Project Number: 5342-12660-005-05
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Aug 01, 2012
End Date: Jul 31, 2017

Objective:
The objectives of this cooperative research project are to develop new methods and technologies to assess the effectiveness of conservation practices currently employed on rangelands of the Western United States. The project involves the measurement and modeling of hydrology, erosion and sediment yield at a range of scales, with an emphasis on the development of a dynamic model with capability to interface with the watershed models and a user-friendly, web-based interface for representing both disturbed and undisturbed site conditions on rangelands with risk-based analysis, with capability for representing orographic precipitation effects, and with inter-storm updates to key model parameters. The tool will be implemented and tested for application to the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). Challenges include the ability to model hydrologic and sediment-related processes across scales ranging from a few meters to kilometers. The approach will entail significant geospatial database and modeling needs which are acquired through our cooperator at the Univ. of Arizona.

Approach:
The project will a) change RHEM model equations from the current steady-state to fully dynamic (DRHEM) so that intra-storm changes in erodibility common to many disturbed conditions can be represented, b) incorporate existing technology based on PRISM and CLIGEN into the DRHEM model framework to allow modification of precipitation and temperature inputs to account for orographic effects that dominate spatial patterns on the western U.S., c) provide new data for DRHEM model development, parameter estimation, and validation studies, d) develop a catalog of DRHEM input for Ecological Site Descriptions and critical rangeland management practices, e) develop a catalog of the spatial and temporal scale of rangeland BMPs and how they should be represented in the watershed model at the larger allotment or landscape scale, f) couple DRHEM and KINEROS2 and test over a range of conditions, g) integrate the DRHEM/KINEROS2/SWAT model into the AGWA GIS framework, h) develop AGWA tools to delineate and represent rangeland conservation management practices with NRCS, and i) conduct large area testing of the integrated tool in close coordination with the ARS pilot watershed effort for Rangeland CEAP.