TY - JOUR

T1 - A method-centric 'User Manual' for the mitigation of diffuse water pollution from agriculture

AU - Cuttle, S. P.

AU - Newell-Price, J. P.

AU - Harris, D.

AU - Chadwick, D. R.

AU - Shepherd, M. A.

AU - Anthony, S. G. A.

AU - Macleod, C. J. A.

AU - Haygarth, Philip Matthew

AU - Chambers, B. J.

N1 - This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Cuttle, S. P., Newell-Price, J. P., Harris, D., Chadwick, D. R., Shepherd, M. A., Anthony, S. G. A., Macleod, C. J. A., Haygarth, P. M. and Chambers, B. J. (2016), A method-centric ‘User Manual’ for the mitigation of diffuse water pollution from agriculture. Soil Use and Management, 32: 162–171. doi: 10.1111/sum.12242 which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/sum.12242/abstract This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.

PY - 2016/6

Y1 - 2016/6

N2 - We describe the development of a manual of methods for mitigating diffuse water pollution from agriculture and its important influence on policy and practice in England and Wales. The objective of the ‘User Manual’ was to provide policy makers and those implementing policies with information about the cost, effectiveness and applicability of potential methods in a form that would be readily understood by non-specialists. The ‘User Manual’ was based on earlier reports synthesizing available research data and, where data were unavailable, used expert elicitation. The outcome generated 44 potential methods (under the broad categories of land use, soil management, livestock management, fertilizer management, manure management and farm infrastructure) and described the simultaneous impact of applying each method on losses of nitrate, phosphorus and faecal indicator organisms relative to baseline losses. Estimates of cost and effectiveness were presented at the whole-farm level for seven model farm types. Methods differed widely in their cost-effectiveness and applicability to the different model farms. Advantages and limitations of the approach are discussed and subsequent developments of the original ‘User Manual’ are described, together with the opinions of catchment officers who have used the ‘User Manual’ to implement mitigation methods on farms.

AB - We describe the development of a manual of methods for mitigating diffuse water pollution from agriculture and its important influence on policy and practice in England and Wales. The objective of the ‘User Manual’ was to provide policy makers and those implementing policies with information about the cost, effectiveness and applicability of potential methods in a form that would be readily understood by non-specialists. The ‘User Manual’ was based on earlier reports synthesizing available research data and, where data were unavailable, used expert elicitation. The outcome generated 44 potential methods (under the broad categories of land use, soil management, livestock management, fertilizer management, manure management and farm infrastructure) and described the simultaneous impact of applying each method on losses of nitrate, phosphorus and faecal indicator organisms relative to baseline losses. Estimates of cost and effectiveness were presented at the whole-farm level for seven model farm types. Methods differed widely in their cost-effectiveness and applicability to the different model farms. Advantages and limitations of the approach are discussed and subsequent developments of the original ‘User Manual’ are described, together with the opinions of catchment officers who have used the ‘User Manual’ to implement mitigation methods on farms.

KW - Mitigation methods

KW - cost-effectiveness

KW - nitrate

KW - phosphorus

KW - faecal indicator organisms

U2 - 10.1111/sum.12242

DO - 10.1111/sum.12242

M3 - Journal article

VL - 32

SP - 162

EP - 171

JO - Soil Use and Management

JF - Soil Use and Management

SN - 0266-0032

IS - Suppl S1

ER -