Project Number: 6206-13610-005-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Feb 08, 2002
End Date: Feb 07, 2007

Objective:
The objectives of this study are to: 1) Develop improved plant growth models and associated plant parameter databases; (2) Develop improved weather simulation models; (3) Develop improved small watershed models and databases for simulating intensively managed landscapes; and (4) Develop improved watershed scale simulation models that simulate nutrient, pesticide and pathogen fate and transport and can be utilized to produce a national assessment of environmental benefits of conservation programs to support policy decision and program implementation.

Approach:
The general approach is a combination of mathematical modeling with field and lab research to support the models. Plant growth models such as ALMANAC will be tested and refined to simulate irrigated areas with high evaporative demand. Field research will be performed to determine plant growth parameters for rice, root and tuber crops, and grasses. The GEM weather simulation model will be improved by: simulating extremely cold climates; testing and refining the underlying probability distributions; and generating wind speed, wind direction and dew point. Models for intensively managed landscapes, such as turfgrass and golf courses, will be developed by incorporating components for thatch layer transport, unique surface and subsurface drainage, artificially created soils on greens, and frequent irrigation and fertilization. Improved watershed decision-making will be accomplished by linking the SWAT watershed model to: the riparian ecosystem model; a bacteria fate and transport model; and a model for tile flow and depressional storage. Watershed studies will be conducted on the Leon River and Riesel watersheds to quantify environmental benefits that are attributable to on-farm conservation practices at the outlet of watersheds.

Project Team

Arnold, Jeffrey Green, Colleen Kiniry, James Richardson, Clarence

Project Annual Reports

FY 2003   FY 2002

Related National Programs

Water Quality & Management (201)   Integrated Farming Systems (207)

Related Projects

Application of Geographic Information Systems to Agricultural Management    Development of GIS for Environmental Quality Modeling    Soil and Crop Management for Resource Conservation in Mexico and the Southern United States    Conservation Effects Assessment Project - Temple    Effects of Conservation Practices on Soil and Water Resources in the Leon River Watershed    Software Tool to Delineate Hydrologic Flows into and from Wetlands