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ARS Home » Plains Area » Temple, Texas » Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #309453
Title: Impact of the agricultural research service watershed assessment studies on the conservation effects assessment project cropland national assessment

Author
item Arnold, Jeffrey
item Harmel, Daren
item JOHNSON, MARI-VAUGHN - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
item Bingner, Ronald - Ron
item Strickland, Timothy - Tim
item Walbridge, Mark
item SANTHI, CHINNASAMY - Texas Agrilife Research
item DILUZIO, MAURO - Texas Agrilife Research
item WANG, XIUYING - Texas Agrilife Research

Submitted to: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/3/2014
Publication Date: 9/15/2014
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/60444
Citation: Arnold, J.G., Harmel, R.D., Johnson, M.-V.V., Bingner, R.L., Strickland, T.C., Walbridge, M.R., Santhi, C., Diluzio, M., Wang, X. 2014. Impact of the agricultural research service watershed assessment studies on the conservation effects assessment project cropland national assessment. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 69(5):137A-144A.

Interpretive Summary: USDA initiated the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) in 2002 to analyze societal and environmental benefits gained from the increased conservation program funding provided in the 2002 Farm Bill. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) was responsible for supplying modeling technology for a national conservation assessment and also for assuring that the CEAP project was science based. To meet these objectives, ARS initiated and led the Benchmark Watershed Studies. This paper discusses the impact that the Benchmark Watershed Studies have had on CEAP and the larger science community with specific emphasis on the development and validation of models used in the national conservation assessment. ARS scientists and their collaborators continue research and watershed monitoring at several of the benchmark watersheds. The models are constantly being upgraded to meet the needs of CEAP and other conservation assessments across the globe.

Technical Abstract: USDA initiated the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) in 2002 to analyze societal and environmental benefits gained from the increased conservation program funding provided in the 2002 Farm Bill. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) initiated the CEAP Watershed Assessment Studies to estimate conservation benefits at the national and regional scales and to establish a scientific understanding of the impacts of conservation practices at the watershed scale. ARS initiated and led the ARS benchmark watershed studies. The benchmark watershed studies were structured into five specific objectives that included: 1) Database Development. 2) Watershed Design. 3) Modeling of Watersheds. 4) Economic Assessment. 5) Regionalization of Models. 6) Quality Assurance. This paper focuses on the impacts of Objective 3, Modeling of Watersheds, on the CEAP national assessments and the larger science community. Impacts include: 1. The APEX and SWAT models used in the national assessment were calibrated and validated at finer resolution than was previously possible using USGS stream gage data. During calibration and validation, several model shortcomings were discovered and consequently numerous improvements were made to both models. 2. Work on model validation guidelines provided statistical goodness-of-fit recommendations for the CEAP national assessments. In addition to the direct impact on CEAP simulations, the manuscript from the study has been cited in over 1,100 studies and is having impact well beyond CEAP. 3. Work on uncertainty created tools that are now being used more routinely in applying models for conservation and environmental assessment. 4. Tools were developed to aid in development of responsive watersheds and to estimate cost-effectiveness of specific practices, suites of practices, and targeted placement. 5. Additional model development and validation was conducted to improve model response to timing of man¬agement and temporal resolution of process algorithms. ARS scientists and their collaborators continue research and watershed monitoring at several of the benchmark watersheds. The models are constantly being upgraded to meet the needs of CEAP and other conservation assessments across the globe.