QUANTUM Freshwaters

Quantum is working with scientists, farmers, industry and regulators to quantify the nutrient enrichment, pathogenic and ecotoxicological impacts of livestock farming on UK rivers.

Is livestock farming a key driver for changing quality in UK rivers?

Background

Cattle and sheep farming is concentrated in the wetter north and west of the UK on 10M hectares of grassland which constitutes 57% of all UK agricultural land. There were 9.65M cattle, 32.7M sheep in the UK in 2020. The estimated production of nitrogen (N) is 4 times as much, and of phosphorus (P) is 3 times as much as people in UK catchments and that 80% of oestrogen in the UK environment derives from livestock, with cattle excreting an order of magnitude more oestrogen than humans.

Livestock-derived pathogens, veterinary pharmaceuticals and other ecotoxins, their processing, critical concentrations and ensemble impacts in UK river ecosystems remain to be established, as do their interactions with livestock-derived organic nutrient loading.

The role of environmental character and function in transforming these contaminant mixes and their impacts on UK rivers is unknown, creating uncertainty in the efficacy of both current mitigation and management strategies, and their likely efficacy under future climate change.

Delivering the Science

Theme 1

Exploring how climate and catchment changes affect the sources and processes by which pollutants from livestock farming, enter, mix, and are transported through and leave river systems.

Theme 2

Investigating the impact of the mixtures of chemical and biological contaminants from different types of livestock farming, and their exposure regimes on UK river ecosystems.

Theme 3

Enabling and informing the development of better plans for adaptation, mitigation and detection of the risks of livestock farming as a key driver of declining river quality, both now and in the future.