PFAS in Agricultural Systems: Guidance for Conservation Programs at USDA (2026)

Chapter: Appendix D: Potentially PFAS-Relevant Conservation Practices

Previous Chapter: Appendix C: PFAS Family Tree
Suggested Citation: "Appendix D: Potentially PFAS-Relevant Conservation Practices." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. PFAS in Agricultural Systems: Guidance for Conservation Programs at USDA. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29272.

Appendix D

Potentially PFAS-Relevant Conservation Practices

The committee reviewed the entire list of practices included in the fiscal year 2025 version of the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS’s) Conservation Practice Physical Effects matrix and identified 88 existing practices that could be further reviewed individually by NRCS for their relevance to PFAS contamination, transport, or fate.

TABLE D-1 Potentially PFAS-Relevant Conservation Practices

Practice Practice Code
Amending Soil Properties with Gypsum Products 333
Animal Mortality Facility 316
Aquaculture Ponds 397
Channel Bed Stabilization 584
Composting Facility 317
Conservation Cover 327
Constructed Wetland 656
Contour Buffer Strips 332
Contour Farming 330
Contour Orchard and Other Perennial Crops 331
Cover Crop 340
Critical Area Planting 342
Cross Wind Ridges 588
Cross Wind Trap Strips 589C
Suggested Citation: "Appendix D: Potentially PFAS-Relevant Conservation Practices." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. PFAS in Agricultural Systems: Guidance for Conservation Programs at USDA. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29272.
Practice Practice Code
Dam 402
Deep Tillage 324
Denitrifying Bioreactor 605
Drainage Water Management 554
Early Successional Habitat Development/Management 647
Feed Management 592
Fence 382
Field Border 386
Filter Strip 393
Fishpond Management 399
Forage Harvest Management 511
Grassed Waterway 412
Grazing Management 528
Groundwater Testing 355
Hedgerow Planting 422
Herbaceous Wind Barriers 603
Hillside Ditch 423
Irrigation and Drainage Tailwater Recovery 447
Irrigation Canal or Lateral 320
Irrigation Field Ditch 388
Irrigation Land Leveling 464
Irrigation Reservoir 436
Livestock Pipeline 516
Monitoring Well 353
Nutrient Management 590
Pasture and Hay Planting 512
Phosphorous Removal System 624
Pond 378
Precision Land Forming and Smoothing 462
Prescribed Burning 338
Range Planting 550
Residue and Tillage Management, No Till 329
Residue and Tillage Management, Reduced Till 345
Riparian Forest Buffer 391
Riparian Herbaceous Cover 390
Row Arrangement 557
Suggested Citation: "Appendix D: Potentially PFAS-Relevant Conservation Practices." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2026. PFAS in Agricultural Systems: Guidance for Conservation Programs at USDA. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/29272.
Practice Practice Code
Saline and Sodic Soil Management 610
Saturated Buffer 604
Seasonal Water Management for Wildlife 646
Sediment Basin 350
Silvopasture 381
Sinkhole Treatment 527
Soil Carbon Amendment 336
Spoil Disposal 572
Spring Development 574
Streambank and Shoreline Protection 580
Stripcropping 585
Structure for Water Control 587
Subsurface Drain 606
Surface Drain, Field Ditch 607
Surface Drain, Main or Lateral 608
Surface Roughening 609
Terrace 600
Tree/Shrub Establishment 612
Underground Outlet 620
Upland Wildlife Habitat Management 645
Vegetated Treatment Area 635
Vegetative Barrier 601
Vertical Drain 630
Waste Facility Closure 360
Waste Separation Facility 632
Waste Storage Facility 313
Waste Transfer 634
Waste Treatment Lagoon 359
Water and Sediment Control Basin 638
Water Well 642
Watering Facility 614
Well Decommissioning 351
Wetland Creation 658
Wetland Enhancement 659
Wetland Restoration 657
Wetland Wildlife Habitat Management 644
Wildlife Habitat Planting 420
Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment and Renovation 380
Next Chapter: Appendix E: PFAS-Relevant Resource Concerns, Effects, and Rationale for Nine Conservation Practices
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