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Identifying the critical areas and primary sources for agricultural non-point source pollution management of an emigrant town within the Three Gorges reservoir area

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Abstract

Agricultural non-point source pollution is threatening water environmental health of the Three Gorges reservoir. However, current studies for precision management of the agricultural non-point source pollution within this area are still limited. The objective of this study was identifying the critical areas and primary sources of agricultural non-point source pollution for precision management. Firstly, the inventory analysis approach was used to estimate the discharge amount of total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) from farmland fertilizer, crop residues, livestock breeding, and daily activities. Afterwards, the deviation standardization method was applied to evaluate the emission intensity of TN, TP, and COD, as well as calculating the comprehensive pollution index (CPI) of each village, based on which the critical areas for agricultural non-point source pollution management could be distinguished. Moreover, the equivalence pollution load method was conducted to identify the primary pollution sources within each critical zone. The above methods were implemented to an emigrant town within the Three Gorges reservoir area named Gufu. Results showed that agricultural non-point source pollution in Gufu town has been alleviated to a certain extent since 2016. Nevertheless, in four areas of the town (i.e., Longzhu, Fuzi, Shendu, and Maicang), the agricultural non-point source pollution still deserved attention and improvement. For the mentioned critical areas, farmland fertilizer and livestock breeding were the primary sources causing agricultural non-point source pollution. The emission amount of TN and TP from farmland fertilizer accounted for 60% and 48% of the total, respectively. And those from livestock breeding were 29% and 46%. Our research could provide definite targets to relieve agricultural non-point source pollution, which had great significance to protect water environment while coordinating regional economic growth after emigrant resettlement.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [zhusjiang@aliyun.com], upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Youth Fund from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number: 52000120); the Key Scientific Research Projects of Water Conservancy in Hubei Province (grant numbers: HBSLKY201919 and HBSLKY202124).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hubei Key Laboratory of Hydropower Engineering Construction and Management, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, China

    Wen Xu, Ling Liu, Shi-jiang Zhu, Ai-hua Sun & Hao Wang

  2. College of Hydraulic & Environmental Engineering, China Three Gorges University, Yichang, 443002, China

    Wen Xu, Ling Liu, Shi-jiang Zhu, Ai-hua Sun & Hao Wang

  3. Hubei YILINENG Technology Co., Ltd, Yichang, 443002, China

    Zhi-yu Ding

Authors
  1. Wen Xu
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  2. Ling Liu
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  3. Shi-jiang Zhu
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  4. Ai-hua Sun
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  5. Hao Wang
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  6. Zhi-yu Ding
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Contributions

Wen Xu and Ling Liu wrote the original draft; Shijiang Zhu and Aihua Sun edited the manuscript text; Hao Wang and Zhiyu Ding made data analysis and prepared the pictures. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Shi-jiang Zhu.

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Xu, W., Liu, L., Zhu, Sj. et al. Identifying the critical areas and primary sources for agricultural non-point source pollution management of an emigrant town within the Three Gorges reservoir area. Environ Monit Assess 195, 602 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11180-2

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