AGRICULTURAL WATER-QUALITY PRIORITIES - A SYMPOSIUM OVERVIEW

To meet the global needs of a growing population, both increased produ ctivity and additional land may need to be dedicated to agriculture. H owever, to effectively evaluate the impact of new farming strategies a nd agricultural chemicals on the environment, a broad perspective is n eeded to prevent simply shifting pollution from one part of the hydrol ogic cycle to another. The loss of agricultural chemicals to the envir onment may include a combination of processes such as volatilization, runoff and leaching, each exhibiting considerable spatial and temporal dependency. Subsequent losses of agricultural chemicals to the enviro nment may also be transported offsite, having a potential detrimental effect on the environment. This overview provides a brief introduction to the papers presented at a special USDA-ARS symposium entitled ''Ag ricultural Water Quality Priorities, A Team Approach to Conserving Nat ural Resources.''