Sustainable agricultural practices for water quality protection

The marked shift in conventional agriculture has brought detrimental effects on natural resources leading to environmental degradation. Indeed, agricultural practices can be considered as both widespread and punctual sources of pollution, heavily affecting surface and groundwater quality, principally through erosion, run-off and leaching. Many contaminants (i.e. sediments, nutrients, heavy metals and agrochemicals) are conveyed by agriculture to the aquatic systems of surface and groundwater. Ecologically sound practices should be adopted to ensure a reduced impact on water resources. Among these, (i) rational rates, timing, type and technology of placement of fertilizers can contribute to obtain economic and environmental benefits; (ii) minimum cultivation systems can mitigate soil erosion and preserve from dispersed pollution losses; (iii) Conservation Agriculture, among the sustainable cropping systems, can reduce surface runoff and can assist in preserving water in the top soil stratum and increase rain infiltration; (iv) Controlled Traffic Farming, through the reduction of the trafficked compacted area, can decrease usage of fertilizers, due to lower losses of nutrients and (v) vegetative buffer strips can prevent runoff and the transport of sediments, organic materials, nutrients and chemicals.