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Title: THE USDA-ARS NORTH APPALACHIAN EXPERIMENTAL WATERSHED

Author
item Owens, Lloyd
item Bonta, James - Jim
item Nearing, Mark
item Shipitalo, Martin

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2002
Publication Date: 8/15/2002
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The USDA-ARS North Appalachian Experimental Watershed (NAEW) research station resulted from Congressional legislation in the mid 1930's to study the effects of agricultural land management on water and erosion. To address emerging environmental concerns in the 1960's and 1970's, movement of agricultural chemicals was studied with different management practices, and the effects of surface mining and reclamation on hydrology and water quality were investigated. The 424 ha NAEW is in the unglaciated area of east central Ohio with conditions representative of significant portions of several states. Six watersheds (WS), ranging from 30 to 120 ha, and 18 small WS (0.3 to 3.0 ha) are instrumented to measure surface runoff and to collect flow-proportional samples. Some WS have springs developed on clay layers that underlie the WS and are sampled so that the quality of the subsurface water can be evaluated. Another major feature of the NAEW is the 11 lysimeters maintained at 3 different sites that are used for water cycle and chemical movement studies. Each lysimeter has a surface area of 8.1 m2 and is 2.4 m deep. Since its creation more than 60 years ago, the NAEW has expanded its mission from studying and developing management practices for reducing runoff and erosion to include surface and subsurface water quality, validation and development of chemical transport models, and the development of weather simulation and storm generator models. This poster will present an overview of the NAEW, some of its major accomplishments, and its proposed research thrusts.