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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #416536
Research Project: Agricultural Management for Long-Term Sustainability and Soil Health

Location: Soil Management and Sugarbeet Research

Title: Characterizing and quantifying legacy phosphorus impacts within CEAP watersheds

Author
item Mott, Joshua
item Simpson, Zachary
item Elkin, Kyle
item Buda, Anthony
item FAULKNER, JOSHUA - University Of Vermont
item Hapeman, Cathleen
item McCarty, Gregory
item FOROUGHI, MARYAM - University Of Maryland
item Hively, Wells - Dean
item King, Kevin
item Osterholz, William - Will
item Penn, Chad
item Williams, Mark
item Witthaus, Lindsey
item PAWLOWSKI, ETHAN - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Locke, Martin
item Dalzell, Brent
item DOLPH, CHRISTINE - University Of Minnesota
item Feyereisen, Gary
item Bjorneberg, David - Dave
item Nouwakpo, Sayjro
item SCOTT, ISIS - Kansas State University
item DURIANCIK, LISA - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS, USDA)
item Bolster, Carl
item Kleinman, Peter

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/29/2023
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: While there have been great efforts to reduce phosphorus (P) runoff from agricultural lands over the past several decades, “legacy” P in agricultural soils continues to impede water quality improvement. Legacy P impacts vary widely across regions and agricultural systems as P mobilization processes are often complex and dynamic. To understand how current, site-specific management can allay these impacts, the USDA Legacy Phosphorus Project is investigating seven watersheds with a long-term history of water quality assessment as part of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project. We used the Annual Phosphorus Loss Estimator (APLE), an annual time-step model that has been corroborated for various soil types and management practices in the U.S., in order to simulate P loss in surface run-off at each location. We validated APLE model outputs with long term soil analysis data and/or field-scale runoff P loads provided by each site. Depending on the site’s context, we simulated 3 scenarios; 1) “business as usual”, 2) Phyto-mining by adjusting crop rotations and fertilization routines, and 3) stacking of practices to comprehensively confront legacy P sources and processes. This work will set site-specific expectations as to what management can achieve, the resources required, and the time needed to see desired improvements.