Abstract
The improper use of phosphorus (P) on agricultural land in developed countries is related to P losses that impair surface water quality. We outline policy in New Zealand, the UK, and the US who have imposed limits for P measured as ecological status, but in some cases, also as chemical concentrations or loads. We contrast the strategies used in each country and discuss their likelihood of being able to decrease P losses and improve surface water quality. All three countries have focused on understanding pathways and catchment processes so that cause and effect can be traced across spatial and temporal scales. A poor understanding of catchment processes and critical source areas of P loss has resulted in some areas where regulation has had minimal effect on P discharges. Furthermore, while biophysical science can inform policy, we give several examples where social and economic challenges are of equal if not greater relevance to P discharges (e.g. subsidies). Some evidence shows that these challenges can be overcome at the farm to small catchment scale with a mix of mandatory and voluntary rules in targeted areas. Other policy instruments (e.g. trading schemes) may be needed at larger scales, but should be flexible and encourage innovation over a culture of dependence. There is increasing recognition among all three countries that while targeting good management practices can substantially decrease P losses from existing land use, to achieve ‘good’ water quality in catchment, policy may have to consider land use change.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abell JM, Ozkundakci DO, Hamilton DP (2010) Nitrogen and phosphorus limitation of phytoplankton growth in New Zealand lakes: implications for eutrophication control. Ecosystems 13:966–977
Barns S, Young S (2013) Cap-and-trade of diffuse emissions of nitrogen in Lake Taupo Catchment. Reviewing the policy decisions and the market. Waikato Regional Council, Hamilton, New Zealand. http://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/PageFiles/27778/TR201334.pdf
Beegle D (2013) Nutrient management and the Chesapeake Bay. J Contemp Water Res Educ 151:3–8
Berkett N, Challenger I, Sinner J, Tadaki M (2013) Values, collaborative processes and indicators for freshwater planning. http://www.cawthron.org.nz/media_new/publications/pdf/2013_08/CawRpt_2353_Auckland_Council_Freshwater_Values_and_Management_Report.pdf
Bewsell D, Monaghan RM, Kaine G (2007) Adoption of stream fencing among dairy farmers in four New Zealand catchments. Environ Manag 40:201–209
Buda AR, Kleinman PJA, Srinivasan MS, Bryant RB, Feyereisen GW (2009) Effects of hydrology and field management on phosphorus transport in surface runoff. J Environ Qual 38:2273–2284
Collins AL, Stromqvist J, Davison PS, Lord EI (2007) Appraisal of phosphorus and sediment transfer in three pilot areas identified for the catchment sensitive farming initiative in England: application of the prototype PSYCHIC model. Soil Use Manag 23:117–132
Collins AL, Anthony SG, Hawley J, Turner T (2009) Predicting potential change in agricultural sediment inputs to rivers across England and Wales by 2015. Mar Freshw Res 60:626–637
Daigneault A, Samarasinghe O, Lilburne L (2013) Modelling economic impacts of nutrient allocation policies in Canterbury: Hinds Catchment. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/modelling-economic-impacts-of-nutrient-allocation-policies-canterbury.pdf
Davison P, Withers P, Lord E, Betson M, Strömqvist J (2008) PSYCHIC—a process based model of phosphorus and sediment mobilisation and delivery within agricultural catchments. Part 1: model description and parameterisation. J Hydrol 350:290–302
Defra (2010) Definitions of terms used in farm business management, 3rd ed. p 48. http://www.neat-network.eu/sites/neat-network.eu/files/Definition%20of%20terms.pdf. Accessed Sept 2015
Dybas CL (2005) Dead zones spreading in world oceans. Bioscience 55:552–557
