of PGs and the ES they provide. A systematic review of the literature identified 135 scholarly articles. Application of thematic analysis, allowed the organization, and synthesis of current research related to (different) stakeholder attitudes, and how these influence PG management and the delivery of ES. The results suggest that different stakeholders hold different views towards permanent grassland, with farmers in particular having to balance economic with other (potentially conflicting) drivers. The types of knowledge held by different groups of stakeholders, access to sources of information, as well as the influence of knowledge on behaviour; and environmental values (for example in relation to aesthetics or conservation of biodiversity) explained why certain motivations for attitudes and behaviours are held. A major gap, however, was identified in relation to PG as opposed to other types of landscape.

scholarly journals Plant Performance and Nutrient Losses during Containerized Landscape Shrub Production using Composted Dairy Manure Solids as a Peat Substitute in Substrate

2011 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.L. Shober ◽  
C. Wiese ◽  
G.C. Denny ◽  
C.D. Stanley ◽  
B.K. Harbaugh
Keyword(s):  
Growth Index ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Ammonium Nitrogen ◽  
Dairy Manure ◽  
Plant Performance ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Quality Ratings ◽  
Dissolved Reactive Phosphorus ◽  
Woody Ornamental ◽  
Reactive Phosphorus

Concerns over the environmental impact and economics of harvesting sphagnum and reed-sedge peat have increased the desire to identify acceptable peat substitutes for use in container substrates. This preliminary study evaluated the use of composted dairy manure solids as a substitute for sphagnum or reed-sedge peat in container substrates for production of woody ornamental shrubs and assessed potential leaching of nutrients. Walter's viburnum (Viburnum obovatum), sandankwa viburnum (Viburnum suspensum), and japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum) were grown in 3-gal plastic containers with seven substrates containing (by vol.) 60% pine bark, 10% sand, and 30% sphagnum peat (S), reed-sedge peat (R), and/or composted dairy manure solids (C). Substrate composition had no effect on plant quality ratings for any species, growth index (GI) of walter's viburnum, or shoot and root dry weight of walter's viburnum and japanese privet. However, the GI of japanese privet and sandankwa viburnum was the lowest when grown in substrates containing a high percentage of reed-sedge peat (0S:3R:0C). Substrate effects on average nitrate + nitrite nitrogen leachate losses were minimal over the 88-day leachate collection period. However, the substrate containing the highest proportions of composted dairy manure solids (0S:0R:3C) generally had the highest average ammonium nitrogen and dissolved reactive phosphorus losses compared with other substrates. All substrates tested as part of this study appeared to be commercially acceptable for production of container-grown woody ornamental shrub species based on growth and quality. However, average nutrient losses from containers differed depending on the peat or peat substitute used to formulate the substrates.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of grass filter strips for runoff nutrient and sediment reduction in dairy sludge-amended pastures.

1969 ◽  
Vol 92 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
David Sotomayor-Ramírez ◽  
Gustavo A. Martínez ◽  
John Ramírez-Ávila ◽  
Edwin Más
Keyword(s):  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Dairy Manure ◽  
Precipitation Event ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
Filter Strips ◽  
Filter Strip ◽  
Grass Filter Strips ◽  
The Impact

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that grass filter strips are effective in reducing nutrient and sediment concentrations in runoff from grazed pasture amended with dairy manure sludge. The experiment was carried out under recommended practices in two fields of a dairy farm in San Sebastián municipality, Puerto Rico. Runoff generated following a precipitation event was diverted into runoff-collection devices placed at 0, 10, and 20 m within a grass filter barrier. Samples were analyzed for suspended solids (SS), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), dissolved phosphorus (DP), and total phosphorus (TP). Suspended solid concentrations in runoff entering the filter strips were minimal, which is indicative that SS losses are not numerically significant from pasture fields exhibiting high vegetative coverage. Elevated TP and TKN concentrations were observed in runoff events occurring within 10 days after manure application. This finding indicates that farmers must avoid scheduling manure applications at times when significant rains are expected, because direct runoff will result in excessive off-field nutrient losses if no filter strip is present. In both fields, DP concentrations in runoff were significantly reduced with a filter strip 20 m wide, whereas TP concentrations were significantly reduced only from the field exhibiting the highest concentration in runoff, i.e., Toronjo field. A 27% decrease in TKN concentration was observed in the Toronjo field as a result of the 20-m filter strip (relative to the entrance), but such reduction was nonsignificant. Although the 20-m grass filter strip was effective in reducing nutrient concentrations in runoff from manure-amended fields, the implementation of other best management practices is needed to reduce the impact of nutrient losses to levels that do not pose a threat to the integrity of the receiving waters.

Is a rainfall simulator useful for estimating phosphorus runoff from pastures — a question of scale-dependency?

