Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Nutrient Fluxes from Agriculture: Reducing Environmental Impact Through Optimum Application

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Environmental Processes and Management

Part of the book series: Water Science and Technology Library ((WSTL,volume 91))

Abstract

Unmindful of the increasing environmental risk exerted by agriculture, farmers are often liberal in application of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides in order to enhance farm productivity. Use of pesticide, herbicides like glyphosate has risen over the past few decades in most countries some of which are identified carcinogenic which affect human as well as many wildlife forms besides polluting freshwater resources. Agriculture mainly livestock sector also contributes to anthropogenic causes of NH3 emissions. Nutrient emissions from agriculture due to more and more fertilizer application have been the cause of major concern nowadays. Eutrophication is caused by accounting to excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the water bodies. Furthermore, paddy fields due to its water-loving character are much more vulnerable to nutrient outflows which results in eutrophication in water bodies. Nutrient balance method can be used as a land-based indicator for measuring the sustainability of agro-ecosystem. Various models like NUTMON have been developed for nutrient balance calculation, depending on the site-specific fertilization management practices of agriculture soils. Results across various countries including Vietnam, China and Thailand showed that nutrient loss through various means like infiltration, leaching and runoff from paddy fields is in significant amount, especially for N and P contributing more than 50% of the total input. However, irrigating with the nutrient-loaded water minimized the use of fertilizer, especially N fertilizer up to 20%. Furthermore, it was also found that use of sewage water for irrigation not only increased N uptake by 29, 23, 18 and 37% in food grain, agroforestry, fodder and vegetable production systems, respectively, while the corresponding values were 28, 21, 29 and 35% for P uptake but also increased soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and activities of dehydrogenase, urease and phosphatase. The results revealed that emphasizing on growing organic foods devoid of chemical input should be of priority to keep the soil health intact along with sound local environment. Further, it is recommended that two or more indicators should be accompanied for robust testing of sustainability of the agro-environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Alivelu K, Rao AS, Sanjay S, Singh KN, Raju NS, Madhuri P (2006) Prediction of optimal nitrogen application rate of rice based on soil test values. Eur J Agron 25(1):71–73

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Audsley E, Alber S, Clif R et al (1997) Harmonisation of environmental life cycle assessment for agriculture. In: Final report concerted action AIR3-CT94-2028. Silsoe Research Institute, Silsoe, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Belder P, Bouman BAM, Cabangon R et al (2004) Effect of water-saving irrigation on rice yield and water use in typical lowland conditions in Asia. Agric Water Manage 65:193–210

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biewinga EE, van der Bijl G (1996) Sustainability of energy crops. In: A methodology developed and applied, report no. 234. Centre for Agriculture and Environment (CLM), Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Google Scholar 

  • Borell A, Garside A, Shu FK (1997) Improving efficiency of water for irrigated rice in a semi-arid tropical environment. Field Crops Res 52:231–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouman BAM, Tuong TP (2001) Field water management to save water and increase its productivity in irrigated lowland rice. Agric Water Manage 49:11–30

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brouwer A, Longnecker MP, Birnbaum LS et al (1999) Characterization of potential endocrine-related health effects at low-dose levels of exposure to PCBs. Environ Health Perspect 107(4):639–649

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Crisp TM, Clegg ED, Cooper RL et al (1998) Environmental endocrine disruption: an effects assessment and analysis. Environ Health Perspect 106(1):11–56

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dalsgaard JPT, Oficial RT (1997) A quantitative approach for assessing the productive performance and ecological contributions of smallholder farms. Agric Sys 55:503–533

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debnath M, Mahanta C, Sarma AK (2016) Fertilizer inputs and corresponding changes in plant nutrient availability in a rice cultivated soil of Assam, India. In: Precision farming and resource management. 2nd international conference on emerging technologies in agricultural and food engineering. IIT Kharagpur, Excel India Publishers, New Delhi, p 351, Dec 2016

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan R (2014) Regulating agricultural land use to manage water quality: the challenges for science and policy in enforcing limits on non-point source pollution in New Zealand. Land Use Policy 41:378–387

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Environews Forum (1999) Killer environment. Environ Health Perspect 107:A62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fabra A, Duffard R, Evangelista DDA (1997) Toxicity of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in pure culture. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 59:645–652

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frankenberger WT, Tabatabai MA, Tabatabai MA (1991) Factors aff ecting l-asparaginase activity in soils. Biol Fert Soils 11:1–5

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Girardin P, Bockstaller C, van der Werf HMG (2000) Assessment of potential impacts of agricultural practices on the environment: the AGRO ∗ ECO method. Environ Impact Assess Rev 20:227–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hua L, Li W, Zhai L, Yen H, Lei Q, Liu H, Ren T, Xia T, Zhang Y, Fan X (2019) An innovative approach to identifying agricultural pollution sources and loads by using nutrient export coefficients in watershed modeling. J Hydrol 571:322–331

