Location: Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research
Project Number: 8070-13000-015-027-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2023
End Date: Aug 31, 2025
Objective:
The Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network, which is organized by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), employs experimentation and coherent sets of measurements at 18 different sites across the US to advance the sustainable intensification of US agriculture and address agricultural concerns at national, regional, and local scales. The Upper Chesapeake Bay (UCB) LTAR site, located in central Pennsylvania, consists of three watersheds that capture the diversity of farming and physiographic conditions found in the region: 1.) Mahantango Creek (1968 – present) and 2.) Spruce Creek (2011 – present) represent the Northern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys non-karst and karst areas, respectively; and 3.) Conewago Creek (2011 – present) represents the Northern Piedmont.
Presently, LTAR research in Conewago Creek remains nascent relative to more established sites like Mahantango Creek. As such, the UCB LTAR, in partnership with colleagues at Penn State University, have established a set of objectives to foster long-term monitoring and research needs in the Conewago Creek watershed that address local priorities and the broader mission of LTAR.
Long-term monitoring objectives:
1. Continue routine stream water sampling at five locations in Conewago Creek watershed.
2. Assist ARS with the development of a rating curve at the Little Conewago Creek gauging station.
3. Assist ARS and Penn State with maintaining the s::can nitrate sensor in Little Conewago Creek.
4. Contribute to seasonal synoptic sampling of thirty sites across the Conewago Creek watershed.
5. Continue window shield surveys of BMPs in the Conewago Creek watershed.
Research partnership objectives:
1. Develop a database of watershed stakeholders for the Conewago Creek LTAR location.
2. Organize a meeting/workshop to explore opportunities for multi-institutional, collaborative research on the effects of the Conewago Creek Restoration Project.
Approach:
Penn State’s AEC will work closely with USDA-ARS’s Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit (PSWMRU) to address long-term monitoring and research partnership objectives that are specified in this agreement. In terms of long-term monitoring, AEC will allocate existing human resources, building space, and vehicles permanently located in the Conewago watershed to accomplish mutual objectives related to monitoring the effects of land use and conservation practices on water quality in major streams in the watershed. All grab samples collected as part of routine monitoring efforts in the watershed will be shipped to PSWMRU’s water quality laboratory in University Park, PA where they will be processed and analyzed for nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), suspended sediments, and other water quality parameters. AEC personnel will also work with PSWMRU scientists and technicians to expand hydrologic and water quality monitoring capabilities in the Little Conewago Creek watershed, including developing a rating curve for the stream gauging station at the watershed outlet, and maintaining and downloading the s::can nitrate sensor. Windshield surveys of best management practices (BMPs) will be led by AEC staff. In addition to regular watershed monitoring activities, AEC staff will assist PSWMRU with two objectives centered on the Conewago Creek research partnership. In the near term, AEC will help organize and plan a workshop that brings together a wide range of stakeholders to discuss opportunities for research on the efficacy of the Conewago Creek Restoration Project. Over the long term, AEC and PSWMRU will also work to build and maintain a database of watershed stakeholders that enables network scientists and collaborators to more effectively engage with farmers, industry, and agency partners in the Conewago Creek watershed.
