Edited by Joop Steenvoorden, Frans Claessen & Jaap Willems

International Association of Hydrological Sciences

/ Agricultural Effects on Ground
and Surface Waters:
Research at the Edge of Science
and Society

edited by Joop Steenvoorden, Frans Claessen & Jaap Willems

IAHS Publication no. 273 (published April 2002)
ISBN 1-901502-76-7; 414 + x pp.
Price £63.50
Impacts of agriculture upon ground and surface waters are a reflection not only of activities at the farm level. Farmers’ decisions with respect to fertilizer use, crops to grow, livestock, etc., are made within environmental constraints set by regional and national policy makers.

This volume addresses the prevention and reduction of water pollution and water scarcity caused by agricultural activities in northern Europe and North America. Nitrogen and phosphate compounds are a major focus. The main themes:

–Mrisk assessment by monitoring,

–model development and

–decision support studies.

are considered at the levels at which policy development and water management take place:

–the agricultural production unit,

–the regional level, and

–the national level.

Attention is given to alternative approaches for policy making and the communication process between the parties involved: farmers, policy makers, interest groups in society, and scientists.

This book is one outcome of the International Conference on “Agricultural Effects on Ground and Surface Waters: Research at the Edge of Science and Society” (Wageningen, The Netherlands, October 2000). Another outcome was the Wageningen Statement, agreed by the conference participants, containing recommendations to governments and international organizations; it is included in the introduction to the book.

Contents

Preface by Joop Steenvoorden, Frans Claessen & Jaap Willems / v
1 /

Introduction

Agricultural effects on ground and surface waters: research and policy at the edge of science and society Joop Steenvoorden, Gerhard Striegel & Floris Zuidema /
3
2 /

The Agricultural Production Unit

2.1 Policy development

Voluntary agreements as an instrument to solve conflicts between farmers and water suppliers Ingo Heinz /
11
Economic modelling of best management practices (BMPs) at the farm level DennisCollentine /
17
Farming on Good Groundwater: a methodology for cost effective groundwater protection Dick Boland & Sarie Buijze /
23
Environment and agriculture: the dichotomy of erosion and weed control HaldorFykse, Helge Lundekvam & Eirik Romstad /
29
Groundwater recharge through optimized intensive dairy farms H. F. M. Aarts & H.Van Keulen /
35
Conflicting interests in a Dutch agricultural dairy farming system Joop Kroes, JanBeldman, Han Te Beest, Dick Boland & Theun Vellinga /
41
Environmentally friendly manure management technologies and policy instruments John Morken & Per Kristian Rørstad /
49

2.2Models for risk assessment

Prediction of potential groundwater contamination by herbicides: integrated use of a leaching model and GIS in the north of Italy Tullia Bonomi, CarloRiparbelli & Emanuela Clerici /
55
Phosphorus needs of grassland soils and loss to water Hubert Tunney / 63
Nitrogen losses to surface waters from intensively managed grassland on sandy soils: the impact of bufferstrips C. L. van Beek, M. Heinen, J.G. Conijn & O.Oenema /
71

2.3Indicators for environmental performance

Balanced fertilization and regulating nutrient losses from agriculture OeneOenema & Gerard L. Velthof /
77
Policy measures to reduce phosphorus loss and site-specific environmental impacts Anthony C. Edwards & Paul J. A. Withers /
85
Tracking nitrogen loading reductions from agricultural sources: NLEW DeannaL.Osmond, Noah N. Ranells, Steve C. Hodges, Roger Hansard, Lin Xu, Thomas E. Jones & Stephen H. Pratt /
89
The National Phosphorus Project: interfacing agricultural and environmental phosphorus management in the USA Andrew Sharpley, Peter Kleinman, BobWright, Tommy Daniel, Brad Joern, Roberta Parry &
Terry Sobecki /
95
Accelerated deployment of an agricultural nutrient management tool in response to local government policy: the Maryland phosphorus site index Frank J. Coale, EricBaugher, J. Thomas Sims & April Leytem /
101

2.4 Risk assessment by monitoring

Evidence for connectivity of phosphorus transport from plot to catchment? FionaWood, Louise Heathwaite & Philip Haygarth /
107
Incidental transfers of colloidal phosphorus following applications of slurry and fertilizer to grassland Neil Preedy, Rachel Matthews, Philip Haygarth & LouiseHeathwaite /
113
Environmental aspects of soil phosphorus chemistry in the US Atlantic coastal plain J. T. Sims, M. C. Pautler, K. L. Gartley, P. A. Vadas, R. O. Maguire, A.B.Leytem, M.-F. Lavahun, N. J. Luka & R. A. Eaton /
119
The impact of farmstead operation on groundwater quality Barbara Sapek / 125
Nitrate leaching: comparing conventional, integrated and organic agricultural production systems Guido Haas, Martin Berg & Ulrich Köpke /
131
Management of quantitative and qualitative river runoff characteristics with measures in the catchment Yelena V. Fyodorova /
137
3 /

