Influence of agrotechnical factors on diffuse pollution of aquatic ecosystems

Abstract

At present, the environmental state of aquatic ecosystems is an issue of serious concern. In this context diffuse pollution, i.e. spatially distributed pollution from non-point sources with uneven and unstable characteristics is the most difficult to assess and manage. In most cases such pollution originates from agricultural fields, with the key pollutant being fertilizer nitrogen leakage with water. The aim of the study was to reveal the influence of separate agrotechnical factors on diffuse pollution of aquatic ecosystems by nitrogen and to obtain the corresponding functional dependence in the analytical form. To tackle the problem, the method of logical-linguistic modeling was applied, which allows to formalize the expert estimates. The following factors were considered: the degree of fertilizer mineralization, fertilizing technologies, the observance of agrotechnical terms, the size of field-edge storage facilities, management efficiency of manure handling and soil fertilization, fertilizer moisture, and fertilizer rates (by nitrogen). The resulting polynomial expression made it possible to reveal the significance of each factor and their relationship. This result has considerable practical value, as it allows predicting the environmental effect and to create a strategy of diffuse pollution reduction by choosing the most effective measures without excessive costs.