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 953 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. S. Cornish ◽  
R. Hallissey ◽  
E. Hollinger
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Dairy Farm ◽  
Particulate Phosphorus ◽  
Phosphorus Concentration ◽  
Catchment Scale ◽  
Rainfall Simulator ◽  
Soluble Phosphorus ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Mean Concentration

Research on management practices that aim to reduce phosphorus in runoff from agricultural land has been hampered by the need to study large catchments over relatively long time periods to account for both the temporal and spatial effects of scale. The concentrations of pollutants such as phosphorus in runoff, similarly to suspended sediment, may diminish with increasing catchment scale. However, the runoff from well-covered dairy pastures contains predominantly soluble rather than particulate phosphorus. This paper examines the hypothesis that the concentration of soluble phosphorus in runoff from dairy pastures is insensitive to scale, and that small-plot rainfall simulators can be used to estimate concentrations of phosphorus in runoff at the farm or subcatchment scale.Over 2 years and 9 runoff events, the mean concentration of soluble phosphorus in runoff from a 140 ha dairy farm (0.95 mg/L) was not significantly different from a 4 ha representative subcatchment (paddock) within the dairy farm (0.66 mg/L). Relative concentrations from the 2 sources varied between events, depending on the duration of the runoff event. This variation was attributed to changes in the relative importance of different source areas as events progressed; runoff from the more distant parts of the larger catchment area, typically in higher positions in the landscape, apparently increased in importance in longer events.A hand-held rainfall simulator, with plots of only 1 m2, provided a quick, useful estimate of soluble phosphorus concentration in runoff. The mean concentration of soluble phosphorus in runoff from simulated rainfall at 9�locations in the 4 ha paddock (0.64 mg/L) was very similar to the value obtained from the paddock over a 2-year period (0.66 mg/L). We conclude that the concentration of soluble phosphorus in runoff from dairy pasture does depend on scale, and other variables, but the effect of scale was small for the catchment studied. A rainfall simulator may be used, with adequate replication, to estimate the soluble phosphorus concentrations in runoff that could be expected from dairy pastures over much larger areas.

Managing Landscape Irrigation to Avoid Soil and Nutrient Losses

EDIS ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
George Hochmuth ◽  
Laurie Trenholm ◽  
Don Rainey ◽  
Esen Momol ◽  
Claire Lewis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Environment ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Root Zone ◽  
Irrigation Management ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Nutrient Losses ◽  
County Agents ◽  
The Right ◽  
Soil And Water

Proper irrigation management is critical to conserve and protect water resources and to properly manage nutrients in the home landscape. How lawns and landscapes are irrigated directly impacts the natural environment, so landscape maintenance professionals and homeowners must adopt environmentally-friendly approaches to irrigation management. After selecting the right plant for the right place, water is the next critical factor to establish and maintain a healthy lawn and landscape. Fertilization is another important component of lawn and landscape maintenance, and irrigation must be applied correctly, especially following fertilization, to minimize potential nutrient losses. This publication supplements other UF/IFAS Extension publications that also include information on the role of soil and the root zone in irrigation management. This publication is designed to help UF/IFAS Extension county agents prepare materials to directly address nutrient losses from lawns and landscapes caused by inadequate irrigation management practices. This 6-page fact sheet was written by George Hochmuth, Laurie Trenholm, Don Rainey, Esen Momol, Claire Lewis, and Brian Niemann, and published by the UF Department of Soil and Water Science, October 2013. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ss586

Potential soil carbon sequestration of agricultural land around the world

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvia Vetter ◽  
Michael Martin ◽  
Pete Smith
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
C Sequestration ◽  
Organic Soils ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Sequestration Potential ◽  
The World ◽  
Soil C Sequestration

<p>Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in to the atmosphere to limit global warming is the big challenge of the coming decades. The focus lies on negative emission technologies to remove GHGs from the atmosphere from different sectors. Agriculture produces around a quarter of all the anthropogenic GHGs globally (including land use change and afforestation). Reducing these net emissions can be achieved through techniques that increase the soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks. These techniques include improved management practices in agriculture and grassland systems, which increase the organic carbon (C) input or reduce soil disturbances. The C sequestration potential differs among soils depending on climate, soil properties and management, with the highest potential for poor soils (SOC stock farthest from saturation).</p><p>Modelling can be used to estimate the technical potential to sequester C of agricultural land under different mitigation practices for the next decades under different climate scenarios. The ECOSSE model was developed to simulate soil C dynamics and GHG emissions in mineral and organic soils. A spatial version of the model (GlobalECOSSE) was adapted to simulate agricultural soils around the world to calculate the SOC change under changing management and climate.</p><p>Practices like different tillage management, crop rotations and residue incorporation showed regional differences and the importance of adapting mitigation practices under an increased changing climate. A fast adoption of practices that increase SOC has its own challenges, as the potential to sequester C is high until the soil reached a new C equilibrium. Therefore, the potential to use soil C sequestration to reduce overall GHG emissions is limited. The results showed a high potential to sequester C until 2050 but much lower rates in the second half of the century, highlighting the importance of using soil C sequestration in the coming decades to reach net zero by 2050.</p>

