Location: Soil Drainage Research
Title: ECB-WQ: A Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) - Eastern Corn Belt node field-scale water quality datasetAuthor
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Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Quality
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 12/17/2024 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Field-scale hydrology and water quality data are crucial to quantifying, assessing, and mitigating the impacts of agricultural crop production in the humid, poorly drained region of the Eastern Corn Belt (ECB). Precipitation, surface and subsurface discharge and water quality (i.e., dissolved reactive phosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrate-nitrogen, and total nitrogen) data from three edge-of-field sites encompassing the ECB Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network indicate that discharge tends to be greater from subsurface tile drainage compared to surface runoff. Similarly, nitrogen concentrations in the tile drainage follow and are generally greater in the tile drainage discharge. However, and in contrast, phosphorus concentrations are lesser in the tile drainage compared to surface runoff. The data lend themselves to many uses including but not limited to process understanding, assessing the impact of production practices, and constraining prediction technologies. These findings and the dataset should be useful for practitioners, extension and applied researchers, and policy makers. Technical Abstract: The Eastern Corn Belt (ECB) node of the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network is representative of row crop agricultural production systems in the poorly drained, humid regions of the U.S. Midwest and a significant focus for addressing water quantity and quality concerns affecting Lake Erie and the Gulf of Mexico. The ECB-Water Quality (ECB-WQ) database was developed to better facilitate understanding of water quantity and quality within this unique, systematic artificially tile-drained region and is critical for understanding implications of field management practices, quantifying environmental and production processes, and informing future policies. The objectives of this paper are to 1) present relevant background information and collection methodology; 2) provide summary analyses of measured data; and 3) provide details for accessing the dataset and discuss potential database applications. The ECB-WQ database is comprised of hydrology and water quality data from three privately owned farms in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana (USA). Specifically, the dataset includes information on site characteristics (drainage area, soil type), field management (fertilizer application, planting rate, yield), and daily discharge and measured nutrient concentrations from surface and subsurface tile drainage outlets. Discharge and water quality vary widely across the ECB and are paramount to developing innovative management strategies that balance crop production goals with environmental targets. The ECB-WQ dataset is available for download through the USDA Ag Data Commons. |
