Agricultural Sources of Water Pollution
J. B. Braden and J. S. Shortle
Chapter in Encyclopedia of Energy, Natural Resource, and Environmental Economics (2013)
DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-375067-9.00111-X
Abstract Crop and animal production can have pervasive and significant impacts on water quality and aquatic ecosystems. Much agricultural pollution is difficult to attribute to specific sources and varies through space and time. Owing to the difficulty of attribution, with the exception of animal wastes and pesticides, most public policies addressing agricultural pollution rely on voluntary incentives for abatement.
keywords: Agriculture; Concentrated animal feeding operations; Crop production; Nonpoint source pollution; Nutrients; Pesticides; Sediment; Water quality