Fertilizers runoff

The preparation of soils for crops, planting, and tilling raises dust as a fugitive emission. Such operations are shll exempt from air pollution regulations in most parts of the world. The application of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides is also exempt from air pollution regulations, but other regulations may cover the drift of these materials or runoff into surface waters. This is particularly true of the materials are hazardous or toxic. 

Nitrate (measured as Nitrogen) 10 10 "Blue baby syndrome" in infants under six months -life threatening without immediate medical attention. Symptoms Infant looks blue and has shortness of breath. Runoff from fertilizer use leaching from septic tanks, sewage erosion of natural deposits... 

Treatment of crops and/or soil with pesticides and fertilizers runoff or direct vertical leaching to septic tanks and cesspools... 

Cover crops Improves fertility Improves water availability Nutrient recycling Reduces costs Soil erosion and runoff control Weed control Kalinova (2009) Malezieux et al. (2009) Pati et al. (2009) Runyon et al. (2009) Stagnari et al. (2009) Wu and Sardo (2009) Zuazo and Pleguezuelo (2009)... 

Consider the analysis of soil from a farmer s field. The farmer wants to know whether he needs to apply a nitrogen-containing fertilizer to his field. It is conceivable that different parts of the field could provide different types of samples in terms of nitrogen content. Suppose there is a cattle feed lot nearby, perhaps uphill from part of the field and downhill from another part of the field such that runoff from the feed lot affects part of the field but not the other part. If the farmer wishes to have an analysis report for the field as a whole, then the sample taken should include combined portions from all parts of the field that may be different (a composite sample) so that it will truly represent the field as a whole. Alternatively, two selective samples could be taken, one from above the feed lot and one from below the feed lot, so that two analyses are performed and reported to the farmer. These would be referred to as selective samples. At any rate, one wants the results of the chemical analysis to be correct for the entire area for which the analysis is intended. 

The problem with this fixed nitrogen is that its use as a fertilizer requires land application. While some of the nitrogen is retained by the plants, much is carried off the land as stormwater runoff This increases the concentration of DIN in groundwater and river-water. Drainage of these waters into the coastal ocean supplies nutrients that stimulate plankton growth. Remineralization of the plankton biomass can lead to development of hypoxic and anoxic conditions in coastal waters. 

The ultimate sources of nitrogen and phosphorus causing cultural eutrophication are industrial N2 fixation, fossil-fuel burning, and the mining of phosphorite. The nitrogen and phosphorus used as fertilizer have three possible 6tes they either enter the food chain, become part of the soil, or are washed off the land by stormwater runoff The nutrients that enter the food chain eventually end up as either animal wastes or dead biomass. Animal wastes include human sewage, livestock manure, and pet feces. Sanitary... 

Water pollution results from a number of sources including agricultural runoff, erosion, industrial wastes, domestic wastes, and road runoff. Water pollution can be classified as either point source or nonpoint source. Point source pollution is emitted from a specific, well-defined location such as a pipe. Nonpoint sources refer to pollutants dispersed over a wide area from many different areas. A sewer pipe would be an example of a point source and fertilizer runoff from a field would represent nonpoint source pollution. 

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