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Research Project: EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT AND USE OF ANIMAL MANURE TO PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Location: Animal Waste Management Research

Title: The potential for using a P loss model to improve the accuracy of the Kentucky phosphorus index

Author

Submitted to: Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute Symposium
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: February 17, 2012
Publication Date: March 19, 2012
Citation: Bolster, C.H. 2012. The potential for using a P loss model to improve the accuracy of the Kentucky phosphorus index. Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute Symposium. 31-32.

Interpretive Summary: The phosphorus (P) Index is an assessment tool developed to identify fields which are most vulnerable to P loss. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) has currently revised its 590 Nutrient Management Conservation Standard and as part of this revision, USDA-NRCS is requesting that states test the accuracy of their P index. Recent analyses have shown that there exists several limitations with the KY P Index indicating the need to update and revise the KY P Index. This study proposes a method for modifying the KY P Index using output from an empirically-based P loss model.

Technical Abstract: The phosphorus (P) Index is an assessment tool developed to identify fields which are most vulnerable to P loss by accounting for the major source and transport factors controlling P movement in the environment. The Kentucky P Index was developed over 10 years ago and since its inception; a significant amount of research investigating the factors governing P loss at the field scale has been published. The KY P Index, however, has not been updated to stay current with the literature. A recent analysis showed that there exists several limitations with the Index, including how each factor in the Index is weighted, the lack of terms to account for planned P application rates, and the use of land cover and field slope as surrogates for erosion rather than erosion rates as derived from RUSLE. Furthermore, a recent comparison between measured P runoff collected from sites in North Carolina and Georgia and estimates of P risk obtained with 12 southern P Indices showed that the KY P Index provided some of the poorest estimates of P loss risk of all the P Indices tested. These studies highlight the need to update and revise the KY P Index to better reflect the current state of the science. This study proposes a method for modifying the KY P Index by correlating it with output from an empirically-based P loss model.

   

 
Project Team
Sistani, Karamat
Loughrin, John
Bolster, Carl
Cook, Kimberly - Kim
Lovanh, Nanh
Silva, Philip - Phil
 
Publications
   Publications
 
Related National Programs
  Water Availability and Water Management (211)
  Climate Change, Soils, and Emissions (212)
  Agricultural and Industrial Byproducts (214)
 
Related Projects
   SOURCE TRACKING OF MICROBIAL COMMUNITY IN ANIMAL MANURE RESPONSIBLE FOR ODOR PRODUCTION
   EFFICIENT MANAGEMENT AND USE OF ANIMAL MANURE
   EVALUATION OF YIELD AND SOIL NUTRIENT RUN-OFF IN FIELD STUDY OF ALTERNATIVE FERTILIZER APPLICATION METHODS.
 
 
Last Modified: 05/22/2013
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