February 8, 2012

When early settlers arrived in the Midwest, they began constructing an underground network of tile drains to channel water away from soggy prairies.  These fields then became some of the most fertile fields in the country.  Now, when nitrate from soils and fertilizers leaches out of these flourishing fields, the subsoil engineering facilitates the discharge of nitrates into nearby streams and rivers.

USDA research in Iowa is helping identify some long-term solutions for denitrifying the water in these areas by using bags of wood chips.  Learn about what solutions proved successul and why Midwest organizations are recommending that denitrification walls be installed in some of these areas to mitigate nitrate pollution.

Read more in a February 2012 article in Agriculture Research, a publication of the USDA Agricultural Research Service.