7/23/2019 Peter Landschoot Seminar

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Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture

S MIN R

Peter LandschootPenn State University

Nutrient management in the Urban

Environment: Issues for the Chesapeake Bay

Watershed

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States, providing criticalhabitat for thousands of species of fish, birds, and mammals. As streams and rivers

meander through the mountains and valleys of the enormous 64,000 square mileChesapeake Bay watershed, they pick up nutrients and sediment from farms,

wastewater treatment facilities, forests, and developed areas. The rivers eventuallyflow into the northern portion of the Bay, where they deposit nutrients and

sediment-enriched water, resulting in oxygen depletion and habitat destruction. In2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) launched the Chesapeake

Bay TMDL Program, which places limits on pollutants and imposes schedules forpollution reduction plans for the 6 watershed states. This program impacts farmoperations, waste-water treatment facilities and urban/suburban land use. To

provide reasonable assurance that EPAs TMDL nutrient allocations will be met by2025, the watershed states have begun to impose restrictions on turfgrass fertilizers

and blackout dates for fertilizer applications. States have also initiated nutrient

certification programs for fertilizer applicators. Some state and local governments

are demanding changes in the way urban land is developed and managed. Futuredevelopment in urban areas within the Chesapeake Bay watershed is likely to

include smaller lawns, less area as impervious surfaces, rain gardens, buffer strips,

and diverse plantings.

September 24, 3:30 pm HORT 117

Reception at 3:10 pm HORT 117

If you are interested in meeting with the speaker, please contact Jennifer Deiser at 41301 or

jdeiser@purdue.edu

mailto:jdeiser@purdue.edumailto:jdeiser@purdue.edumailto:jdeiser@purdue.edu