Agricultural diffuse pollution from fertilisers and pesticides in China

Although contamination of waterbodies by nitrates and pesticides in rural regions as the main element of agricultural diffuse pollution has been gradually realised by agricultural and environmental scientists, and supported by rapidly growing pollution cases, it is still not considered a high priority environmental problem in China because of a lack of efficient monitoring programs to provide systematic analytical data. This paper brings together evidence in terms of surface water, groundwater and the agricultural ecosystem to show the current situation of water contamination related to excess applications of inorganic fertilisers and pesticides on arable land, research on the above topics, and the importance of understanding and support from both the public and government in association with further studies. (C) 1999 IAWQ Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.