Climate change and wet winters threaten water quality

EXTREME winter rainfall - set to become more frequent with climate change - is overwhelming the ability of farmland to regulate pollution, putting water quality and aquatic eco-systems at growing risk.

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Scientists at Rothamsted’s North Wyke Farm Platform in Devon, Britain’s most monitored farm, have found that even well-managed grazing and arable systems are struggling to withstand modern winter wet weather extremes, leading to dramatically increased sediment loss from fields into rivers.