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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Watershed Physical Processes Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #401764
Research Project: Science and Technologies for Improving Soil and Water Resources in Agricultural Watersheds

Location: Watershed Physical Processes Research

Title: CEAP special project: watershed legacy sediment assessment

Author
item Langendoen, Eddy
item Bingner, Ronald - Ron
item Kuhnle, Roger
item Locke, Martin
item Wells, Robert - Rob
item Wren, Daniel
item DURIANCIK, LISA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)

Submitted to: International Soil and Water Conservation Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2023
Publication Date: 8/6/2023
Citation: Langendoen, E.J., Bingner, R.L., Kuhnle, R.A., Locke, M.A., Wells, R.R., Wren, D.G., Duriancik, L. 2023. CEAP special project: watershed legacy sediment assessment. International Soil and Water Conservation Conference. Des Moines, IA. August 6-9, 2023.

Interpretive Summary: ABSTRACT ONLY.

Technical Abstract: Identifying the causes and implementing appropriate solutions for excessive sediment loading has proven challenging because a multitude of natural and anthropogenic factors influence erosion and sediment delivery. In agricultural landscapes, excessive sediment loading has been documented from cultivated lands, but an increasing body of literature is demonstrating that fluvial channel erosion can also be a dominant sediment source and high sediment loadings are better explained by recruitment of anthropogenic (i.e., legacy) sediment from floodplains or impoundments than from cultivated lands. Hence, improving our ability to identify and document the sources of sediment within watersheds is essential to helping us design and implement effective restoration and conservation strategies within watersheds, including within the stream network itself, and to address sediment sources, including legacy (or historical) sources of sediment. The CEAP Special Project entitled “Watershed Legacy Sediment Assessment” was funded beginning Fiscal Year 2023 with three specific year-1 goals: (1) Explore and enhance tools used to identify and document sources of legacy sediment in agricultural watersheds; (2) Characterize legacy sediment erosion and delivery processes within two CEAP study watersheds; and (3) Enhance process understanding of nitrogen and phosphorus remobilization in legacy sediment for more effective restoration strategies. Expected outcomes of the Special Project are: (1) Better representation of legacy sediment in models; (2) Improved understanding of the potential for conservation practices to improve water quality by mitigating legacy sources of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment; and (3) USDA conservation practices and programs become more effective at producing watershed outcomes.