Integrated assessment modeling reveals near-channel management as cost-effective to improve water quality in agricultural watersheds.

ABSTRACT: Despite decades of policy that strives to reduce nutrient and sediment export from agricultural fields, surface water quality in intensively managed agricultural landscapes remains highly degraded. Recent analyses show that current conservation efforts are not sufficient to reverse widespread water degradation in Midwestern agricultural systems. Intensifying row crop agriculture and increasing climate pressure require a more integrated approach to water quality management that addresses diverse sources of nutrients and sediment and off-field mitigation actions. We used multiobjective optimization analysis and integrated three biophysical models to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of alternative portfolios of watershed management practices at achieving nitrate and suspended sediment reductio

SUBMITTER: Hansen AT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8285912 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature