Publications by authors named "C Ritsema"

Evaluating changes in streamflow, sediment, and nutrient fluxes, as well as quantifying their influencing factors, is crucial for regional water resource protection. While the relationships between major influencing factors and these indicators have been widely studied, the quantitative contributions of the separate and interactive effects of these influencing factors have not been fully explored. This study quantitatively evaluated the changing characteristics of streamflow, sediment discharge, total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP), as well as the separate and interactive effects of various major influencing factors such as-rainfall, temperature, evapotranspiration (ET), revegetation, dam construction, and land use change-by applying the GeoDetector method to account for their spatial heterogeneity and contributions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Agricultural intensification in the Northwestern Indo-Gangetic Plain (NWIGP), a critical food bowl supporting millions of people, is leading to groundwater depletion and soil health degradation. This is primarily driven by conventional cultivation practices in the rice-wheat (RW) cropping system, which dominates over 85% of the IGP. Therefore, this study presents a systematic literature review of input management in the RW system, analyzes district-wise trends, outlines the current status, identifies problems, and proposes sustainable management options to achieve development goals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the presence of macroplastics (MaPs) and microplastics (MiPs) in agricultural soils across six farming systems in Quzhou county, North China Plain, revealing significant contamination levels in the topsoil.
  • Results indicate that abundance varied widely, with cotton fields having the highest levels of plastic pollution, and most microplastics were small fragments made primarily of polyethylene.
  • The research highlights that farming practices, particularly tillage and the use of plastic mulch, significantly affect the distribution and size of plastic debris in the soil, emphasizing the need for further studies on these impacts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The widespread and extensive use of pesticides in European crop production to reduce losses from weeds, diseases, and insects may have serious consequences on the ecosystem and human health. This study aimed to identify 20 active substances of high health risk, based on their detection frequency within and across the environmental matrices (soil, crop, water, and sediment) and to identify their associated hazardous effects. A sampling campaign was conducted across 10 case study sites in Europe and 1 in Argentina and included conventional and organic farming systems.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The presence of pesticide residues in waterbed sediments poses a significant concern for aquatic ecosystems' health. This study examined pesticide contamination in sediments of 38 water bodies, embedded in agricultural-dominated regions, across eight European countries. Three indicators were targeted: occurrence, type, and concentrations of multiple pesticide residues in sediments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF