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Research Project:
Optimizing Nutrient Management to Sustain Agricultural Ecosystems and Protect Water Quality
Location:
Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research
Project Number: 1902-13000-009-00
Project Type:
Appropriated
Start Date: Oct 14, 2000
End Date: Oct 13, 2005
Objective:
1) Quantify impacts of fertilizer, manure, crop and grazing management on P, N and C cycling in soils; 2) define critical source areas and transport pathways of P and N by relating soil levels to losses in surface runoff and leachate, and delineate hydrologic processes controlling nutrient loss from watersheds; 3) determine stream channel hydrologic processes and fluvial sediment properties that control transport of nutrients and pathogens from edge-of-field to lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries; 4) develop and apply models and indices to assess and rank site vulnerability to nutrient loss and their impact on surface water quality; 5) define best management practices to minimize nutrient transfers from agricultural lands to water.
Approach:
We will conduct multiscale watershed-based study to assess the fate of P, N, and C applied to land as manure, fertilizer, and crop residues, describing chemical and physical interactions that control the transfer of P and N from soil to water and its subsequent transport in surface and subsurface flow in agricultural landscapes. We will identify key chemical and hydrologic factors controlling P and N export from agricultural watersheds, and locate where they occur on the landscape, so that we can define management practices that minimize nutrient transfers from agricultural landscapes. We will identify key chemical and hydrologic factors controlling P and N export from agricultural watersheds, and locate where they occur on the landscape, so that we can define management practices that minimize nutrient transfers from agricultural landscapes. We will also conduct research to evaluate in-stream processes controlling the export of nutrients and pathogens from agricultural watersheds, which modify edge-of-field losses before entering a lake, reservoir, or estuary, the ultimate point of impact of these losses. From this research, we will develop strategies and methods, including models and decision support systems, which will provide viable and reliable solutions to reduce the impact of land-applied P and N on soil and water resources. In total, the research will enable best or alternative management practices to be targeted to critical source areas of the landscape for the most efficient and effective control of nutrient loss at a watershed scale, which will minimize the impacts of nutrient and pathogen losses from agricultural landscapes on receiving water resources.
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