Nutrient Management and Water Quality in Agricultural Landscapes

Agricultural intensification has transformed nutrient cycles and placed freshwater ecosystems under increasing pressure. Excessive inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus from synthetic fertilisers, manure and atmospheric deposition drive eutrophication, promoting algal blooms and hypoxia in rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Effective nutrient management seeks to balance crop productivity with environmental protection by optimising application rates, timing and methods of delivery. Measures range from precision fertilisation guided by soil testing to the creation of vegetated buffer strips, cover crops and constructed wetlands that intercept and transform surplus nutrients. Integrated modelling frameworks now link climate projections, land-use scenarios and economic drivers to predict diffuse pollutant fluxes and assess policy options. Such tools have revealed the sensitivity of nutrient losses to changing precipitation patterns, crop rotations and farm-level decision-making. At the catchment scale, spatial targeting of abatement measures can maximise water-quality benefits while containing costs. Policy frameworks such as the EU Water Framework Directive and national agri-environment schemes increasingly promote adaptive management, using monitoring data and scenario analysis to refine interventions. Globally, a shift towards circular nutrient economies—recycling manure, crop residues and biosolids—offers further potential to reduce reliance on mineral fertilisers, close nutrient loops and safeguard freshwater quality in agricultural landscapes.

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Nutrient Management and Water Quality in Agricultural Landscapes publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in nutrient management and water quality in agricultural landscapes across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Eutrophication: Enrichment of water by nutrients leading to excessive plant and algal growth, often resulting in oxygen depletion.

Diffuse pollution: Spatially diffuse discharge of nutrients and sediments from widespread agricultural activities rather than from a single point source.

Reactive nitrogen (Nr): All biologically, photochemically or radiatively active nitrogen compounds in the environment, including nitrate, ammonia and organic forms.

Eco-hydrological model: A process-based simulation tool that represents interactions between hydrology, vegetation and biogeochemical cycling to predict water and nutrient flows.

Precision fertilisation: The targeted application of nutrients in appropriate rates, timing and spatial patterns to match crop requirements and minimise losses.

References

1. The impacts of climate change on nitrogen losses to the environment in Austria: A dual model analysis across spatial and temporal scales to support policy decisions. The Science of The Total Environment (2024).
2. A novel integrated modelling framework to assess the impacts of climate and socio-economic drivers on land use and water quality. The Science of The Total Environment (2016).
3. Agricultural nutrient loading under alternative climate, societal and manure recycling scenarios. The Science of The Total Environment (2021).
4. Future socioeconomic conditions may have a larger impact than climate change on nutrient loads to the Baltic Sea. Ambio (2019).