Waterborne contaminants in high intensity agriculture and plant production: A review of on-site and downstream impacts

Abstract

Waterborne contaminants pose a significant risk to water quality and plant health in agricultural systems. This is particularly the case for relatively small-scale but intensive agricultural operations such as plant production nurseries that often rely on recycled irrigation water. The increasing global demand for plants requires improved water quality and more certainty around water availability, which may be difficult to predict and deliver due to variable and changing climate regimes. Production nurseries are moving to adopt best management practices that recycle water; however, the risks associated with waterborne contaminants of various types, including nutrients, pesticides, plant pathogens, micro-plastics, and toxic metals, are not well understood. We review and synthesise the physical and biogeochemical factors that contribute to waterborne contaminant risk, and the main types of contaminants that are likely to require management, at plant production nurseries. Catchment characteristics (i.e., topography, land use), hydroclimatic factors (i.e., storms, floods, droughts), and landscape hydrological and sediment connectivity influence surface runoff, sediment transport, and associated contaminant transfer and storage. High hydrological connectivity can increase the risk of contaminant transport from the surrounding landscape to nurseries, with potential negative impacts to water quality in reservoirs and in turn plant health. High connectivity may also increase the risk of contaminants (e.g., sediment, pesticides, and phytopathogens) being transferred from nursery farms into downstream waterways, with consequences for aquatic ecosystems. Like all intensive agricultural operations, nurseries need to consider sources of irrigation water, water treatment and management strategies, and catchment and hydroclimatic factors, to mitigate the spread of contaminants and reduce their impacts on both plant production and the surrounding environment. Further research is needed to quantify contaminant loads and transfer pathways in these agricultural systems, and to better understand the threshold levels of contaminants that adversely affect plant health and which may result in devastating economic losses.

Keywords: Agricultural production; Nutrients; Pollution; Sediment; Water quality.