Hydrological and Environmental Policy in a Region

3.1 Models for risk assessment

Risk oriented cultivation scheme for agricultural land in water resource catchment areas Stefan Wallisch, Susanne Hildebrandt & Paul M. Kirch /
145
Selecting effective areas for development of buffer strips at farm and river basin scale P. Domburg, A. Lilly, S. M. Dunn & A. C. Edwards /
151
Defining land zones forminimizing nitrate leaching to groundwater using a combined spatial data and risk based approach S. W. Fletcher, S. Evers, R.S.Ward & R. C. Harris /
157
Geological reconstruction using conditional stochastic simulation for uncertainty analyses of water resources management (Liebenau, northwest Germany) MatthiasSchöniger, Jörg Dietrich & Fred Hattermann /
163
Water levels in the Echten polder: improving agriculture and reducing land subsidence risks J. M. Schouwenaars /
169
Predicting land use change effects on nitrogen dynamics with a GIS coupled, process-oriented model Michael Trepel & Ernst-Walter Reiche /
177
The impact of land use changes on the future load of nitrogen to a Danish inlet: quantification of leaching from the root zone Jørgen Ole Jørgensen,
Dirk-IngmarMüller-Wohlfeil, Brian Kronvang, Hans Estrup Andersen, LisbethWiggers & Jørgen Bidstrup /
183
Long-term effects on groundwater quality through agricultural land use and remediation strategies Rolf Menden & Christoph Schöpfer /
189
SOIL and SOILN_NO at the catchment scale: a case study of an agriculture dominated catchment Johannes Deelstra & Marianne Bechmann /
195
Model-based regional estimation of groundwater nitrogen loads from diffuse sources Dirk-I. Müller-Wohlfeil, Jørgen Ole Jørgensen, Claes Björklund, ÅsaForsman, RalfKunkel & Frank Wendland /
201
Agricultural and environmental methodologies to describe nonpoint source phosphorus pollution Oscar Schoumans, Janet Mol-Dijkstra & Coen Roest /
207
Effect of nutrient loading on surface waters in polder Bergambacht, The Netherlands Lowie van Liere, Jan Janse, Michel Jeuken, Oscar Schoumans, RobHendriks, JanRoelsma & Douwe Jonkers /
213
Modelling subsurface nonpoint source nitrogen inputs to the Odra River RalfDannowski, Jörg Steidl, Waldemar Mioduszewski & Ireneusz Kajewski /
219

3.2 Decision support for regional policy

An actor game on implementation of environmental quality standards for nitrogen Hans B. Wittgren, Lena Gipperth, Lars Jonasson, Anna Pettersson, Roger Thunvik & Gunnar Torstensson /
227
Changes in agricultural practices and regional export of nitrogen from land to sea A.Grimvall, Å. Forsman, B. Kronvang, D.-I. Müller-Wohlfeil, F. Wendland & R.Kunkel /
233
On-farm water resources management: an approach to optimize regional hydrology J. R. Hoekstra & J. M. P. M. Peerboom /
239
Impact of long-term land use change on the hydrological regime of the Dyle catchment Abdel El Idrissi, Ingrid Ruthy, Peou Hang, Marnik Vanclooster & Etienne Persoons /
247
Policy change and learning in the Western Mancha aquifer between 1985 and 2000 Elena Lopez-Gunn /
255

3.3 Risk assessment by monitoring

Impact of land use changes in the Drömling fen area on nutrient water quality (fluxes to the groundwater )Holger Rupp, Karsten Kalbitz & Ralph Meissner /
261
Trends in nutrient runoff from agricultural basins in Norway Per Stålnacke & Marianne Bechmann /
267
Nitrate export from an agricultural basin: control mechanisms and nitrate residence times Jerome Molénat, Chantal Gascuel-Odoux, Philippe Davy, Patrick Durand & Gerard Gruau /
273
Analysis of sediment and nutrient loads due to soil erosion in rivers in the Odra catchment Detlef Deumlich, Waldemar Mioduszewski & Adam Kocmit /
279
A pilot monitoring network for groundwater in the Upper Noteć catchment, Poland Irena Pijewska, Wacław Plenzler, Lech Rapacki, H. Uil & F.H.Kloosterman /
287
4 /

