ALBERT

Description: The second national pollution source survey showed that agricultural non-point source pollution (ANP) has become one of the main causes of water environment deterioration in Guangdong Province. It is important to clarify the ANP status in the province for the prevention and control of water pollution and the construction of rural revitalization. The improved export coefficient method was used to analyze the annual ANP loads and their spatial and temporal variation characteristics in Guangdong Province from 2009 to 2019. The seasonal and monthly pollution loads of ANP were also evaluated with consideration of monthly differences in fertilizer application, precipitation, livestock, and aquaculture. The impact of ANP on the water environment was evaluated by the unit area load coefficient method, and the main sources of ANP were explored. The results indicate that (i) from 2009 to 2019, the total nitrogen load in Guangdong province showed a decreasing trend and the total phosphorus load showed a rising trend with spring and summer being the peak seasons of pollution emissions in a year; (ii) The total nitrogen load trended decreasing in 76.2% of the cities and the total phosphorus load trended increasing in 61.9% of the cities; (iii) in general, the environmental damage caused by agricultural nitrogen and phosphorus loads in western Guangdong was more serious than that in Pearl River Delta, northern and eastern Guangdong; and (iv)the contribution rate of pollution source to nitrogen and phosphorus pollution loads from high to low is livestock and poultry breeding, planting and aquaculture.