Elliott S, Semadeni-Davies A, Harper S, Depree C (2014) Catchment models for nutrients and microbial indicators: modelling application to the upper Waikato River catchment. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Fresh%20water/niwa-catchment-models-jul14.pdf
Environment Agency (2015) Catchment sensitive farming evaluation report—phases 1–3 (2006–2014). http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/category/6919090
European Court of Auditors (2014) Integration of EU water policy objectives with the CAP: a partial success. http://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECADocuments/SR14_04/SR14_04_EN.pdf
European Parliament (2000) Establishing a framework for community action in the field of water policy. Directive EC/2000/60, EU, Brussels
Gooday RD, Anthony SG, Chadwick DR, Newell-Price P, Harris D, Deuthmann D, Fish R, Collins AL, Winter M (2014) Modelling the cost-effectiveness of mitigation methods for multiple pollutants at farm scale. Sci Total Environ 468–469:1198–1209
Greene RM, Lehrter JC, Hagy JD III (2009) Multiple regression models for hindcasting and forecasting midsummer hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Ecol Appl 19:1161–1175
Hewett CJM, Quinn PF, Heathwaite AL, Whitehead PG, Lerner DN, Doyle A (2009) A multi-scale framework for strategic management of diffuse pollution. Environ Model Softw 24:74–85
Hoffman S, Boy J (2006) Environmental fees: can incentives help solve the Chesapeake’s nutrient pollution problems? Resources for the future, Washington, DC. http://www.rff.org/Documents/RFF-DP-06-38.pdf
Holman IP, Howden NJK, Bellamy P, Wilby N, Whelan MJ, Rivas-Casado M (2010) An assessment of the risk to surface water ecosystems of groundwater P in the UK and Ireland. Sci Total Environ 408:1847–1857
Iho A, Ribaudo M, Hyytiäinen K (2015) Water protection in the Baltic Sea and the Chesapeake Bay: Institutions, policies and efficiency. Mar Pollut Bull 93:81–93
Jarvie HP, Sharpley AN, Scott JT, Haggard BE, Massey L, Bowes MJ (2012) Within-river phosphorus retention: a missing piece in the watershed phosphorus puzzle? Environ Sci Technol 46:13284–13292
Kaye-Blake B, Schilling C, Monaghan R, Vibant R, Dennis S, Post E (2013) Potential impacts of water-related policies in Southland on the agricultural economy and nutrient discharges. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/potential-impacts-water-related-policies-southland.pdf
Ledgard G (2014) An inventory of nitrogen and phosphorus losses from rural land uses in the Southland region. In: Currie LD, Christensen CL (eds) Nutrient management for the farm, catchment and community. Occasional Report No 27, Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. http://www.massey.ac.nz/~flrc/workshops/14/Manuscripts/Paper_Ledgard_2014.pdf
MacLeod C, Moller H (2006) Intensification and diversification of New Zealand agriculture since 1960: an evaluation of current indicators of land use change. Agric Ecosyst Environ 115:201–208
Marsh D, Tucker S, Doole G (2014) An experimental approach to assessment of trading and allocation mechanisms for nutrient trading. Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society. http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Dan_Marsh/publication/261403649_An_experimental_approach_to_assessment_of_trading_and_allocation_mechanisms_for_nutrient_trading/links/00b7d53435c36549c7000000.pdf
Mateo-Sagasta J, Burke J (2015) Agriculture and water quality interactions: a global overview. SOLAW Thematic Report TR-08, Food and Agriculture Organization. http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/solaw/files/thematic_reports/TR_08.pdf
McDowell RW (2014) Estimating the mitigation of anthropogenic loss of phosphorus in New Zealand grassland catchments. Sci Tot Environ 458–469:1178–1186
McDowell RW (2015) Relationship between sediment chemistry, equilibrium phosphorus concentrations (EPC0) and phosphorus concentrations at baseflow in rivers of the New Zealand National River Water Quality Network. J Environ Qual 44:921–929
McDowell RW, Nash D (2012) A review of the cost-effectiveness and suitability of mitigation strategies to prevent phosphorus loss from dairy farms in New Zealand and Australia. J Environ Qual 41:680–693
