Grantee Research Project Results
1999 Progress Report: An Integrated Ecological and Socio-Economic Approach to Evaluating and Reducing Agricultural Impacts on Upper Mississippi River Watersheds
EPA Grant Number: R825761Title: An Integrated Ecological and Socio-Economic Approach to Evaluating and Reducing Agricultural Impacts on Upper Mississippi River Watersheds
Investigators: Gowda, Prasanna H. , Haro, Roger J. , Napier, Ted L. , Ward, Andy
Current Investigators: Gowda, Prasanna H. , Burgess, Andrew F. , Haro, Roger J. , Napier, Ted L. , Mendez, Aida , Ward, Andy , Dalzell, Brent , Mulla, David , Kollman, Fred , Tucker, Mark , Stombaugh, Susie
Institution: University of Wisconsin - La Crosse , The Ohio State University
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: September 1, 1997 through August 30, 2000 (Extended to March 31, 2003)
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 1998 through August 30, 1999
Project Amount: $650,921
RFA: Water and Watersheds Research (1997) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , Water
Objective:
The objectives of this research are to: use a spatial-process model to predict agricultural discharges from two watersheds in the Upper Mississippi River Basin; use the model to evaluate potential water quality benefits associated with the adoption of alternative management strategies on these watersheds; develop regional-scale predictive models of ecosystem "health," biodiversity, and sustainability by relating information on biota and ecosystem functional processes to current and potential landscape composition and structure; and identify factors that affect adoption of conservation production systems among land owner-operators in the two watersheds. The Lower Minnesota River watershed in eastern Minnesota and the Maquoketa River watershed in northeastern Iowa are being studied. We recently extended our study to include Big Darby Creek watershed in central Ohio for a socioeconomic survey of farm owners-operators.Progress Summary:
In the third year of our project, we have completed following tasks: (1) modeling Lower Minnesota River watershed to calibrate the ADAPT model to predict flow, sediment and nitrate-N loadings; (2) development and evaluation of a set of alternative agricultural management practices for the Lower Minnesota River watershed to determine their impacts on water quality; (3) processing, taxonomic identification and analysis of the samples collected from both watersheds in 1998 and from Lower Minnesota River watershed in 1999; (4) evaluation of relationships between biological conditions in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order streams, stream habitat and agricultural management practices in the upland areas; (5) identification of factors that affect adoption of conservation production systems by compiling and analyzing socioeconomic data collected through a questionnaire survey and assessment of the environmental benefits of adopting alternative management practices; and (6) publication of many peer reviewed research articles in journals and presentation of several research papers at water resources related professional meetings. Two graduate research associates who were working on this project completed their thesis work and graduated in the third quarter of 2000.Calibration of the ADAPT model was done using the measured water quality data (1994-96) from six tributaries of the Lower Minnesota River watersheds. Statistical evaluation of the modeling results indicate that model performance is best for subwatersheds dominated by agricultural land use. Pollutant loadings from the remaining ungauged watersheds were estimated using the calibrated ADAPT model. For this purpose, subwatersheds in the Lower Minnesota River watershed were grouped into four regions: (1) southeastern, (2) western, (3) north-central, and (4) northeastern region.
Four alternative agricultural management practices were developed considering developments in the Lower Minnesota River watershed and in consultation with local experts: (1) Increased adoption of conservation tillage, (2) conversion of crop land to pasture, (3) varying N-fertilizer application rates, and (4) increased subsurface tile drainage. Model simulations were conducted to evaluate the effects of alternative agricultural management practices. Of the simulated scenarios, greatest reductions in nitrate-N loads (up to 7 percent) were observed in southeastern and western regions of the watershed when N-fertilizer application rates were decreased by 20 percent. Crop land in these regions are typically poorly drained and a major portion of the land is equipped with subsurface tile drainage systems. Model results indicate that a 75 percent increase in adoption of conservation tillage can reduce average annual sediment loads by up to an additional 57 percent. Increased adoption of conservation tillage is predicted to also increase nitrate-N losses. The impact of conservation tillage on nitrate-N losses offsets reduced losses of nitrate-N due to reductions in N fertilizer application rate.
Relationships between landscape and stream habitat characteristics and benthic macroinvertebrate community composition in both study watersheds were evaluated using macroinvertebrate data collected in 1998. Soil erosion potential was estimated for key landscape features using the University Soil Loss Equation. In the Maquoketa River watershed, stream habitat was of relatively low quality and was highly variable across sites. Benthic Macroinvertebrate - Index of Biological Integrity (BM-IBI) scores were strongly related to stream habitat variables but were not related to soil erosion potential. Topography and soil permeability may have determined the extent of stream channelization, which strongly affected stream habitat quality and macroinvertebrate composition. In the Lower Minnesota River watershed, stream habitat was of relatively higher quality and was evenly distributed across sites. BM-IBI scores were not related to individual habitat variables but had a strong relationship to soil erosion potential. In both study watersheds, BM-IBI scores increased with increased rates of soil permeability and conservation tillage, however, percent of row crop agriculture or forested land had no effect on BM-IBI scores.
