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Agricultural runoff from farm fields (specifically dissolved reactive phosphorus) is considered the largest non-point source pollution to Lake Erie and other nearby water bodies leading to algal growth. Previous studies have emphasized that implementing Best Management Practices (BMPs) on agricultural fields reduce pollution to water and soil and increase crop yields. Not all farmers support use of BMPs on their fields. The goals of this dissertation are to 1. identify the spatial distribution of BMPs using Remote Sensing and GIS tools, 2. learn about farmers’ perceptions and motivations through a survey and face to face survey, and 3. investigate spatial relationship between practices and attitudes.Conservation BMPs, like cover crops, buffer strips and tillage practice, are mapped using Geographic Information System (GIS) and remotely sensed aerial imagery. The results were the visual representation of locations implementing BMPs. The research aggregated farmers’ perceptions in Monroe County, MI and the St. Joseph in Ohio - a sub watershed to the Maumee watershed, in relation to the BMPs and Lake Erie’s algae bloom. An in-person, semi-structured survey was used to gain insight into social attributes like age group, education level, land ownership and technical attributes such as agricultural practices, land acreage, crop type and motivating factors to use a BMP. Twelve, in-depth interviews on agricultural practices, tile drains and policy implications were conducted in the St. Joseph watershed located in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. A Likert scale and a nominal scale survey questionnaire in Monroe was used to obtain the responses from farmers and open-ended questions were used for farmers in the St. Joseph watershed. Chi square statistical test on the 40 respondents from Monroe County revealed that 17.5% believed that nutrient runoff is not considered a major factor for causing algal blooms in Lake Erie. Forty percent of respondents felt it was likely a problem but were not very concerned about the issue. Land ownership is an important factor in farmer’s decision to use BMPs or not. A landowner dictates the terms of land use. Soil testing was found to be the most important BMP for nutrient management. 75% of respondents mentioned that managing soil nutrients was a major concern. Farmer’s abilities to implement BMPs are related to his/her economic situation and available government incentives. There was more than 33% match between the ground reality and map and survey findings. |