McDowell RW, Monaghan RM, Morton J (2003) Soil phosphorus concentrations to minimize potential P loss to surface waters in Southland. N Z J Agric Res 46:239–254
McDowell RW, Nash DM, Robertson F (2007) Sources of phosphorus lost from a grazed pasture soil receiving simulated rainfall. J Environ Qual 36:1281–1288
McDowell RW, Snelder T, Littlejohn R, Hickey M, Cox N, Booker DJ (2011) State and potential management to improve water quality in an agricultural catchment relative to a natural baseline. Ag Ecosyst Environ 144:188–200
McDowell RW, Snelder TH, Cox N, Booker DJ, Wilcock RJ (2013) Establishment of reference or baseline conditions of chemical indicators in New Zealand streams and rivers relative to present conditions. Mar Freshw Res 64:387–400
McDowell RW, Cosgrove G, Orchiston T, Chrystal J (2014a) A cost-effective management practice to decrease phosphorus loss from dairy farms. J Environ Qual 43:2044–2052
McDowell RW, Moreau P, Salmon-Monviola J, Durand P, Leterme P, Merot P (2014b) Contrasting the spatial management of nitrogen and phosphorus for improved water quality: modelling studies in New Zealand and France. Eur J Agron 57:52–61
McDowell RW, Cox N, Daughney CJ, Wheeler D, Moreau M (2015a) A national assessment of the potential linkage between soil, and surface and groundwater concentrations of phosphorus. J Am Water Resour Assoc 51:992–1002
McDowell RW, Lucci GM, Peyroux G, Yoswara H, Cox N, Brown M, Wheeler D, Watkins N, Smith C, Monaghan R, Muirhead R, Catto W, Risk J (2015b) MitAgator™: a tool to estimate and mitigate the loss of contaminants from land to water. Occasional Report No. 27. Fertilizer and Lime Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
McGonigle DF, Harris RC, McCamphill C, Kirk S, Dils R, Macdonald J, Bailey S (2012) Towards a more strategic approach to research to support catchment-based policy approaches to mitigate agricultural water pollution: a UK case-study. Environ Sci Policy 24:4–14
McGonigle DF, Burke SP, Collins AL, Gartner R, Haft MR, Harris RC, Haygarth PM, Hedges MC, Hiscock KM, Lovett AA (2014) Developing demonstration test catchments as a platform for transdisciplinary land management research in England and Wales. Environ Sci Process Impacts 16:1618–1628
Meals DW, Dressing SA, Davenport TE (2010) Lag time in water quality response to best management practices: a review. J Environ Qual 39:85–96
MfE [Ministry for the Environment] (2014) National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management 2014. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/Fresh%20water/nps-freshwater-management-jul-14.pdf
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) (2012) Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO)—Final rule. http://water.epa.gov/polwaste/npdes/afo/Concentrated-Animal-Feeding-Operations-Final-Rule.cfm. Accessed Sept 2015
New Zealand Federated Farmers (2005) Life after subsidies: The New Zealand farming experience 20 years later. http://www.fedfarm.org.nz/files/2005—Life-after-subsidies—the-NZ-experience.pdf
Otago Regional Council (2014) Water Quality Rules (Plan Change 6A). http://www.orc.govt.nz/Publications-and-Reports/Regional-Policies-and-Plans/Regional-Plan-Water/Water-Quality-Rules-Plan-Change-6A/
Quinn JM, Wilcock RJ, Monaghan RM, McDowell RW, Journeaux PR (2009) Grassland farming and water quality in New Zealand. Tearmann Irish J Agric-Environ Res 7:69–88
Rabotyagov SS, Kling CL, Gassman PW, Rabalais NN, Turner RE (2014) The economics of dead zones: causes, impacts, policy challenges, and a model of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone. Rev Environ Econ Policy 41:431–459
Radcliffe DE, Freer J, Schoumans O (2009) Diffuse phosphorus models in the United States and Europe: their usages, scales and uncertainties. J Environ Qual 38:1956–1967
Richards RP, Baker DB, Crumrine JP (2009) Improved water quality in Ohio tributaries to Lake Erie: a consequence of conservation practices. J Soil Water Conserv 64:200–211
