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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Florence, South Carolina » Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #391420
Research Project: Innovative Manure Treatment Technologies and Enhanced Soil Health for Agricultural Systems of the Southeastern Coastal Plain

Location: Coastal Plain Soil, Water and Plant Conservation Research

Title: Assessing instream-wetland capacity at controlling Phosphorus outflow from an agricultural watershed using SWAT model

Author
item Sohoulande, Clement
item Szogi, Ariel
item Novak, Jeffrey
item Stone, Kenneth - Ken
item Martin, Jerry
item Watts, Donald - Don

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/25/2022
Publication Date: 7/17/2022
Citation: Sohoulande Djebou, D.C., Szogi, A.A., Novak, J.M., Stone, K.C., Martin, J.H., Watts, D.W. 2022. Assessing instream-wetland capacity at controlling Phosphorus outflow from an agricultural watershed using SWAT model. Meeting Abstract.

Interpretive Summary: Abstract Only

Technical Abstract: Phosphorus (P) application to croplands is essential for crop production and the management of livestock manure nutrients. However, P over-application beyond crop assimilative capacity causes unwanted P losses into the environment. Yet, control of P transport into stream networks helps maintain P concentration below rates that could affect aquatic life and the ecosystem in general. At the watershed level, there is a possibility to temporarily trap the P transported from agricultural landscapes in in-stream-wetlands (ISWs). However, the long-term efficiency of these ISWs at controlling P release into stream-network or mitigating the impact of extreme precipitation events is less known. Interestingly, hydrological models can be helpful to portend the ISWs behavior in the long run and help better understand their behaviors under exceptional climate conditions. This study uses the SWAT model to evaluate an ISW capacity at controlling P outflow under variable climate conditions. The model was trained using experimental ISW data. Then a multi-decadal simulation was used to evaluate the ISW behavior under the spectrum of a variable climate. Results suggest that the P release control of ISW seems acceptable under low and moderate precipitation conditions. However, the P release is probably out of the control of the ISW during extreme precipitation events.