What do environmental standards typically regulate?

Environmental standards are typically designed to protect ecosystems and public health by setting guidelines for practices that can impact the environment. One of the key areas these standards regulate is the management of non-fertilized areas, such as turf buffers. These buffers play an essential role in minimizing the runoff of nutrients, including fertilizers, into waterways, thus preventing pollution and maintaining water quality.

By focusing on non-fertilized turf buffers, these standards encourage proper land management and sustainable practices that help to safeguard aquatic ecosystems and mitigate the effects of nutrient loading. Such regulations might outline the necessary width and maintenance of these buffer zones to effectively filter pollutants before they reach sensitive areas.

The other answer choices, while related to fertilizer application, do not primarily fall under the realm of environmental standards in the same way. Application rates can be influenced by agronomic practices but are not solely regulated by environmental standards. The choice of plant species and the types of application equipment may be guided by different criteria, such as performance or technology, but they do not specifically pertain to the environmental protections outlined by standards.