Mitigation options to reduce phosphorus losses from the agricultural sector and improve surface water quality: A review O.F. Schoumans a, ⁎, W.J. Chardon a , M.E. Bechmann b , C. Gascuel-Odoux c , G. Hofman d , B. Kronvang e , G.H. Rubæk f , B. Ulén g , J.-M. Dorioz h a Alterra Wageningen UR, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands b Norwegian Inst Agr & Environm Res, N-1432 As, Norway c INRA, UMR1069, Soil Agro and HydroSystem, 65 route de Saint-Brieuc, 35042 Rennes, France d Dep. Soil Management, University of Ghent, Coupure 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium e Aarhus University, Dept. of Bioscience, Vejlsovej 25, DK-8600 Silkeborg, Denmark f Aarhus University, Dept. of Agroecology, P.O. Box. 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark g Swedish Univ Agr Sci, Div Water Qual Management, Dept Soil Sci, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden h INRA, UMR CARRTEL Station d'hydrobiologie, BP 511, 74203 Thonon-Les-Bains, France HIGHLIGHTS • Various mitigation options to reduce phosphorus losses from agricultural land were described in terms of factsheets. • Global budget systems and agro-environmental recommendations systems are useful tools for setting up a more sustainable agricultural management practice. • At field scale different crop and soil management techniques are available to increase the P efficiency and reduce loss of P from the fields by erosion and runoff. • At catchment scale the landscape and the hydrological system determines the buffer capacity, transfer and delivery of nutrients to the surface water system and several options are available to reduce P losses. • Finally, with surface water management measures the impact of nutrient loads on surface water quality can be reduced. abstract article info Article history: Received 20 September 2012 Received in revised form 14 August 2013 Accepted 20 August 2013 Available online xxxx Editor: D. Barcelo Keywords: Diffuse pollution Water quality Phosphorus Nutrients Measures The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) obliges Member States to improve the quality of surface water and groundwater. The measures implemented to date have reduced the contribution of point sources of pollution, and hence diffuse pollution from agriculture has become more important. In many catchments the water quality remains poor. COST Action 869 was an EU initiative to improve surface water quality that ran from 2006 to 2011, in which 30 countries participated. Its main aim was a scientific evaluation of the suitability and cost- effectiveness of options for reducing nutrient loss from rural areas to surface waters at catchment scale, including the feasibility of the options under different climatic and geographical conditions. This paper gives an overview of various categories of mitigation options in relation to phosphorus (P). The individual measures are described in terms of their mode of action, applicability, effectiveness, time frame, environmental side-effects (N cycling) and cost. In total, 83 measures were evaluated in COST Action 869. © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. 1. Introduction The role of an excess of nutrients phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in the eutrophication of surface water was recognised in the mid-20th century (Redfield, 1958; Vollenweider, 1968). Among the negative environmental effects of eutrophication are reduced functioning and biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems and decline in surface water quality (Scheffer, 1998; Smith et al., 1999). The Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) associated with eutrophication produce toxic algal substances that kill fish (Carpenter et al., 1969; Jaworski, 1981) and cause disease in ani- mals (Kotak et al., 1994; Main et al., 1977) and humans (Falconer, 1989; Lawrence et al., 1994). Nutrient loads to waters must be reduced to control eutrophication. The relative concentrations of total N and P together with bioas- says have been used to estimate which of these nutrients is limiting the growth of algae in aquatic systems (Atkinson and Smith, 1983; Hecky et al., 1993; Redfield, 1958; Smith, 1983). For freshwater sys- tems the indicative N:P weight ratios are ≤ 4.5 for N-limitation, 4.5–6 for intermediate conditions and ≥ 6 for P-limitation; the equivalent Science of the Total Environment xxx (2013) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 317486446; fax: +31 317419000. E-mail address: oscar.schoumans@wur.nl (O.F. Schoumans). STOTEN-15163; No of Pages 12 0048-9697/$ – see front matter © 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.08.061 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Science of the Total Environment journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scitotenv Please cite this article as: Schoumans OF, et al, Mitigation options to reduce phosphorus losses from the agricultural sector and improve surface water quality: A review, Sci Total Environ (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.08.061