Potential of site-specific management for nonpoint environmental protection

Site specific management for nonpoint environmental protection involves a number of management practices. This chapter discusses how the application of good management on a site specific basis can optimize crop production while maintaining soil and water quality, and addresses its potential to protect against environmental degradation when compared with conventional uniform field management. Conservation tillage is considered the most promising management practice for keeping soil erosion at acceptable levels on rolling landscapes. Most landscapes have natural variations in the phosphorus content of the soil due to variations in parent material, weathering, and movement of water and sediment across the surface. Movement of pesticides through soil is dependent upon the solubility of the chemical, the resistance of the chemical to breakdown by microorganisms, the sorptivity of the chemical onto soil particles, the hydraulic properties of the soil, and the water regime. Vegetative barriers are effective in trapping sediment in toe slope positions along streams or drainageways.