Nutrient management for water quality protection: integrating research into environmental policy

Abstract

Agriculture's impacts on water quality have been the focus of basic and applied research in Delaware for more than 25 years. Research has examined nutrient cycling in soils, nutrient transport from soils to water, and the environmental consequences of ground water contamination and surface water eutrophication by nutrients. Much of the research has specifically been oriented towards the development of agricultural management practices to prevent the degradation of water quality by nutrients. Other research has focused on increasing our understanding of the chemical, physical, and biological processes that control nutrient cycling and transport and improving the monitoring techniques needed to document how changing management practices affects water quality. Agencies responsible for water quality protection have sought to integrate this research into environmental policy, but have often been frustrated by the fragmented and sometimes contradictory nature of the information provided to them. This paper reviews key advances in research on nutrient management and water quality in Delaware and discusses the obstacles faced in translating research into widely accepted management practices and environmental policies.