About the Course

Protecting the state’s water from nutrient contamination depends on adopting best management practices (BMPs) for land, water, and nutrient management in urban and agricultural settings. BMPs must be based on science and be practical and economical to adopt while meeting society’s needs. This course will cover the agricultural and urban water quality issues in Florida, their bases, water, land, and nutrient management strategies, and the science and policy behind the BMPs. We will focus on plant and crop systems but also will touch on animal systems. The first part of the course will focus on agricultural systems and the latter part of the course will focus on urban systems. Students will learn to evaluate BMP research and analyze its role in determining practices and policies that protect water quality. We will see how the “triple bottom line” (environment, society, and economics) interact in our decision-making process about BMPs.