Processing, taxonomic identification and analysis of the macroinvertebrate samples collected in 1999 are still in progress. A shortage of undergraduate student technicians has led to unexpected delays in our sample-processing schedule. Currently, we are integrating data from the first year's benthological survey with the ADAPT model output for three different crop management scenarios. This integration is currently limited to data from the Lower Minnesota River Basin. We anticipate that similar data/model integration for the Maquoketa River Basin will be completed by summer 2001.
Data collected by a socioeconomic survey of land owner-operators within Maquoketa (Iowa), Lower Minnesota (Minnesota) and Big Darby River (Ohio) watersheds were analyzed and compared. Data were collected about the following variables: production practices used at the time of the study, attitudes and values of land owner-operators, personal characteristics of the primary farm operator, characteristics of the farm enterprise, output of the farm operation, inputs to production of grain, participation in government conservation and subsidy programs, access to information sources, and a host of variables about future use of the farm enterprise.
Study findings revealed that farmers in all of the study watersheds had adopted some soil and water conservation production practices, however, they continued to use production practices that could negate the positive environmental benefits of the conservation practices employed at the time of the data collection. Many farmers reported that they did not expect to transfer their farm operations to their children.
Respondents indicated that they were aware of environmental consequences associated with production agriculture. However, they perceived that the greatest damage to the environment was being done by other farmers in their watershed rather than pollution coming from their farm operation.
Respondents perceived little risk associated with use farm chemicals. Examination of correlates of efficient use of agricultural nutrients (ratio of pounds of nutrient per bushel of grain produced) revealed that few variables were predictive of rates of nutrient use. Production agriculturalists operating large farms did not use fertilizers less efficiently than small-scale producers.
Comparison of adoption rates among the three watersheds revealed that extensive investments in conservation programs within the Darby Creek watershed have resulted in little benefits in terms of conservation behaviors compared with farmers in the other watersheds.
Research revealed that respondents were using extensive sources and multiple channels to obtain information about soil and water conservation within the study watersheds. Farmers sought information about soil and water conservation issues from conservation agencies. Respondents seldom used Extension for conservation information.
Future Activities:
At present, we are operating on a one-year, no-cost extension. Our efforts will concentrate on: (1) modeling the Maquoketa River watershed with the ADAPT model for water quality and developing and evaluating various alternative management practices; (2) processing, taxonomic identification, and analysis of the macroinvertebrate samples collected in 1999; and (3) developing manuscripts for publication in peer reviewed journals and presenting research findings in water resources related professional conferences.Journal Articles on this Report : 7 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 26 publications | 10 publications in selected types | All 9 journal articles |
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Type | Citation | ||
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Gowda PH, Mulla DJ, Dalzell BJ. Examining the targeting of conservation tillage practices to steep vs. flat landscapes in the Minnesota River Basin. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 2003;58(1):53-57 |
R825761 (1999) R825761 (2000) R825761 (2001) R825761 (Final) |
not available |
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Napier TL. Soil and water conservation policy approaches in North America, Europe, and Australia. Water Policy 2000;1(6):551-565. |
R825761 (1999) R825761 (2000) R825761 (2001) R825761 (Final) |
not available |
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Napier TL, Tucker M, McCarter S. Adoption of conservation production systems in three Midwest watersheds. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 2000;55(2):123-134 |
R825761 (1999) R825761 (2000) |
not available |
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Napier TL, Robinson J, Tucker M. Adoption of precision forming within three Midwest watersheds. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation 2000;55(2):135-141 |
R825761 (1999) R825761 (2000) |
not available |
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Napier TL. Use of conservation production practices in the north central region of the United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 2000;36(4):723-735. |
R825761 (1999) R825761 (2000) |
not available |
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Napier TL, Tucker M. Use of soil and water protection practices among farmers in three midwest watersheds. Environmental Management 2001;27(2):269-279. |
R825761 (1999) R825761 (2000) R825761 (2001) R825761 (Final) |
not available |
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Tucker M, Napier TL. Determinants of perceived agricultural chemical risk in three watersheds in the Midwestern United States. Journal of Rural Studies 2001, Volume 17, Issue 2, April 2001, Pages 219-233. |
R825761 (1999) R825761 (2000) R825761 (2001) R825761 (Final) |
not available |
Supplemental Keywords:
watersheds, soil, sediment, chemical transport, indicators, aquatic, habitat, survey, preferences, socioeconomic, willingness-to-pay, compensation, conservation, hydrology, biology, modeling, satellite, landsat, remote sensing, Midwest, EPA Region 5, agriculture, MN, IA, OH., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Water, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Water & Watershed, Nutrients, Hydrology, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, Environmental Chemistry, State, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Wet Weather Flows, Agronomy, Watersheds, anthropogenic stress, agriculturally impacted watershed, aquatic ecosystem, environmental monitoring, fate and transport, hydrological stability, nutrient transport, risk assessment, spatially distributed hydaulic models, wastewater treatment, Minnesota, Iowa, MN, biodiversity, soil and water conservation, agricultural discharges, farming, watershed, agricultural watershed, runoff, downstream effects, anoxia/hypoxia, biological integrity, decision model, hypoxic zones, regional scale predictive model, aquatic ecosystems, nutrient cycling, GIS, non-point sources, water quality, IA, remotely sensed data, land useRelevant Websites:
http://www.soils.umn.edu/~pgowda/epa_project/index.htmlProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.