Doctoral Dissertation Research: Assessing Rural Farmers' Soil Management Practices

农业硝酸盐污染和随后对淡水资源的污染对人类健康构成重大威胁。饮用水中硝酸盐含量高通常归因于农场营养管理不善，肥料渗入区域供水。农业科学家已经广泛研究了可以减少硝酸盐污染的土壤管理方法;然而，有效的方法在农民中仍然没有得到充分利用。该项目支持培训一名研究生学习人类学方法，利用经济人类学的理论见解，调查影响农民对各种土壤管理做法的适应性的因素，以及硝酸盐流失对淡水资源的影响。本博士论文研究的重点是农村居民社区暴露于饮用水中的硝酸盐的农民的土壤管理措施。具体而言，它要求：当施用化肥的人也是最容易接触硝酸盐污染的饮用水的人时，如何管理农业土壤？为了回答这个问题，研究人员将与农民一起采访和工作，跟踪农民援助提供者，并观察与区域水质有关的公共会议。调查结果将说明环境不平等如何与社会经济流动性和社区支持交叉，以更深入地了解农民社区如何谈判资源管理的成本和收益。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Agricultural nitrate pollution and subsequent contamination of freshwater resources pose a major threat to human health. High levels of nitrates in drinking water are often attributed to poor nutrient management practices on farms, where fertilizers leach into regional water supplies. Agricultural scientists have widely investigated soil management practices that can reduce nitrate pollution; however, effective practices remain underutilized among farmers. This project, which supports the training of a graduate student in anthropological methods, uses theoretical insights from economic anthropology to investigate the factors that affect farmers’ amenability to various soil management practices and implications for nitrate losses to freshwater resources. This doctoral dissertation research focuses on farmers’ soil management practices among rural residential communities exposed to nitrates in drinking water. Specifically, it asks: how are agricultural soils managed when the people applying fertilizers are also those most exposed to nitrate-contaminated drinking water? To answer this question, the researcher will interview and work alongside farmers, shadow farmer assistance providers, and observe public meetings related to regional water quality. Findings will illustrate how environmental inequality intersects with socioeconomic mobility and community support to offer a deeper understanding of how communities of farmers negotiate the costs and benefits of resource management.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.