2021 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Agricultural Best Management Practices

This handbook is designed to provide a summary of the principal federal and state (Florida) laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. Because these laws are subject to constant revision, portions of the handbook could become outdated at any time. The reader should use it as a means to determine areas in which to seek more information and as a brief directory of agencies that can help answer more specific questions.

Long-Term Oxbow Lake Trophic State under Agricultural Best Management Practices

A key principle of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) is to improve water quality by reducing agricultural-sourced nutrients and associated eutrophication. Long-term (1998–2016) lake summer trophic state index (TSI) trends of an agricultural watershed with agricultural best management practices (BMPs) were assessed. Structural BMPs included vegetative buffers, conservation tillage, conservation reserve, a constructed wetland, and a sediment retention pond. TSI included Secchi visibility (SD), chlorophyll a (Chl), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN). Summer TSI 1977 was >80 in 1998–1999 (hypertrophic) and decreased over the first 10 years to TSI 1977 ≈ 75 (eutrophic). TSI 1977 decrease and changing TSI deviations coincided with vegetative buffers, conservation tillage, and conservation reserve. The TSI(SD) decrease (>90 to <70) coincided with vegetative buffers and TSI(TP) decrease (>90 to <75) coincided primarily with conservation tillage and the sediment retention pond. TSI(Chl) increase (<60 to >70) coincided with conservation tillage and vegetative buffer. Results indicate watershed-wide BMPs can modestly decrease summer trophic state through increased water transparency and decreased TP, but these changes are off-set by increases in chlorophyll a to reach a new stable state within a decade. Future research should assess algal nutrient thresholds, internal nutrient loading, and climate change effects.

Medicinal VOCs in Plants Recommended for Prairie Strips and Pollinator Gardens as Prophylactic and Curative Support for Pollinating Insects: A Review

Plant VOCs are signaling compounds that attract pollinators, protect plants from stress, disease and predation, have allelopathic effects and play a role in plant growth and development. The purpose of this review was to evaluate pollinator plants for secondary metabolite VOCs such as monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes for their potential medicinal value to pollinating insects. To address disease pathogens impacting native pollinators and honeybees, plants with medicinal VOCs can be selected for prairie strips and pollinator gardens as agricultural best management practices. Eight flowering plants - bee balm, echinacea, catmint, prairie rose, lavender, thyme, oregano and red clover contain VOCs in their nectars and pollens such as caryophyllene, myrcene, germacrene, cymene, thymol, cineol, carvacrol, borneol, nonanal, linalool and terpineol that offer antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant benefits and some are acaricides that may aid in controlling the Varroa destructor mite (=jacobsoni).

Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Environmentally Safe Practices

This handbook is designed to provide an accurate, current, and authoritative summary of the principle Federal and Florida laws that directly or indirectly relate to agriculture. This handbook should provide a basic overview of the many rights and responsibilities that farmers and farmland owners have under both Federal and Florida laws as well as the appropriate contact information to obtain more detailed information. However, the reader should be aware that because the laws, administrative rulings, and court decisions on which this handbook is based are subject to constant revision, portions of this publication could become outdated at anytime. Several details of cited laws are also left out due to space limitations. This document is FE600, one of a series of the Food and Resource Economics Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Published December 2005. FE600/FE600: 2021 Handbook of Florida Water Regulation: Agricultural Best Management Practices (ufl.edu)