Decoupling our natural and artificial watersheds: An example of whole ecosystem complementarity

Agricultural regions of the world have vast natural watersheds of lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. Interwoven are large artificial watersheds of drain tiles and ditches. Just as household plants benefit from drains in their pots, so agricultural crops benefit from drain tiles in their fields. In today's world the drain tiles carry not only water but also fertilizers, antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, and other chemicals into the natural watershed. We analyzed where wetlands and buffers for bioenergy and other applications could be placed on the Minnesota landscape to intercept drain waters and help purify them before they reach the natural watershed.