Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Tucson, Arizona » SWRC » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #274306
Title: The Nashua agronomic, water quality, and economic dataset

Author
item Heilman, Philip - Phil
item KANWAR, R. - Iowa State University
item Malone, Robert - Rob
item Ma, Liwang
item Hatfield, Jerry
item BOYLE, K - Devtreks

Submitted to: Journal of Soil and Water Conservation
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2012
Publication Date: 11/15/2012
Citation: Heilman, P., Kanwar, R., Malone, R.W., Ma, L., Hatfield, J.L., Boyle, K. 2012. The Nashua agronomic, water quality, and economic dataset. Journal of Soil and Water Conservation. 67(6):502-512. https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.67.6.502.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2489/jswc.67.6.502

Interpretive Summary: This paper describes an extensive field-scale agronomic, water quality and economic datatset from the 1990-2003 on the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua, Iowa. The dataset consists of measured values of corn and soybean yields, tileflow, N concentration, and N loading for 504 plot years. In addition, an extensive simulation exercise, described in a special issue of Geoderma (Volume 140, No. 3, pages 217-322), the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM) was parameterized with the measured data. Both datasets can be accessed and explored graphically through a downloadable Microsoft Access relational database. Crop budgets corresponding to the 504 plot years of data have also been created with the DevTreks social budgeting tool and can be downloaded. Other information on Nashua that would complement additional research with this rich dataset can be downloaded from http://apps.tucson.ars.ag.gov/nashua.

Technical Abstract: This paper describes a dataset relating management to nitrogen (N) loading and crop yields from 1990 to 2003 on 36, 0.4 ha (1 ac) individually tile-drained plots on the Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Nashua, Iowa, United States. The field-measured data were used to calibrate the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM), and the results were summarized in a special issue of Geoderma (Ahuja and Hatfield 2007). With a comprehensive, long-term measured dataset and a model that simulates many of the components of the agricultural system, one can begin to understand the effects of management practices on N loading, crop yields, and net income to the farmers. Other researchers can use this dataset to assess the effects of management on similar tile-drained systems occurring some distance from Nashua, under alternative climates and soils, with other management systems, or with simulation models using different process representations. By integrating the understanding developed at Nashua with datasets from other highly monitored sites and other sources, progress can be made in addressing problems related to excessive N fluxes in the Mississippi Basin. An example 30-year RZWQM simulation of 18 management systems implies that significant management changes are needed to meet the goal of reducing N loads to the Gulf of Mexico by 45%. This paper and the associated datasets are intended to be used in conjunction with the analyses and process descriptions presented in the Geoderma special issue. The datasets and additional explanatory materials are available for download at http://apps.tucson.ars.ag.gov/nashua.