Agricultural practices for cleaner water: a global synthesis of meta-evidence.
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| Title: | Agricultural practices for cleaner water: a global synthesis of meta-evidence. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Canning, Adam D.1 (AUTHOR) adam.canning@jcu.edu.au |
| Source: | Environmental Reviews. 6/15/2026, Vol. 34, p1-19. 19p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Nutrient pollution of water, *Water quality, *Fertilizer application, *Agricultural ecology, *Organic farming, *Soil erosion, *Agriculture, *Pesticide pollution |
| Abstract: | Agricultural intensification has pushed nitrogen and phosphorus cycles beyond safe planetary limits, with agriculture now a primary driver of at least two Earth system boundaries being breached. Technological fixes alone are unlikely to resolve this: efficiency gains tend to lower production costs and drive further expansion (known as Jevon's Paradox), intensifying environmental pressure rather than relieving it. Reducing agricultural water pollution will therefore require a shift toward production systems that work with ecological processes rather than against them. Despite growing interest in agroecological and regenerative approaches, evidence on their effectiveness for improving water quality remains fragmented across practices, regions, and study designs. This review of reviews synthesizes global evidence from 67 multi-continental meta-analyses on how farm practices affect nutrient, pesticide, and sediment losses. Nonlegume cover crops cut nitrate leaching by about 50%–70% and sediment by 50%–60%. Residue retention and organic amendments reduced runoff nutrients by 25%–50% and sediment by up to 75%. Reduced tillage lowered sediment losses by about 60% but often increased nitrate leaching, highlighting the importance of complementary fertilizer management. Optimizing fertilizer rates, timing, and formulation, alongside precision irrigation, reduced nitrogen losses by 20%–70%. At the landscape scale, vegetated buffers, agroforestry, and wetlands typically removed 25%–90% of nutrients and 40%–95% of sediment. Improving soil cover, structure, and hydrological function can sharply reduce pollution without sacrificing yields, showing that poor water quality stems from management, not inevitability. However, important evidence gaps remain: pesticide transport lacks any global synthesis despite residues being among the most pervasive agricultural contaminants, quantitative evidence on adaptive grazing management remains limited, and most underlying studies are concentrated in temperate croplands of North America, Europe, and China, limiting confidence in applying these findings to tropical, arid, or smallholder systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Environmental Reviews is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | GreenFILE |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: 8gh DbLabel: GreenFILE An: 194518806 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Agricultural practices for cleaner water: a global synthesis of meta-evidence. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Canning%2C+Adam+D%2E%22">Canning, Adam D.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> adam.canning@jcu.edu.au</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Environmental+Reviews%22">Environmental Reviews</searchLink>. 6/15/2026, Vol. 34, p1-19. 19p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nutrient+pollution+of+water%22">Nutrient pollution of water</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+quality%22">Water quality</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fertilizer+application%22">Fertilizer application</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Agricultural+ecology%22">Agricultural ecology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Organic+farming%22">Organic farming</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Soil+erosion%22">Soil erosion</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Agriculture%22">Agriculture</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pesticide+pollution%22">Pesticide pollution</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Agricultural intensification has pushed nitrogen and phosphorus cycles beyond safe planetary limits, with agriculture now a primary driver of at least two Earth system boundaries being breached. Technological fixes alone are unlikely to resolve this: efficiency gains tend to lower production costs and drive further expansion (known as Jevon's Paradox), intensifying environmental pressure rather than relieving it. Reducing agricultural water pollution will therefore require a shift toward production systems that work with ecological processes rather than against them. Despite growing interest in agroecological and regenerative approaches, evidence on their effectiveness for improving water quality remains fragmented across practices, regions, and study designs. This review of reviews synthesizes global evidence from 67 multi-continental meta-analyses on how farm practices affect nutrient, pesticide, and sediment losses. Nonlegume cover crops cut nitrate leaching by about 50%–70% and sediment by 50%–60%. Residue retention and organic amendments reduced runoff nutrients by 25%–50% and sediment by up to 75%. Reduced tillage lowered sediment losses by about 60% but often increased nitrate leaching, highlighting the importance of complementary fertilizer management. Optimizing fertilizer rates, timing, and formulation, alongside precision irrigation, reduced nitrogen losses by 20%–70%. At the landscape scale, vegetated buffers, agroforestry, and wetlands typically removed 25%–90% of nutrients and 40%–95% of sediment. Improving soil cover, structure, and hydrological function can sharply reduce pollution without sacrificing yields, showing that poor water quality stems from management, not inevitability. However, important evidence gaps remain: pesticide transport lacks any global synthesis despite residues being among the most pervasive agricultural contaminants, quantitative evidence on adaptive grazing management remains limited, and most underlying studies are concentrated in temperate croplands of North America, Europe, and China, limiting confidence in applying these findings to tropical, arid, or smallholder systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Environmental Reviews is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1139/er-2025-0263 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 19 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Nutrient pollution of water Type: general – SubjectFull: Water quality Type: general – SubjectFull: Fertilizer application Type: general – SubjectFull: Agricultural ecology Type: general – SubjectFull: Organic farming Type: general – SubjectFull: Soil erosion Type: general – SubjectFull: Agriculture Type: general – SubjectFull: Pesticide pollution Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Agricultural practices for cleaner water: a global synthesis of meta-evidence. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Canning, Adam D. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 15 M: 06 Text: 6/15/2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 11818700 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 34 Titles: – TitleFull: Environmental Reviews Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
