Since European settlement, the wide coastal plain of the Southeast Atlantic states has been used for large agricultural operations producing soybeans, corn, cotton, peanuts, tobacco, and many other agricultural products. Recently, farmers have intensively planted more acreage with soybeans and corn, which is in part due to the biofuel demand. Increasing use of irrigation for these row crops has changed water flow (hydrology) in many of the region’s streams. Intensive hog and chicken farming have expanded as well. Improperly managed runoff from farms contributes excess sediments and nutrients to streams, which interferes with fish spawning, can lead to potentially harmful algal blooms, and can cause fish kills from dissolved oxygen [...]
