Beneficial Management Practices for Reducing Non-Point Environmental Pollution

我们的研究团队正在努力使加拿大中部的农业活动在不断变化的气候条件下更具弹性，并确定有益/最佳管理实践（BMPs），可以减少传统和新兴污染物的非点源（NXP）污染。 正在开发的计算机模型不仅可以模拟气候变化下的地表和地下水文过程，而且还可以评估BMPs，以显着减少绿色家庭气体排放以及流域尺度的非点化学污染。目前还在努力评估生物炭和高吸水性聚合物在农场的使用情况，并调查它们在减少传统和新出现的污染物对环境的污染方面的作用。鉴于全世界淡水日益稀缺，目前正在努力将部分处理或未处理的废水用于农业，并寻找减轻相关风险的方法。 a）在不断变化的气候条件下制定和评估整体最佳管理计划：迫切需要确定农村景观的最佳管理计划，以同时减少温室气体排放、沉积物运输和农业化学污染。目前还没有可靠的方法或模型来先验地确定哪种BMP将以整体方式最有效地减少景观中的生物污染。我们的研究团队最近开发了一个新的景观模型，称为SWATDRAIN，它可以模拟瓷砖排水流域的地表和地下水文。我们将继续开发这一模型，用于确定农业景观的最佳管理计划，以减少温室气体排放，同时最大限度地减少传统和新兴污染物的污染，增加农业活动在不断变化的气候条件下的弹性，并向农业生产者和政策制定者传达急需的知识/信息。 B）农业废水的安全使用：为了减少农业对淡水的完全依赖，废水的使用被视为一种持久的解决办法。发展中国家的农民正在使用废水，从而直接污染土壤和农产品，并间接污染水体，污染物包括重金属、抗生素、杀虫剂、激素和致病细菌。 我们计划研究在生物炭和高吸水性聚合物存在下，用未经处理的废水灌溉的土壤中无机和有机污染物的命运和运输。更具体地说，我们将研究来自不同原料的生物炭在土壤中重金属（Cd，Cr，Cu，Fe，Pb和Zn）的固定化中的作用。我们还将包括评价的命运和运输的女性雌激素为基础的激素，即雌酮和雌二醇，和孕酮在废水中。地上（菠菜）和地下（土豆）作物也将种植，以调查重金属和激素的吸收。

Our research team is working on making farming activities in central Canada more resilient under changing climatic conditions with the determination of beneficial/best management practices (BMPs) that can reduce non-point source (NPS) pollution from conventional and emerging contaminants. Computer models are being developed that can simulate not only surface and subsurface hydrologic processes under changing climate but also evaluate BMPs for significantly reducing green house gas emissions as well as non-point chemical pollution on watershed scale. Efforts are also being made to evaluate on-farm use of biochar and super absorbent polymers and investigate their role in reducing environmental pollution from conventional and emerging contaminants. Given the worldwide growing scarcity of freshwater, efforts are also being made to use partially treated or untreated wastewater in agriculture and find ways of mitigating associated risks. a) Development and Evaluation of Holisitic BMPs under Changing Climatic Conditions: There is an urgent need to determine BMPs for rural landscapes that can simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions, sediment transport and agrichemical pollution. There are presently no credible methods or models of determining, a priori, which BMP would work best for reducing NPS pollution from a landscape in a holistic manner. Our Research Team has recently developed a new landscape model, called SWATDRAIN which can simulate surface and subsurface hydrology of tile-drained watersheds. We would continue to develop this model for determining BMPs for agricultural landscapes that can reduce GHG emissions and simultaneously minimize NPS pollution from conventional and emerging contaminants, add resiliency to agricultural activities under changing climatic conditions, and convey the much needed knowledge/information to agricultural producers and policy makers. b) Safe wastewater use in agriculture: In order to reduce the total reliance of agriculture on freshwater, the use of wastewater is seen as a lasting solution. Farmers in developing countries are using wastewater, thereby polluting soil and produce directly and, the water bodies indirectly, with contaminants such as heavy metals, antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, and pathogenic bacteria. We plan to study the fate and transport of inorganic and organic contaminants in soils irrigated with untreated wastewater in the presence of biochar and super absorbent polymers. More specifically, we will study the role of biochar from different feedstock in the immobilization of heavy metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb and Zn) in soil. We will also include evaluation of the fate and transport of female estrogen-based hormones, namely estrone and estradiol, and progesterone in wastewater. Both aboveground (spinach) and underground (potatoes) crops will also be grown to investigate uptake of heavy metals and hormones.