Hydrological and Environmental Policy at National Level

4.1 Decision support for national policy analysis

Social factors and making water clean Cees van Woerkum / 295
Credibility and acceptability of mathematical models of environmental impacts of agriculture in The Netherlands D. T. van der Molen & P. C. M. Boers /
303
Policies for reducing environmental impacts from farming: a methodology for interdisciplinary analyses Arild Vatn /
311
Changes in land use and the growing number of flash floods in Germany
RienkR. van der Ploeg, Galina Machulla, Dirk Hermsmeyer, Jan Ilsemann, Matthias Gieska & Joerg Bachmann /
317

4.2 Models and methods for national policy analysis

Pesticide river load from diffuse sources in Germany: a modelling approach MartinBach, Hans-Georg Frede & Andreas Huber /
323
Scenario analysis and vadoze environment supporting fertilizer management strategies in the agricultural region of the Brusselean aquifer Juan David Piñeros Garcet, Amaury Tilmant, LuceBellefontaine, Andre Guns & Marnik Vanclooster /
329
Contribution of agriculture to the heavy metal loads of Dutch surface waters P.F.A.M.Römkens, A. C. C. Plette& G. G. C. Verstappen /
337
Supporting the Flemish groundwater policy with respect to nitrate pollution K.Walraevens, R. Eppinger, D. de Smet & M. van Camp /
343
Regulatory systems to control mineral losses from agriculture Henk Westhoek / 349

4.3 The state of affairs of ground and surface water

The impact of land use in Europe on N inputs to rivers and estuaries and related N2O emissions: a scenario analysis Carolien Kroeze & Sybil P. Seitzinger /
355
Monitoring erosion and nutrient losses from small basins representative of Norwegian agriculture Marianne Bechmann & Per Ivar Våje /
361
Baltic agriculture in transition—the contribution to nutrient loads in the Gulf of Riga drainage basin Nils Vagstad, Johannes Deelstra, Viesturs Jansons & EnnLoigu /
367
Nutrients in water of the Orhon River in the Arctic Ocean basin of Mongolia P.Batima /
373
Nutrient losses from agriculture: effects on Canadian surface and ground waters Patricia A. Chambers, Martha Guy, Gary Grove, Robert Kent, Elizabeth Roberts & Christian Gagnon /
379
The impact of agriculture on ground and surface water quality in Poland: state of affairs and policy Andrzej Sapek /
385
Monitoring the effectiveness of the Dutch Mineral Policy on nitrate in groundwater Dico Fraters, Leo Boumans, Hans Reijnders, Ton van Leeuwen & Wim de Hoop /
391
5 /

Scaling Up and Down

Models and monitoring: scaling-up cause-and-effect relationships in nutrient pollution to the catchment scale Paul Quinn /
397
Choosing appropriate upscaling and downscaling methods for environmental research Peter A. Finke, Marc F. P. Bierkens & Peter de Willigen /
405
Key word index / 411

______

Agricultural Effects on Ground and Surface Waters: Research at the Edge of Science and Society (Proceedings of a symposium held at Wageningen, October 2000). IAHS Publ. no. 273, 2002. pp. 3–8.

Agricultural effects on ground and surface waters: research and policy at the edge of science and society

Joop Steenvoorden

Alterra, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Alterra, PO Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands

e-mail:

Gerhard Striegel

Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde, ……Kaiserin Augusta Analgen 15–17, D-56068 Koblenz, Germany

Floris Zuidema

Netherlands National Committee IHP-OHP, KNMI, PO Box 201, 3730 AE De Bilt, The Netherlands

Abstract The International Conference “Agricultural Effects on Ground and Surface Waters: Research at the Edge of Science and Society” was a contribution from The Netherlands to the fifth phase of the International Hydrological Programme of UNESCO. It aimed to enhance the knowledge on prevention and reduction of water pollution and water scarcity caused by agricultural activities, especially in the moderate humid areas of the northern hemisphere. For water quality the emphasis was on nitrogen and phosphate compounds and to a lesser extent on other water quality characteristics. This paper provides an overview of the conference contributions,and the discussion and the conclusions generated. The main subjects dealt with are Mrisk assessment by monitoring, model development and decision support studies for the different levels at which policy development and water management take place: the agricultural production unit, in regions and at a national level, are considered. Attention is given to alternative approaches for policy making and the communication process between the parties involved, like policy makers, interest groups in society and scientists. The participants agreed on the Wageningen Statement, containing recommendations to governments and international organizations.

