Engineering Solution Proposal

Vegetative Plant Buffer for Nutrient Runoff

Abstract

As different forms of agricultural refinement start to emerge, the usage of nitrogen-based fertilizer increases to optimize crop yield and quicken growth time. Over 100 million tons are applied to the Earth’s surface annually (Cary 2015), both helping and harming the natural environment. This “N-fertilizer” is at risk of over-saturating soil and running off into near water bodies, causing an excess spurt in growth of algae, which combines with cyanobacteria such as microcystin and further grows to be toxic to living organisms in the near habitat as well as deems the water as inconsumable. The objective of this paper is to propose an adaptation solution to counter the exacerbating issue of nitrogen runoff by establishing a buffer strip that is able to absorb the excess runoff that the already saturated soil is unable to absorb. This would provide a feasible option for the termination of chemical runoff changing the equilibrium state of aquatic ecosystems.