Richards RP, Baker DB, Crumrine JP, Sterns AM (2010) Unusually large loads in 2007 from the Maumee and Sandusky rivers, tributaries to Lake Erie. J Soil Water Conserv 65:450–462
Sharpley AN, Kleinman PJA, Flaten DN, Buda AR (2011) Critical source area management of agricultural phosphorus: experiences, challenges and opportunities. Water Sci Technol 654:945–952
Sharpley AN, Beegle D, Bolster C, Good LW, Joern B, Ketterings Q, Lory J, Mikkelsen R, Osmond D, Vadas PA (2012) Phosphorus indices: why we need to take stock of how we are doing. J Environ Qual 41:1711–1718
Sharpley AN, Jarvie HP, Buda A, May L, Spears B, Kleinman P (2013) Phosphorus legacy: overcoming the effects of past management practices to mitigate future water quality impairment. J Environ Qual 42:1308–1326
Smith RA, Schwarz GE, Alexander RB (1997) Regional interpretation of water-quality monitoring data. Water Resour Res 33:2781–2798
Snelder T, Biggs B, Kilroy C, Booker D (2013) National objective framework for periphyton. http://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/national-objective-framework-periphyton.pdf
Soule MJ, Tegene A, Wiebe KD (2000) Land tenure and the adoption of conservation practices. Am J Agric Econ 82:993–1005
UKTAG (2013) Updated recommendations on phosphorus standards for rivers. River Basin Management (2015–2021). Final Report August 2013. http://www.wfduk.org/sites/default/files/Media/UKTAG%20Phosphorus%20Standards%20for%20Rivers_Final%20130906_0.pdf
US EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] (2002) Nutrient water quality criteria, summary table for the nutrient criteria documents. http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/criteria/nutrient/ecoregions/
US EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] (2015a) Water quality assessment and total maximum daily loads information. http://www.epa.gov/waters/ir/
US EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] (2015b) Watershed assessment, tracking & environmental results. National Probable Sources Contribution to Impairments. http://iaspub.epa.gov/waters10/attains_nation_cy.control#prob_source
USDA—Natural Resources Conservation Service (2014) Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative—MRBI. U.S. Govt. Printing Office, Washington, DC. p 6. http://discoveryfarms.uark.edu/MBRI_Fact_Sheet.pdf
van Grieken ME, Thomas CR, Roebeling PC, Thorburn PJ (2013) Integrating economic drivers of social change into agricultural water quality improvement strategies. Agric Ecosyst Environ 180:166–175
Wilcock RJ, Monaghan RM, Quinn JM, Srinivasan MS, Duncan MJ, Scarsbrook MR (2013) Trends in water quality of five dairy farming streams in responses to changes in farm management and adoption of best practice: benefits of long-term monitoring at the catchment scale. Mar Freshw Res 64:401–412
York County Conservation District (2015) York Cost Share Programs and Technical Assistance. http://www.yorkccd.org/agricultural-programs/york-cost-share-programs-technical-assistance/
Zhang Y, Collins AL, Gooday RD (2012) Application of the FARMSCOPER tool for assessing agricultural diffuse pollution mitigation methods across the Hampshire Avon Demonstration Test Catchment, UK. Environ Sci Policy 24:120–131
Acknowledgments
Funding for RW McDowell was provided by the New Zealand Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment’s—Clean Water, Productive Land programme (C10X1006). The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy of the US Environmental Protection Agency nor the UK Environment Agency. This paper was iniated following meetings of the Phosphorus Sustainability Research Coordination Network (P RCN).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McDowell, R.W., Dils, R.M., Collins, A.L. et al. A review of the policies and implementation of practices to decrease water quality impairment by phosphorus in New Zealand, the UK, and the US. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 104, 289–305 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-015-9727-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10705-015-9727-0