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang JB, Fan XH, Zhang SL, Ge GF, Sun YH, Feng X (2007) Investigation on the economically-ecologically appropriate amount of nitrogen fertilizer applied in rice production in Fe-leaching-Stagnic Anthrosols of the Taihu Lake region. Acta Ecol Sin 27(2):588–595

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hurley PM (1998) Mode of carcinogenic action of pesticides inducing thyroid follicular cell tumors in rodents. Environ Health Perspect 106(8):437–445

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kelley WD, South DB (1978) In vitro effects of selected herbicides on growth and mycorrhizal fungi. Weed Sci Soc America Meeting. Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, pp 38

    Google Scholar 

  • Kole RK, Bagchi MM (1995) Pesticide residues in the aquatic environment and their possible ecological hazards. J Inland Fish Soc India 27(2):79–89

    Google Scholar 

  • Kole RK, Banerjee H, Bhattacharyya A (2001) Monitoring of market fish samples for endosulfan and hexachlorocyclohexane residues in and around Calcutta. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 67(4):554–559

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lal K, Minhas PS, Yadav RK (2015) Long-term impact of wastewater irrigation and nutrient rates II. Nutrient balance, nitrate leaching and soil properties under peri-urban cropping systems. Agric Water Manage 156:110–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis KA, Bardon KS (1998) A computer-based informal environmental management system for agriculture. Environ Model Softw 13:123–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang XQ, Chen YX, Hua LI, Tian GM, Zhang ZJ, Ni WZ, He MM (2007) Nitrogen interception in floodwater of rice field in Taihu region of China. J of Environ Sci 19(12):1474–1481

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lu C, Tian H (2016) Global nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer use for agriculture production in the past half century: shifted hot spots and nutrient imbalance. Earth Syst Sci Data 9(1):181–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martens DA, Bremner JM (1993) Infl uence of herbicides on transformations of urea nitrogen in soil. J Environ Sci Health B 28:377–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathur SC, Tannan SK (1999) Future of Indian pesticides industry in next millennium. Pesticide inf 24(4):9–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayrhofer P, Steiner C, Gärber E et al (1996) Regionalprogramm Ökopunkte Niederösterreich. Informationsheft, NÖ Landschaftsfonds, Wien, Austria

    Google Scholar 

  • Oenema O, Velthof GL (1993) Ammonia volatilization from compound nitrogen-sulfur fertilizers. In: Optimization of plant nutrition, pp 341–349

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Paramasivam S, Alva AK (1997) Leaching of nitrogen forms from controlled‐release nitrogen fertilizers. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal, pp 17–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Pell M, Stenberg B, Torstensson L (1998) Potential denitrification and nitrification tests for evaluation of pesticide effects in soil. Ambio 24–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng SZ (1992) The new characters of rice water requirement in water-saving irrigation. China Rural Water Hydropower 10(3):401–412

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng S, Bouman BAM (2007) Prospects for genetic improvement to increase lowland rice yields with less water and nitrogen. In: Spiertz JHJ, Struik PC, van Laar HH (eds) Scale and complexity in plant systems research: gene–plant–crop relations. Springer, Netherlands, pp 251–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng SZ, Yang SH, Xu JZ et al (2011) Nitrogen and phosphorus leaching losses from paddy fields with different water and nitrogen managements. Paddy Water Environ 9(3):333–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pier AB, Consonni D, Bachetti S et al (2001) Health effects of dioxin exposure: a 20-year mortality study. Am J Epidemiol 153(11):1031–1044

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pointereau P, Bochu JL, Doublet S et al (1999) Le diagnostic agri-environnemental pour une agriculturerespectueuse de l’environnement. Trois méthodes passées àla loupe. Travaux et Innovations. Société Agricole et Ruraled’Edition et de Communication, Paris, France

    Google Scholar 

  • Rong Q, Cai Y, Chen B, Yue W, Yin XA, Tan Q (2017) An enhanced export coefficient based optimization model for supporting agricultural nonpoint source pollution mitigation under uncertainty. Sci Total Environ 580:1351–1362

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rossier D (1999) L’écobilan, outil de gestion écologique de l’exploitation agricole? Revue suisse Agric 31(4):179–185

    Google Scholar 

  • Rossing WAH, Jansma JE, de Ruijter FJ et al (1997) Operationalising sustainability: exploring options for environmentally friendly flower bulb production systems. Eur J Plant Pathol 103:217–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos A, Flores M (1995) Effects of glyphosate on nitrogen fixation of free-living heterotrophic bacteria. Lett Appl Microbiol 20(6):349–352

