Researchers track decades of nitrogen inputs and uptake across the United States, highlighting the need for policy to address the legacy effects of this essential nutrient and pollutant.
A new study published recently from Water Institute member and professor in Waterloo's Earth and Environmental Sciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering Nandita Basu, former Waterloo Postdoctoral Fellow Kim Van Meter, and Collaborative Water Program graduate Danyka Byrnes, tallied up eight decades of nitrogen inputs (from fertilizer, biological processes, manure, and human waste) and uptake by crops to determine just how much excess nitrogen may be present in counties across the United States.
Read the entire article, featured on AGU's Science News, written by Kate Wheeling
Harmful algal blooms associated with nitrogen pollution turn water in Milford Lake, in Kansas, emerald green. Credit: Jennifer Graham, USGS