Soil respiration under different agricultural land use types in Croatia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darija Bilandžija ◽  
Marija Galić ◽  
Željka Zgorelec
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Paris Agreement ◽  
Energy Crop ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Uncertainty Estimates

<p>In order to mitigate climate change and reduce the anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the Kyoto protocol has been adopted in 1997 and the Paris Agreement entered into force in 2016. The Paris Agreement have ratified 190 out of 197 Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Croatia is one of them as well. Each Party has obliged regularly to submit the national inventory report (NIR) providing the information on the national anthropogenic GHG emissions by sources and removals by sinks to the UNFCCC. Reporting under the NIR is divided into six categories / sectors, and one of them is land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector, where an issue of uncertainty estimates on carbon emissions and removals occurs. As soil respiration represents the second-largest terrestrial carbon flux, the national studies on soil respiration can reduce the uncertainty and improve the estimation of country-level carbon fluxes. Due to the omission of national data, the members of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture, Department of General Agronomy have started to study soil respiration rates in 2012, and since then many different studies on soil respiration under different agricultural land uses (i.e. annual crops, energy crop and vineyard), management practices (i.e. tillage and fertilization) and climate conditions (i.e. continental and mediterranean) in Croatia have been conducted. The obtained site specific results on field measurements of soil carbon dioxide concentrations by <em>in situ</em> closed static chamber method will be presented in this paper.</p>

A case study review of wood ash land application programs in North America

TAPPI Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-120
Author(s):  
ILICH LAMA ◽  
DEREK SAIN
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Wood Ash ◽  
Land Application ◽  
Agricultural Application ◽  
Application Programs

Several regulatory agencies and universities have published guidelines addressing the use of wood ash as liming material for agricultural land and as a soil amendment and fertilizer. This paper summarizes the experiences collected from several forest products facility-sponsored agricultural application programs across North America. These case studies are characterized in terms of the quality of the wood ash involved in the agricultural application, approval requirements, recommended management practices, agricultural benefits of wood ash, and challenges confronted by ash generators and farmers during storage, handling, and land application of wood ash. Reported benefits associated with land-applying wood ash include increasing the pH of acidic soils, improving soil quality, and increasing crop yields. Farmers apply wood ash on their land because in addition to its liming value, it has been shown to effectively fertilize the soil while maintaining soil pH at a level that is optimal for plant growth. Given the content of calcium, potassium, and magnesium that wood ash supplies to the soil, wood ash also improves soil tilth. Wood ash has also proven to be a cost-effective alternative to agricultural lime, especially in rural areas where access to commercial agricultural lime is limited. Some of the challenges identified in the review of case studies include lengthy application approvals in some jurisdictions; weather-related issues associated with delivery, storage, and application of wood ash; maintaining consistent ash quality; inaccurate assessment of required ash testing; potential increased equipment maintenance; and misconceptions on the part of some farmers and government agencies regarding the effect and efficacy of wood ash on soil quality and crop productivity.

Solid/liquid partition coefficients to model trace element critical loads for agricultural soils in Canada

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (Special Issue) ◽  
pp. 189-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
M I Sheppard ◽  
S C Sheppard ◽  
C A Grant
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Trace Element ◽  
Best Management Practices ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
National Level ◽  
Trace Element Content ◽  
Crop Productivity ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Solid Liquid

Canadian consumers are demanding a sustainable agricultural industry as well as products delivered under Best Management Practices (BMPs). Trace element accumulation in soils may influence crop productivity, food quality and ecosystem and human health. Canada’s feed and foodstuff export industry has already faced cases of penalties for high trace element content [cadmium (Cd) in durum wheat]. Thus, it is imperative to be able to estimate the accumulation and potential short- and long-term impacts of trace elements in soil. A national-level Trace Element Indicator (TEI) based on present loadings of trace elements to agricultural land is in progress. An Expert Panel including Canadian, American and Australian experts guided the assembly of a proposed methodology for this TEI. The proposed TEI, described briefly here, is a critical load approach with a single expression of the risk of impact from single or multiple trace elements from multiple sources (manures, biosolids, effluents and fertilizers and natural processes), invoked in a stochastic manner. Two key data requirements are the current background levels of trace elements in soil, and the leachability of these trace elements. A survey of total and soluble concentrations of 54 elements in up to 112 soils was completed. Although preliminary in scope, these represent key soil series in Canada. From this, a database of the solid/liquid partition coefficient, Kd, was computed. These Kd values will be used to characterize the leachability of the trace elements. Key words: Cadmium, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, uranium, metals, Kd, distribution coefficient

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