Ryn McCall
Nonpoint Source Nutrient Run-Off Remediation Techniques in the Great Miami Watershed
With agricultural nutrient runoff degrading waterways and contributing to eutrophication and with sparse state and federal legislation limiting agricultural inputs, the need for private and individual remediation is crucial. The aim of this study is to unpack the landscape and waterway restoration efforts being taken on within the state of Ohio at large and translating this work into digestible and easily disseminated practical steps for regional farmers and landowners to implement on their own property. The Great Miami Watershed in Southwestern Ohio has fallen victim to excess nutrient run-off from connected and adjacent monoculture farmland. Through multiple Ohio based initiatives including H2Ohio and the Phosphorus Task Force, agricultural landowners and farmers now have access to grant funding and material resources to mitigate nonpoint source nutrient pollution along their own property’s riparian zones. This study will be summarizing water quality data as well as landscape use proposals in an effort to create a clear deliverable directive for local and state farmers and landowners interested in implementing nutrient remediation methods on their land. Using similar landscapes that have been tiled for agriculture, have similar soil systems and operate along the business as usual methods common in large scale mechanized monoculture cropping, my results show a drop in nutrient (primarily nitrogen, nitrate, and phosphorus) runoff in connected and adjacent waterways through bufferstrip planting in 50-200ft riparian zones.
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