Beneficial Management Practices for Reducing Non-Point Environmental Pollution

我们的研究团队正致力于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，确定可以减少传统污染物和新出现污染物的非点源(NPS)污染的有益/最佳管理实践(BMP)。*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，还可以评估BMP显著减少温室气体排放和流域尺度非点源化学污染的能力。还在努力评估生物炭和高吸水性聚合物在农场上的使用情况，并调查它们在减少传统污染物和新污染物造成的环境污染方面的作用。鉴于全球淡水日益稀缺，还在努力在农业中使用部分处理或未经处理的废水，并找到减轻相关风险的方法。*a)气候变化条件下冬虫夏草BMP的开发和评价：迫切需要确定可同时减少温室气体排放、泥沙输送和农业化学污染的农村景观的BMP。目前还没有可靠的方法或模型来先验地确定哪种BMP最有利于以整体方式减少景观中的NPS污染。我们的研究小组最近开发了一种新的景观模型，称为SWATDRAIN，它可以模拟瓦片排水流域的地表和地下水文。我们将继续开发这一模型来确定农业景观的BMP，以减少温室气体排放，同时最大限度地减少传统污染物和新出现污染物对NPS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)农业中安全的废水使用：为了减少农业对淡水的完全依赖，废水的使用被视为持久的解决方案。发展中国家的农民正在使用废水，从而直接污染土壤和生产，间接污染水体，污染物包括重金属、抗生素、杀虫剂、激素和致病菌。*我们计划研究在生物炭和高吸水性聚合物存在的情况下，用未经处理的废水灌溉的土壤中无机和有机污染物的去向和迁移。更具体地说，我们将研究来自不同原料的生物炭在固定土壤中的重金属(Cd、Cr、Cu、Fe、Pb和Zn)方面的作用。我们还将评估以雌激素为基础的女性荷尔蒙，即雌酮、雌二醇和黄体酮在废水中的去向和运输。地上(菠菜)和地下(土豆)作物也将被种植，以研究对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.