UMCES partnered with USGS to summarize study
The USGS wanted to translate the complex science on nutrient trends and their drivers into an understandable and concise document for higher-level managers and policy makers. The USGS formed a partnership with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Integration and Application Network (UMCES-IAN) and the Chesapeake Bay Program office to produce the fact sheet.
The 4-page fact sheet provides:
- New visualizations of the nitrogen and phosphorus trends in the watershed (2009-2018).
- Summaries of the drivers affecting nutrient change, including wastewater and atmospheric improvements; land-use change in urban areas, nutrient applications in agricultural watersheds, and effects of climate change.
- An overview of challenges for effective management of nutrients from nonpoint sources, which include insufficient monitoring, travel time, competing factors, ad unrealistic expectations.
Management Applications
The fact sheet will help higher-level managers and policy makers understand the complex science of water-quality restoration, and inform efforts to have nutrient-reduction practices in place by 2025. One way this will be done is through specific data visualizations of trends within Chesapeake Bay subwatersheds, such as the graph shown on the right of total phosphorus trends at nontidal monitoring stations in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Data from Moyer and Langland (2020).
For more information:
USGS Fact Sheet 2020–3069 “Nutrient Trends and Drivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” is available for download at https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20203069.