Agricultural Fertilizer and Nitrogen Pollution

Additional Resources Types of Pollution Mississppi River Pollution

Problems associated with fertilizer intensive farming practices such as algal blooms and dead zones have been well documented.

Recent research suggests that the problem is not only growing, but in fact the solutions to the problem might be more difficult to resolve than previously thought.

The Voice of America Special English Agriculture Report video provides good coverage of the research, explaining how the comparative study demonstrated the fact that more fertilizer is not always the best agriculture solution. In fact, Chinese farmers used six times as much fertilizer on their corn crop than their American counterparts without realizing any additional gains.

The presentation of Chinese agriculture practices suggests future Chinese water pollution problems similar to those existing in the United States.

The story behind the research suggests even more problematic consequences because it highlights the fact that despite a great reduction in fertilizer use over the past thirty years, American water pollution problems caused by agricultural practices are growing rather than diminishing.

According to one of the report's authors, "As we see from the situation in the Mississippi River Basin, reducing the nitrogen fertilizer surplus does not resolve the environmental consequences of using these fertilizers. We know we need to apply more of our basic understanding of biogeochemical processes to succeed in that; we need to think about diversifying rotations and using practices that solve some of the root causes of nutrient loss from agriculture."

© 2009. Patricia A. Michaels