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Savonen C (1997) Soil microorganisms object of new OSU service. In: Good fruit grower. http://www.goodfruit.com/archive/1995/6other.html. Accessed 23 Apr 2019

  • Singh JB, Singh S (1989) Eff ect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and maleic hydrazide on growth of bluegreen algae (cyanobacteria) Anabaena doliolum and Anacystis nidulans. Sci Cult 55:459–460

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stoop W, Uphoff N, Kassam A (2002) A review of agricultural research issues raised by the system of rice intensification (SRI) from Madagascar: opportunities for improving farming systems for resource-poor farmers. Agric Sys 71:249–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sutton MA, Reis S, Riddick SN et al (2013) Towards a climate-dependent paradigm of ammonia emission and deposition. Philos Trans R Soc B-Biol Sci 368

    Google Scholar 

  • Tabbal DF, Bouman BAM, Bhuiyan SI et al (2002) Onfarm strategies for reducing water input in irrigated rice; case studies in the Philippines. Agric Water Manage 56:93–112

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao HB, Brueck H, Dittert K et al (2006) Growth and yield formation of rice (Oryza sativa L.) in the water-saving ground cover rice production system. Field Crops Res 95:1–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor DC, Mohamed ZA, Shamsudin MN, Mohayidin MG et al (1993) Creating a farmer sustainability index: a Malaysian case study. Am J Alt Agric 8:175–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ti C, Xia L, Chang SX, Yan X (2019) Potential for mitigating global agricultural ammonia emission: a meta-analysis. Environ Pollution 245:141–148

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tözüm-Çalgan SRD, Sivaci-Güner S (1993) Eff ects of 2,4-d and methylparathion on growth and nitrogen fixation in cyanobacterium, Gloeocapsa. Int J Environ Stud 23:307–311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uphoff N, Kassam A, Harwood R (2011) SRI as a methodology for raising crop and water productivity: productive adaptations in rice agronomy and irrigation water management. Paddy Water Environ 9:3–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • US Geological Survey (1999) The quality of our nation’s waters—nutrients and pesticides. Circular 1225. USGS, Reston VA. http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/circ1225. Accessed 10 May 2019

  • Vereijken P (1997) A methodical way of prototyping integrated and ecological arable farming systems (I/EAFS) in interaction with pilot farms. Eur J Agron 7:235–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vilain L (1999) De l’exploitation agricole à l’agriculture durable. Aide méthodologique à la mise en place de systèmes agricoles durables, Educagri éditions, Dijon, France

    Google Scholar 

  • Volk M, Bosch D, Nangia V et al (2016) SWAT: Agricultural water and nonpoint source pollution management at a watershed scale. AgricWater Manage 175:1–3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang DJ, Liu Q, Lin JH, Sun RJ (2004) Optimum nitrogen use and reduced nitrogen loss for production of rice and wheat in the Yangtse Delta region. Environ Geochem Health 26(2):221–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WHO (1990) Public health impact of pesticides used in agriculture. World Health Organization, Geneva, pp 88

    Google Scholar 

  • Xia J, Zhang Y (2008) Water security in north China and countermeasure to climate change and human activity. Phys Chem Earth Parts A/B/C 33(5):359–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xia Y, Yan X (2011) Economic optimal nitrogen application rates for rice cropping in the Taihu Lake region of China: taking account of negative externalities. Biogeosci Discuss 8(4)

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu J, Peng S, Yang S, Wang W (2012) Ammonia volatilization losses from a rice paddy with different irrigation and nitrogen managements. Agric Water Manage 104:184–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Z, Qin W, Bai Z, Ma L (2019) Agricultural nitrogen and phosphorus emissions to water and their mitigation options in the Haihe Basin, China. Agric Water Manage 212:262–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou JB, Xi JG, Chen ZJ et al (2006) Leaching and transformation of nitrogen fertilizers in soil after application of N with irrigation: a soil column method. Pedosphere 16(2):245–252

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, North Guwahati, Assam, 781039, India

    Mridusmita Debnath, Chandan Mahanta & Arup Kumar Sarma

  2. Land and Water Management Division, ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region Patna, Patna, 800014, India

    Mridusmita Debnath

Authors
  1. Mridusmita Debnath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chandan Mahanta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Arup Kumar Sarma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mridusmita Debnath .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Raj Mohan Singh

  2. Department of Civil Engineering, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Prabhakar Shukla

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Prachi Singh

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Debnath, M., Mahanta, C., Sarma, A.K. (2020). Nutrient Fluxes from Agriculture: Reducing Environmental Impact Through Optimum Application. In: Singh, R., Shukla, P., Singh, P. (eds) Environmental Processes and Management. Water Science and Technology Library, vol 91. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38152-3_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation