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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Tifton, Georgia » Southeast Watershed Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #401487
Research Project: Shifting the Balance of Water Resources and Interacting Agroecosystem Services Toward Sustainable Outcomes in Watersheds of the Southern Coastal Plain

Location: Southeast Watershed Research

Title: Understanding land use impacts on water quality in small agricultural ponds of the southern Coastal Plain of Georgia

Author
item Pisani, Oliva
item Bosch, David - Dave
item Coffin, Alisa
item Strickland, Timothy - Tim

Submitted to: Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/7/2023
Publication Date: 6/4/2023
Citation: Pisani, O., Bosch, D.D., Coffin, A.W., Strickland, T.C. 2023. Understanding land use impacts on water quality in small agricultural ponds of the southern Coastal Plain of Georgia. Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Small ponds are an important feature of agroecosystems in the Southern Coastal Plain (SCP) of Georgia. These ponds are commonly used for irrigation of nearby croplands and are recharged by precipitation and storm runoff in addition to receiving pumped groundwater. Local producers are concerned about nuisance algae and the potential for toxic algal blooms which can foul irrigation lines and impair irrigation water quality. In this study, we investigated water quality characteristics in three small ponds located on two private farms within the SCP. While both farms include cotton-peanut cropping systems which are typical of the region, one farm is solely cropland while the other is an integrated crop-livestock farm. To understand how differences in water quality among the three ponds are related to land use, surface water samples were collected in 2021-2022 and analyzed for dissolved nutrients including total nitrogen (TDN), nitrate+nitrite-N (NO3+NO2-N), ammonia-N (NH4-N), orthophosphate-phosphorus (PO4-P), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations. In addition, the chemical characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were assessed using absorbance and excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy. Differences were observed in the chemical characteristics of DOM in the three ponds. The pond at the integrated crop-livestock site was dominated by fresh and small DOM structures of microbial origin while the two ponds at the cropland site were dominated by older and larger DOM structures derived from plants and soil. While the water quality characteristics of these three small ponds will be presented here, a goal of this project will be to identify associations among pond water quality, cattle numbers and pond use, and nutrient balances as they relate to harmful algal blooms and animal-human toxicity risk.