USand Cuban scientists collects river water samples (IMAGE)
Caption
At a bridge in central Cuba near Congojas, northwest of Cienfuegos, researchers collect river water. For the first time in more than 50 years, a joint team of Cuban and US scientists studied the water quality of twenty-five Cuban rivers and found little damage after centuries of sugarcane production. The scientists--from the University of Vermont, Cuba's CEAC (Centro de Estudios Ambientales de Cienfuegos), Oberlin College, and Williams College--also found nutrient pollution in Cuba's rivers much lower than the Mississippi River. Cuba's shift to conservation agriculture after the collapse of the Soviet Union--and reduced use of fertilizers on cropland--may be a primary cause. The research was published in GSA Today.
Credit
Joshua Brown/UVM
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