Dr. Mark Clark, Department of Soil and Water Science - Nutrient Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Mark Clark has expertise in wetland ecology, water quality and watershed processes. His research interest include wetland nutrient assimilation and storage processes, vegetative succession dynamics, wetland macrophyte ecophysiology, and ecological engineering design using natural and integrated processes to improve water quality and enhance ecological function of altered landscapes. He is an Associate Professor in the Soil and Water Science Department and is also an Extension Specialist of Wetlands and Water Quality with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He teaches courses in Wetlands and Water Quality.
Goals of the Nutrient BMPs component - Once established, the capacity to achieve numeric nutrient criteria will depend on development and implementation of nutrient management strategies/practices that can address both new and "legacy" sources of nitrogen and phosphorus within a watershed. Regulatory provisions presently provide a presumption of compliance to agricultural operations if recommended BMPs are implemented, and urban landscaping and stormwater BMPs are being adopted into local and state regulations in an effort to meet various permit requirements. However, the capacity of BMPs to meet numeric nutrient criteria as well as the economic feasibility to implement those strategies necessary to achieve numeric nutrient criteria are uncertain. This component of the project will evaluate how effective existing BMPs might be at achieving numeric nutrient criteria as well as some of the tradeoffs between implementation of BMPs necessary to meet numeric nutrient criteria and the viability of agricultural and urban systems. Specific goals within this component are:
(1) How effective will present agricultural and urban BMP's be at meeting numeric nutrient criteria?
(2) What level of BMP implementation will be required to meet numeric nutrient criteria and how do BMPs related to source control vs. treatment differ in effectiveness and for different land use types?
(3) What are the implications of increased cost of BMP implementation on the viability of agricultural commodities and urban areas?
(4) What are tradeoffs (in resources, production yield, cost, treatment etc.) between the degree of BMP implementation and the degree of certainty in meeting numeric nutrient criteria?
(5) Can more effective reuse of the nutrient waste stream within and between agriculture and urban environments increase a systems ability to achieve numeric nutrient criteria or would it impact efforts to manage nutrient loads, and which approach would be more cost effective?
Mark Clark has expertise in wetland ecology, water quality and watershed processes. His research interest include wetland nutrient assimilation and storage processes, vegetative succession dynamics, wetland macrophyte ecophysiology, and ecological engineering design using natural and integrated processes to improve water quality and enhance ecological function of altered landscapes. He is an Associate Professor in the Soil and Water Science Department and is also an Extension Specialist of Wetlands and Water Quality with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. He teaches courses in Wetlands and Water Quality.
Goals of the Nutrient BMPs component - Once established, the capacity to achieve numeric nutrient criteria will depend on development and implementation of nutrient management strategies/practices that can address both new and "legacy" sources of nitrogen and phosphorus within a watershed. Regulatory provisions presently provide a presumption of compliance to agricultural operations if recommended BMPs are implemented, and urban landscaping and stormwater BMPs are being adopted into local and state regulations in an effort to meet various permit requirements. However, the capacity of BMPs to meet numeric nutrient criteria as well as the economic feasibility to implement those strategies necessary to achieve numeric nutrient criteria are uncertain. This component of the project will evaluate how effective existing BMPs might be at achieving numeric nutrient criteria as well as some of the tradeoffs between implementation of BMPs necessary to meet numeric nutrient criteria and the viability of agricultural and urban systems. Specific goals within this component are:
(1) How effective will present agricultural and urban BMP's be at meeting numeric nutrient criteria?
(2) What level of BMP implementation will be required to meet numeric nutrient criteria and how do BMPs related to source control vs. treatment differ in effectiveness and for different land use types?
(3) What are the implications of increased cost of BMP implementation on the viability of agricultural commodities and urban areas?
(4) What are tradeoffs (in resources, production yield, cost, treatment etc.) between the degree of BMP implementation and the degree of certainty in meeting numeric nutrient criteria?
(5) Can more effective reuse of the nutrient waste stream within and between agriculture and urban environments increase a systems ability to achieve numeric nutrient criteria or would it impact efforts to manage nutrient loads, and which approach would be more cost effective?