Agricultural mitigation measures and the value of water quality improvements

Access to clean water is a necessity for all living organisms. Without water, it is also not possible to produce food. In Norway, agriculture is one of the biggest sources of water pollution. This project aims to identify suitable measures in agriculture to reduce and/or prevent pollution of waterways that will be most beneficial to society in terms of food production, clean water, and other ecosystem services. The project will take into account potential synergies and conflicts with existing water ecosystems, agricultural production, water pollution, and climate emissions. Moreover, "winners" and "losers" in the implementation of various measures will be identified to provide relevant information to farmers, politicians, bureaucrats, and other stakeholders to help them in their decision-making. This is an area of research in great need of interdisciplinary approach. Hence, the project consists of experts in hydrology, plant science, soil science, ecology, social geography, agricultural economics, and economics. Activities and Preliminary Results: Two focus areas have been selected for special study: Bjørkelangen lake in the Halden watercourse and Ertevannet in the watercourse Glomma Sør for Øyern. Both of these lakes are heavily polluted. The project will investigate which measures or combinations of measures should be implemented to achieve good ecological status according to the EU Water Framework Directive. The measures to be investigated are: 1) No soil tillage in autumn, 2) Grass-covered buffer zones, 3) Sediment traps, 4) Cover crops, 5) Grass-covered waterways, 6) Balanced fertilization. In Work Package 1, efforts have been made to understand phosphorus transport processes in the landscape and develop appropriate measures to reduce phosphorus loss to water. Due to the complexity of climate, landscape, soil, and field management, the effectiveness of the mitigation measures depends on where and when they are applied. One conclusion is that there is a need to improve the targeting of measures to reduce phosphorus loss. This work is described in a scientific article published in the Journal of Environmental Quality. In Work Package 2, fieldwork has been conducted at 23 different locations in Rakkestad where relevant agricultural measures are being implemented to counteract runoff to water. Especially in the buffer zones that were not sprayed or fertilized, there was a rich diversity of various types of vascular plants. These observations will be linked to ecosystem services such as fodder production, nutrient cycling, pollination, climate regulation, and aesthetics. In connection with this work, we have also interviewed farmers and landowners about the management of areas with grass and flowers. In Work Package 3, focus group meetings have been held with farmers in the Rakkestad area, with the aim of gathering information on the advantages and disadvantages of various agricultural measures to limit runoff to water. The measures we examined were: a) No soil tillage in autumn, b) Grass-covered buffer zones, c) Grass-covered waterways, d) Cover crops, e) Balanced fertilization, and f) Sediment traps. Preliminary analyses indicate that risk management of the various measures and long-term regulations are key factors. Results from the focus groups will be used further in surveys/experiments to find out what motivates farmers to implement various agricultural measures. Work Packages 4 and 5 are entirely dependent on information from Work Packages 1 and 2. In these work packages, literature reviews and data compilation have been carried out to create a meta-analysis. Additionally, some researchers have attended a course in cost-benefit analysis in agriculture at the University of Copenhagen. Work Package 6 has organized site visits to Ertevannet and Bjørkelangen. They have also organized focus group meetings for farmers and facilitated fieldwork. Additionally, information has been gathered for further use in the project.

Water is essential for life. Producing of food is also impossible without water. Due to its mobility, however, water can transport pollution far from its origin, changing the landscape and the ecosystems on the way. Agriculture is one of the main sources of water pollution in Norway, and an important contributor to GHG emissions. In food production, manure and fertilizer are used as inputs. If policymakers and planners are to design cost-effective measures to prevent pollution from agricultural production, they need to know the status of the ecosystems in focus, and the drivers and pressure that lead to GHG emissions and bad water quality. Further they need to know the impact of the water quality on the health of humans and the ecosystems. In this project we will start looking at farmers behavior and their implementation of mitigation measures. Mitigation measures meant to improve water quality have additional effect on recreation, biodiversity, landscape and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). All these effects are of benefit to society. The project aims at evaluating all effects of mitigation measures on water retention and water quality and, in a more intergraded way, their benefit for society. Furthermore, in the future, changes towards a greener economy and with climate change will influence these benefits for society and the project will evaluate the effect of different future climate and development scenarios.