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Severe situation of rural nonpoint source pollution and efficient utilization of agricultural wastes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

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Abstract

Rural nonpoint source (NPS) pollution caused by agricultural wastes has become increasingly serious in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA), significantly affecting the reservoir water quality. The grim situation of rural NPS pollution in the TGRA indicated that agrochemicals (chemical fertilizer and pesticide) were currently the highest contributor of rural NPS pollution (50.38 %). The harmless disposal rates of livestock excrement, crop straws, rural domestic refuse, and sewage also cause severe water pollution. More importantly, the backward agricultural economy and the poor environmental awareness of farmers in the hinterland of the TGRA contribute to high levels of rural NPS pollution. Over the past decade, researchers and the local people have carried out various successful studies and practices to realize the effective control of rural NPS pollution by efficiently utilizing agricultural wastes in the TGRA, including agricultural waste biogas-oriented utilization, crop straw gasification, decentralized land treatment of livestock excrement technology, and crop straw modification. These technologies have greatly increased the renewable resource utilization of agricultural wastes and improved water quality and ecological environment in the TGRA.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. XDJK2015C060), the Major Science and Technology Project of Water Pollution Control and Management in China (No. 2012ZX07104-004), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41371301 and No. 41371275), and the International S&T Cooperation Program of China (No. 2013DFG92520).

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  1. College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Tong Zhang, Jiupai Ni & Deti Xie

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  1. Tong Zhang
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  2. Jiupai Ni
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Correspondence to Deti Xie.

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Zhang, T., Ni, J. & Xie, D. Severe situation of rural nonpoint source pollution and efficient utilization of agricultural wastes in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 16453–16462 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-015-5429-z

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