Managing nitrogen legacies to accelerate water quality improvement

Nandita B. Basu*, Kimberly J. Van Meter, Danyka K. Byrnes, Philippe Van Cappellen, Roy Brouwer, Brian H. Jacobsen, Jerker Jarsjö, David L. Rudolph, Maria C. Cunha, Natalie Nelson, Ruchi Bhattacharya, Georgia Destouni, Søren Bøye Olsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

168 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Increasing incidences of eutrophication and groundwater quality impairment from agricultural nitrogen pollution are threatening humans and ecosystem health. Minimal improvements in water quality have been achieved despite billions of dollars invested in conservation measures worldwide. Such apparent failures can be attributed in part to legacy nitrogen that has accumulated over decades of agricultural intensification and that can lead to time lags in water quality improvement. Here, we identify the key knowledge gaps related to landscape nitrogen legacies and propose approaches to manage and improve water quality, given the presence of these legacies.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNature Geoscience
Volume15
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)97-105
Number of pages9
ISSN1752-0894
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

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