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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Mississippi State, Mississippi » Crop Science Research Laboratory » Genetics and Sustainable Agriculture Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #402566
Research Project: Closing the Yield Gap of Cotton, Corn, and Soybean in the Humid Southeast with More Sustainable Cropping Systems

Location: Genetics and Sustainable Agriculture Research

Title: Projection of sediment loading from Pearl River basin, Mississippi into Gulf of Mexico under a future climate with afforestation

Author
item OUYANG, YING - Forest Service (FS)
item Huang, Yanbo
item PARAJULI, PREM - Mississippi State University
item WAN, YONGSHAN - Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
item GRACE, JOHNNY - Forest Service (FS)
item CALDWELL, PETER - Forest Service (FS)
item TRETTIN, CARL - Forest Service (FS)

Submitted to: Climate
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/16/2023
Publication Date: 5/17/2023
Citation: Ouyang, Y., Huang, Y., Parajuli, P.B., Wan, Y., Grace, J.M., Caldwell, P.V., Trettin, C. 2023. Projection of sediment loading from Pearl River basin, Mississippi into Gulf of Mexico under a future climate with afforestation. Climate. 11(108)1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11050108.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/cli11050108

Interpretive Summary: Sediment load in rivers is considered as both a carrier of contaminants to the agricultural and ecological systems. This manuscript reports a simulation study to predict sediment load from the Pearl River Basin, Mississippi into the northern Gulf of Mexico under a future climate with affrorestation. A SWAT-based HAWQS mathematical model was used for the simulation. The results showed a 30% reduction in annual sediment load with afforestation, which provides new information on how the future climate and afforestation would affect sediment load in the research area.

Technical Abstract: Sediment load in rivers is recognized as both a carrier and a potential source of contaminants. Sediment deposition significantly changes river flow and morphology and thereby affecting stream hydrology and aquatic life. We projected sediment load from the Pearl River basin (PRB), Mississippi into the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) under a future climate with afforestation using the SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool)-based HAWQS (Hydrologic and Water Quality System) model. Three simulation scenarios were developed in this study: (1) the past scenario for estimating the 50-year sediment load from 1966 to 2015; (2) the future scenario for projecting the 50-year sediment load from 2026 to 2075, and (3) the future-afforestation scenario that was the same as the future scenario except for converting the range-brush land located in the middle section of the Pearl River watershed of the PRB into forest evergreen land cover. Simulations showed a 19% decrease in sediment load for the future scenario as compared to the past scenario due to the decreases in the future precipitation and surface water runoff at some soil erosion vulnerable watersheds although the overall annual average precipitation in the PRB was larger in the future scenario than in the past scenario. Results revealed that spatial variability of precipitation at watershed-scale (rather than basin-scale) played a vital role in sediment load into the NGOM under a changing climate. Over both the past and future 50 years, the monthly maximum (113,550 ton) and minimum (4,908 ton) sediment loads occurred, respectively, in April and November; whereas the seasonal sediment load followed the order: spring > winter > summer > fall. Under the future 50 years climate conditions, a 30% reduction in the annual average sediment load with afforestation was observed as compared to without afforestation. This study provides new insights on how the future climate with afforestation affected sediment load into the NGOM.