Life Sciences Commons^™

A Recommendation For Polyculture Agriculture To Reduce Nitrogen Loading That Leads To Hypoxia, Bethany Stevens

Honors College

The natural cycle of nitrogen is an essential part of both plant growth and crop

production, but in recent years there has been an increase in nitrogen through the use of synthetic fertilizers. Agricultural surface runoff can carry away the converted, mobile nitrate nitrogen into downstream systems leading to an unnatural influx of nitrogen. This increased nutrient load can stimulate algal growth in the marine ecosystem which can cause an oxygen depletion. When the dissolved oxygen levels fall, the area is deemed ‘hypoxic’ and can no longer support most aquatic life. In recent decades, industrial agriculture has used monoculture practices, …