Location: Soil Drainage Research
Project Number: 5080-13210-003-019-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Jul 31, 2021
End Date: Sep 30, 2024
Objective:
The objective of this research will be to assess the water quality and ecologic effects of different crop production and conservation practices using a paired field, watershed, and single field with stacked practices approach.
Approach:
The water quality component will use three different approaches. and primarily be conducted in the Western Lake Erie Basin watershed. The first will be conducted at the field scale and use a paired before after control impact design where surface and subsurface data is collected during a baseline period (usually one crop rotation) and then a different practice is implemented and data is once again collected for a crop rotation. For the stacked practices component, two or more different practices will be installed in the field or edge-of-field in order to assess the effects of the single and combined practices. The watershed scale work will be accomplished by identifying 2 or more watershed with varying
degrees of conservation practices and identifying the water quality signatures from those fields. Ecological related research will be conducted in the Upper Big Walnut Creek watershed using a gradient design. Agricultural ditches with various types and extent of buffers will be identified and aquatic characteristics within each will be measured and compared to the other sites.
