Wetlands provide landscape-scale reduction in nitrate pollution

     Research led by the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering's St. Anthony Falls Laboratory and the University of Minnesota's College of Biological Sciences shown that wetlands or "wetland complexes" are extremely effective at reducing harmful nitrate in rivers and streams; these wetlands can be five times more efficient per unit area reducing nitrate than the best land-based nitrogen mitigation strategies. Excess nitrate from crop fertilizer, in agricultural regions of the U.S., runs-off into water systems through subsurface drainage systems and agricultural ditches. The impacts of nitrate runoff into water systems will result in contamination for drinking water and the Gulf of Mexico. The study resulted in collecting over a four-year period from more than 200 waterways, 17,000-square-mile Minnesota River basin, coupled with geo-spatial information about land use in the watershed. The one finding of the research plays a part in the interest of current policy debate over management and regulations that influence water quality in agricultural regions; there is strong scientific consensus that small or temporary water bodies such as ephemeral wetlands play essential roles for improving water quality downstream, and their legal status for protection under the Clean Water Act is uncertain.The results of the research not only helped advance the science of wetlands and pollution control, but can provide the practical applications for practitioners looking to develop guidance on wetland restoration siting and potential benefits.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/01/180129150002.htm

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