Key words agriculture; decision support; groundwater; modelling nitrogen; phosphate; policy design; surface water; water quality; water quantity

______

Agricultural Effects on Ground and Surface Waters: Research at the Edge of Science and Society (Proceedings of a symposium held at Wageningen, October 2000). IAHS Publ. no. 273, 2002. pp. 11–16.

Voluntary agreements as an instrument to solve conflicts between farmers and water suppliers

INGO HEINZ

Institute of Environmental Research, University of Dortmund, D-44221 Dortmund, Germany

e-mail:

Abstract A farmer’s behaviour concerning the use of pesticides and fertilizers can principally be influenced by the application of command and control measures, economic instruments (taxes and subsidies) and the promotion of self-regulation mechanisms. Regulations determining farming practices are presently the main political instruments for controlling adverse impacts on the environment. Measures to change a farmer’s behaviour by economic incentives have become more and more important in recent time. In contrast, the instruments to promote self-regulation, which implies the participation of farmers in view of the environmental targets, are rare in most of the EU member countries. Only in Germany, but also partly in The Netherlands, is this approach widespread in the water sector. Similar approaches can also be found in France. Politicians and authorities have admitted that this approach leads to a sustainable agriculture, especially with regard to water, and is far more cost-effective than compulsory regulations only.

Key words case studies; compulsory rules; cooperative agreements; drinking water;
EU member states; farming practices; nitrate; pesticides; voluntary approach; water pollution

______

Economic modelling of best management practices (BMPs) at the farm level

Dennis Collentine

Department of Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7013, S-75007 Uppsala, Sweden

e-mail:

Abstract A linear cost model is described as an alternative to optimization models for development of agri-environmental decision support tools and evaluation of agri-environmental policy. Specifically, those policies that aim to reduce nitrate leaching from farmland to surface and groundwater through the voluntary adoption of best management practices (BMPs) are considered. Costs are calculated at the field (ha) level by disaggregating each measure into components and assigning a range of values to each component. Component costs can then be scaled up to field, farm and catchment levels. A description is given of how the model will be applied as the economic sub-model (BAK) in the integrated nutrient leaching model (LENNART) presently under development in Sweden. Throughout the paper catch crops are used as an illustrative example of an agri-environmental policy aimed at voluntary adoption of a BMP.

Key words BAK; best management practices (BMP); catch crop; LENNART; linear cost model; nitrate leaching

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Farming on Good Groundwater: a methodology for cost effective groundwater protection

DICK BOLAND & SARIE BUIJZE

Centre for Agriculture and Environment, PO Box 10.015, 3505 AA Utrecht, The Netherlands

e-mail:

Abstract Leaching of nitrate of agricultural origin threatens groundwater resources in the sandy regions in the east and south of The Netherlands. Although policy measures will result in significant reductions of nitrate losses, groundwater quality standards will not be met. As a result drinking water companies are facing high purification costs. A study in three drinking water production areas illustrates that a well-defined set of prevention measures, taken by farmers as well as by the drinking water company, can be more cost-effective than purification. We describe a methodology to assemble the most cost-effective set of measures. Groundwater quality standards are translated to indicators that are applicable at the farm level. This method can be used by drinking water companies to investigate the effects and costs of different policy strategies for reaching safe nitrate concentrations. It also allows an interactive approach with all stakeholders to reach the desired water quality. The same method can also be used for the prevention of pesticide leaching.

Key words cost effective measures; EU Nitrate Directive; nitrate; nutrient accounting; The Netherlands ______

Environment and agriculture: the dichotomy of erosion and weed control

HALDOR FYKSE

Norwegian Plant Protection Institute, Fellesbygget, N-1432 Ås, Norway

e-mail:

HELGE LUNDEKVAM

Department of Soil and Water Sciences, Agricultural University of Norway, PO Box 5028, N-1432 Ås, Norway

EIRIK ROMSTAD

Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Agricultural University of Norway, PO Box 5033, N-1432 Ås, Norway

Abstract A newly developed weed control model that is integrated with erosion models and an economic decision making module is used to analyse the trade-offs between reduced tillage and herbicide use. Our models suggest reduced tillage or direct seeding to reduce soil erosion for soils where erosion risks are high. The weed control model indicates a substantial increase in the number of weed control treatments for reduced tillage and direct seeding. Lowering the number of herbicide applications under reduced or no till leads to increased weed problems over time. Therefore reducing the number of herbicide applications in cereal production at the same time as one mandates universal reduced tillage or direct seeding is not recommended. Spring ploughing seems to combine tolerable soil losses with moderate use of herbicides, and may therefore be recommended on soil types suitable for this tillage system.

Key words erosion; herbicide use; modelling; Norway; pollution; soil loss; tillage; weed control

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