Land-cover analysis for the Fort Cobb reservoir watershed, southwestern Oklahoma, 2005

Authors: Starks, Patrick; RAO, MAHESH - OK STATE UNIV.; SIEWE, SIEWE - OK STATE UNIV.

Submitted to: USGS - Scientific Investigations Report
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/15/2011
Publication Date: 9/20/2011
Citation: Starks, P.J., Rao, M., Siewe, S. 2011. Land-cover analysis for the Fort Cobb reservoir watershed, southwestern Oklahoma, 2005. In: Becker, C.J. (ed.). Assessment of Conservation Practices in the Fort Cobb Reservoir Watershed, Southwestern Oklahoma. USGS - Scientific Investigations Report. Available: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5257/.

Interpretive Summary: The USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Grazinglands Research Laboratory (GRL), El Reno, Oklahoma, conducts research on the Ft. Cobb Reservoir watershed (FCRW) as part of USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project. The FCRW is one of 14 benchmark watersheds studied by ARS to assess the impacts of conservation practices on selected environmental endpoints (e.g., water quality, sediment reduction, wildlife habitat) at watershed scales. Due to the size of the watershed, hydrologic models, such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), are required to study these potential impacts. One data source necessary to run SWAT model simulations is spatially-distributed land use data sets. Although some land use data sets exist for the FCRW, GRL determined it necessary to produce a baseline land use data set depicting “current” conditions. To this end, personnel from the GRL, in cooperation with personnel from the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, developed a land use data set for the Ft. Cobb Reservoir watershed from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper data collected during the months of March, June, September, and November of 2005. Land use statistics from the 2005 analysis indicated that 43, 34, 9, 5, 5, 4, and 2% of the watershed area was in winter wheat, grass/pasture, peanut/cotton, forest, roads, other summer crops, and water, respectively. The total land area devoted to annual crops in 2005 was estimated to be 55%, which is comparable to the total from a similar study conducted in 2001.

Technical Abstract: The USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Grazinglands Research Laboratory (GRL), El Reno, Oklahoma, conducts research on the Ft. Cobb Reservoir watershed (FCRW) as part of USDA’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project. The FCRW is one of 14 benchmark watersheds studied by ARS to assess the impacts of USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation practices on selected environmental endpoints (e.g., water quality, sediment reduction, wildlife habitat) at watershed scales. Due to the size of the watershed, hydrologic models, such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), are required to study these potential impacts. One data source necessary to run SWAT model simulations is spatially-distributed land use data sets. Although some land use data sets exist for the FCRW, GRL determined it necessary to produce a baseline land use data set depicting “current” conditions. To this end, personnel from the GRL, in cooperation with personnel from the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, developed a land use data set for the Ft. Cobb Reservoir watershed from Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper data collected during the months of March, June, September, and November of 2005. Land use statistics from the 2005 analysis indicated that 43, 34, 9, 5, 5, 4, and 2% of the watershed area was in winter wheat, grass/pasture, peanut/cotton, forest, roads, other summer crops, and water, respectively. The total land area devoted to annual crops in 2005 was estimated to be 55%, which is comparable to the total from a similar study conducted in 2001.