ARS | Publication request: WEPP Model Application in CEAP Watersheds in NE Indiana

Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: December 14, 2009
Publication Date: June 20, 2010
Repository URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10113/44752
Citation: Flanagan, D.C., Cechova, K., Frankenberger, J.R., Zuercher, B.W. 2010. WEPP Model Application in CEAP Watersheds in NE Indiana [abstract]. American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) International Meeting, June 20-23, 2010, Pittsburgh, PA. 2010 CDROM.

Technical Abstract: The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is targeted at determining the impacts of conservation practices on off-site losses of sediment, nutrients, and pesticides. One of the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) benchmark CEAP watersheds is the St. Joseph River Watershed, located in northeastern Indiana, northwestern Ohio, and southern Michigan. The USDA-ARS National Soil Erosion Research Laboratory (NSERL) in West Lafayette, Indiana, has been conducting field and watershed monitoring in sub-basins of the St. Joseph River watershed since 2002. The area is largely agricultural, with major crops of corn and soybeans. Soils are moderately to poorly drained, and topography here is flat to gently rolling, with large numbers of closed surface depressional areas (potholes). While a number of hydrology and pesticide simulations have been conducted for this location with larger scale watershed models, no detailed modeling of sediment loss has been done up to this point. This paper will describe application of the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) model to small fields (~2 ha) where detailed measurements of climate, soil properties, topography, management, and storm runoff and sediment loss are available. Adequecy of WEPP model predictions will be evaluated and discussed for both uncalibrated and calibrated simulations. Additionally, plans are to apply WEPP to the next larger scale of watersheds (~300 ha) to determine potential effects of land management practices there on runoff and sediment loss. Some typical alternative management practices to evaluate will be conservation tillage, buffer strips, and longer crop rotations including small grains and/or cover crops.