Reducing Nutrient Losses From Cropland in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin: Cost Efficiency and Regional Distribution

by Elizabeth Marshall, Marcel Aillery, Marc Ribaudo, Nigel Key, Stacy Sneeringer, LeRoy Hansen, Scott Malcolm, and Anne Riddle

Every summer, a “hypoxic zone” in the Gulf of Mexico (dissolved oxygen too low for many aquatic species to survive) is fueled by nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) runoff from the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB), most of which comes from agriculture. This report assesses the most cost-effective way of achieving a 45-percent reduction in cropland nutrient loads to the Gulf.

See related Amber Waves article: Cost-Effective Strategies for Reducing Cropland Nutrient Deliveries to the Gulf of Mexico.

Keywords: hypoxia, targeting, compliance, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin, conservation practices, wetlands, buffers, nitrogen reduction, phosphorus reduction, nutrient runoff, dead zone

In this publication...

• Entire Report
• Report summary