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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #274152
Title: Long-term agroecosystem research in the Central Mississippi River Basin: introduction, establishment, and overview

Author
item Sadler, Edward
item Lerch, Robert
item Kitchen, Newell
item ANDERSON, STEPHEN - University Of Missouri
item Baffaut, Claire
item Sudduth, Kenneth - Ken
item PRATO, ANTHONY - University Of Missouri
item Kremer, Robert
item Vories, Earl
item Myers, David
item BROZ, ROBERT - University Of Missouri
item MILES, RANDALL - University Of Missouri
item YOUNG, J - Retired Non ARS Employee

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/10/2014
Publication Date: 1/8/2015
Citation: Sadler, E.J., Lerch, R.N., Kitchen, N.R., Anderson, S.H., Baffaut, C., Sudduth, K.A., Prato, A.A., Kremer, R.J., Vories, E.D., Myers, D.B., Broz, R., Miles, R.J., Young, J. 2015. Long-term agroecosystem research in the Central Mississippi River Basin: introduction, establishment, and overview. Journal of Environmental Quality. 44:3-12. DOI: 10.2134/jeq2014.11.0481.

Interpretive Summary: This paper introduces a series about data and research from the Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed (GCEW), a long-term research watershed located in northeastern Missouri, USA. The watershed is prone to surface runoff despite shallow slopes, because of a clay layer that restricts downward flow. The objectives are to establish the context of long-term data and the federal infrastructure that provides it, to describe the genesis of the landscape, describe the anthropogenic changes that have been made to the land, to describe the establishment, to briefly summarize research published from within GCEW, and to introduce the series. This paper provides in one place summaries of geologic, anthropogenic, and research information that support the database in future use for research as part of the Central Mississippi River Basin node of the ARS Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research (LTAR) network. The paper will benefit scientists, policy makers, and watershed managers intending to use the data.

Technical Abstract: Many challenges currently facing agriculture require long-term data on landscape-scale hydrologic responses to weather, such as from the Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed (GCEW), a 12-, 31-, and 73-km2 nested watershed located in northeastern Missouri, USA. The watershed is prone to surface runoff despite shallow slopes, as a result of a significant smectitic clay layer 30 to 50 cm deep that restricts downward flow of water and gives rise to a periodic perched water table. This paper is the first in a series that documents the database developed from GCEW. The objectives are to establish the context of long-term data and the federal infrastructure that provides it, to describe the genesis of the landscape, describe the anthropogenic changes that have been made to the land, to describe the establishment history, to briefly summarize the collected research results published using data from within GCEW, and to introduce the series of papers. Initial data from GCEW were collected in 1971 with emphasis on hydrology. Substantial infrastructure was added in the early 1990s, with broader goals. In particular, plot- and field-scale experimental sites were established, groundwater well nests were installed, and water quality measurements were added at all scales for groundwater and surface water. During the Conservation Effects Assessment Project, measurements were added at 12 additional sites in 2005, some to scale GCEW up to the parent watershed, and others in parallel with that larger scale. These latter sites include the major tributaries that discharge to Mark Twain Lake. Research conducted in these contexts was collected and briefly described. This literature review provides a collected resource of research summaries that used the GCEW database and thus supports its future use in the Central Mississippi River Basin site of the Long-Term Agro-ecosystem Research network.