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| Scientific Investigations Report    2006-5012 |

| County-Level Estimates of Nutrient Inputs to the Land      Surface of the Conterminous United States, 1982–2001
By Barbara C. Ruddy, David L. Lorenz, and David K. Mueller

*This document  is available in pdf format:SIR 2006-5012 (2.24        MB)—**ONLINE ONLY**      (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)*

Errata Sheet

pdf format errata sheet

The citation for this report, in USGS format, is           as follows: Ruddy, B.C., Lorenz, D.L., and Mueller, D.K., 2006, County-Level          Estimates of Nutrient Inputs to the LandSurface of the Conterminous United States, 1982–2001: U.S. Geological SurveyScientific Investigations Report 2006-5012, 17 p.

Abstract
	  Nutrient input data for fertilizer use, livestock manure, and atmospheric	  deposition from various sources were estimated	  and allocated to counties in the conterminous United States for the years	  1982 through 2001. These nationally consistent	  nutrient input data are needed by the National Water-Quality Assessment	  Program for investigations of stream- and ground-water quality. For nitrogen,	  the largest source was farm fertilizer; for phosphorus, the largest sources	  were farm fertilizer and livestock manure. Nutrient inputs from fertilizer	  use in nonfarm areas, while locally important, were an order of magnitude	  smaller than inputs from other sources. Nutrient inputs from all sources	  increased between 1987 and 1997, but the relative proportions of nutrients	  from each	  source were constant. Farm-fertilizer inputs were highest in the upper	  Midwest, along eastern coastal areas, and in irrigated areas of the West.	  Nonfarm-fertilizer use was similar in major metropolitan	  areas throughout the Nation, but was more extensive in the more populated	  Eastern and Central States and in California. Areas of greater manure inputs	  were located throughout the South-central and Southeastern States and in scattered	  areas of the West. Nitrogen deposition from the atmosphere generally	  increased from west to east and is related to the location of major sources	  and the effects of precipitation and prevailing	  winds. These nutrient-loading data at the county level are expected to	  be the fundamental basis for national and regional assessments of water quality	  for the National Water-Quality Assessment Program and other large-scale programs.
Contents

Foreword            
Abstract            
Introduction            
Purpose and Scope            
 Acknowledgments            
Data Sources            
 Association of American Plant Food      Control Officials            
Census of Agriculture            
U.S. Census Bureau            
National Atmospheric Deposition Program            
Estimation of      County-Level Nutrient Inputs            
Nutrient Inputs from Fertilizer Use            
Nutrient Inputs from      Livestock Manure            
Nutrient Inputs from Atmospheric Deposition            
Description      of the County-Level Nutrient-Input Dataset            
Spatial and Temporal Patterns      in Nutrient Inputs            
Allocation of Nutrient Inputs to Specific Land Uses            
Spatial      Distribution of Nutrient Inputs            
Temporal Changes in Nutrient Inputs            
Summary            
 References Cited            
Nutrient-input      data (Available in Excel format)            
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U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological SurveyPersistent URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/sir/2006/5012/		Page Contact Information: USGS Publishing NetworkLast modified: Thursday, December 01 2016, 06:53:50 PM	    |
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