Reducing nitrogen export from the corn belt to the Gulf of Mexico: agricultural strategies for remediating hypoxia
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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.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
---|---|
Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Reducing nitrogen export from the corn belt to the Gulf of Mexico: agricultural strategies for remediating hypoxia |
Series title | Journal of the American Water Resources Association |
DOI | 10.1111/jawr.12246 |
Volume | 51 |
Issue | 1 |
Year Published | 2015 |
Language | English |
Publisher | Wiley |
Contributing office(s) | Wisconsin Water Science Center |
Description | 27 p. |
First page | 263 |
Last page | 289 |
Country | United States |
Other Geospatial | Ohio River Basin, Upper Mississippi River Basin |
Online Only (Y/N) | N |
Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |