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Title: PARAMETERIZING CENTURY TO MODEL CULTIVATED AND NONCULTIVATED SITES IN THE LOESS REGION OF WESTERN IOWA

Author
item MANIES, K - USGS
item HARDEN, J - USGS
item Kramer, Larry
item PARTON, W - USGS

Submitted to: United States Geological Survey Water Supply
Publication Type: Government Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Mississippi Basin Carbon Project (MBCP) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) was created to study the soils and sediments of the Mississippi river basin. A goal of MBCP was to describe the effect of soil erosion and sediment deposition of the movement of carbon. The Century model was used to describe the historical carbon dynamics of two field sites in the loess region of western Iowa. This report describes how Century version 4.0 was parameterized to represent an uncultivated prairie site and a cultivated rowcrop site. The Century model was modified to accommodate runoff in the soil water budget and to correct an inconsistency of the algrorithm for nitrogen fixation of plants. The Century model was successfully used to predict the carbon dynamics of upland sites for the period of 1860 to 2000 when native prairie land was converted to agricultural production.