Linking geospatial information and effects of land managements to water and soil quality parameters

Authors: Fortuna, Ann Marie; Steiner, Jean; Nelson, Amanda; Moriasi, Daniel; Starks, Patrick; Northup, Brian; Gowda, Prasanna; Garbrecht, Jurgen; Zhang, Xunchang; Turner, Kenneth

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/7/2019
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Abstract only

Technical Abstract: Assessment of indicators of water (H2O) quality and soil parameters can require separate research plots due to the differences in scales needed to evaluate water vs soil quality or health. This study combines geospatial data and a landform element classification scheme to derive landform complexes to codify the collection of soil and water data at variable scale within a single field experiment, the water resources and erosion watersheds experiment (WRE) located at the USDA-ARS Grazinglands Research Laboratory El Reno, OK. The experiment contains eight 1.6 ha watershed treatments established in 1978 to monitor water quality that include runoff amount, suspended sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus. Current treatments include native warm season grasslands or winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) managed by either conventional or no-till systems. We have also established new water quality and soil health baselines that will integrate a diversified adaptive crop livestock system. The landform complexes serve as replicates within and among the eight 1.6 ha sized watershed treatments that serve as paddocks (3-4% slope, westerly exposure) allowing us to monitor soil health at field (m2) and watershed scales (ha). We conducted a Class I soil survey in conjunction with measurements collected by electromagnetic induction sensing to define the landform complexes needed to create uniform zones of management that represent the variable characteristics affecting production within the larger watersheds. Soil quality measurements provide information with respect to properties that affect H2O movement, soil fertility and plant nutrient efficiency, which can directly impact water quality. Soil quality parameters related to agronomic management collected from smaller meter sized spatial zones will be used to monitor as well as parameterize and validate the Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender Model (APEX) to predict the effects of alternative land management on water quality.