Agricultural Conservation Practices and Aquatic Ecological Responses

Conservation agriculture practices (CAs) have been internationally promoted and used for decades to enhance soil health mitigate loss. An additional benefit of CAs has mitigation agricultural runoff impacts on aquatic ecosystems. Countries across the globe agencies that provide programs farmers implement a variety CAs. Increasingly there is need demonstrate can ecological improvements in Growing global concerns lost habitat, biodiversity, ecosystem services, increased eutrophication associated harmful algal blooms are expected intensify with increasing populations changing climate. We conducted literature review identifying 88 studies linking responses since 2000. Most were North America (78%), primarily United States (73%), within framework USDA Effects Assessment Project. Identified most frequently documented macroinvertebrate (31%), fish (28%), (20%) riparian (29%), wetland (18%), or combinations (32%) and/or (27%) pesticide contamination (23%). Notable research gaps include better understanding biogeochemistry CAs, quantitative links between varying responses, linkages structure function.