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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #384277
Research Project: Agroecosystem Benefits from the Development and Application of New Management Technologies in Agricultural Watersheds

Location: Agroecosystems Management Research

Title: Threshold behavior of tile outflow in relation to water table depth

Author
item Logsdon, Sally

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/10/2021
Publication Date: 11/10/2021
Citation: Logsdon, S.D. 2021. Threshold behavior of tile outflow in relation to water table depth [abstract]. ASA-CSSA-SSSA annual meeting. Paper No. 132551.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Soil and landscape characteristics influence how tiles respond to water table depth. The purpose of this study was to determine what soil or landscape properties were associated with a water table - tile sharp cutoff response (threshold). Over four years, we manually measured water table depths in 30 plots, and tile outflow collection was both automated and manual. The manual collection included documentation of tile monitoring overflow after intense rains when data should not be used. The water table depths were matched with total tile outflow for days with valid data on that day. The automated tile flow data was used to determine how fast the tiles responded to rain. For half of the plots, there was sharp cutoff for water table depth between when there was tile flow and where there was not tile flow. These threshold water table depths ranged from 0.93 to 1.25 m. Water table depths for no tile flow versus flow were significant for 13 plots. Six well sites had a layer of sand just above the tile depth, which can influence the difference between water table rise and fall.