Effectiveness of non-fertilized buffer strips in the Netherlands : final report of a combined field, model and cost-effectiveness study

This integrated field and model study explains low effectiveness of non-fertilized 5 m wide harvested grass buffer strips (BS) to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural lowland fields to ditches. Buffer strip effectiveness (BSE) was defined as the relative nutrient load reduction, compared to a normally fertilized reference strip (REF). We collected nutrient loads from paired BS and REF strips in separate reservoirs in the ditch for three or four years at five field sites characteristic for the hydrogeology of the Netherlands. No statistically significant BSE was found at three out of five si... Mehr ...