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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Tucson, Arizona » SWRC » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #245602
Title: Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment Tool for Rangelands

Author
item GUERTIN, D. - University Of Arizona
item PAIGE, G. - University Of Wyoming
item Goodrich, David - Dave
item Nearing, Mark
item MILLER, S. - University Of Wyoming
item Heilman, Philip - Phil
item Stone, Jeffry
item RUYLE, G. - University Of Arizona
item BURNS, S. - University Of Arizona
item WEI, H. - University Of Arizona
item MCCLARAN, M. - University Of Arizona

Submitted to: Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/1/2010
Publication Date: 6/25/2010
Citation: Guertin, D.P., Paige, G., Goodrich, D.C., Nearing, M.A., Miller, S.N., Heilman, P., Stone, J.J., Ruyle, G., Burns, S., Wei, H., Mcclaran, M. 2010. Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment Tool for Rangelands. Proceedings CD-ROM of the Joint 9th Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference and 4th Federal Interagency Hydrologic Modeling Conference, June 27 - July 1, 2010, Riviera Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Interpretive Summary: This presentation describes recent improvements in AGWA, the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool, as the foundation of a decision support tool for rangeland watershed management. The improvements include incorporating the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) into the AGWA interface for hillslope assessments; developing parameterization methods that represent the complexity of rangeland sites for different models; developing tools that will allow users to represent and analyze the impacts of common rangeland management practices on runoff and erosion; and developing tools that will allow users to assess the economic costs of soil and water conservation practices. AGWA was developed jointly by the USDA-ARS, U.S. EPA, University of Arizona, and University of Wyoming; for more information visit the website: www.tucson.ars.ag.gov/agwa/.

Technical Abstract: Soil and water conservation is the keystone to sustainable livestock grazing and maintenance of native species on our western rangelands. Good rangeland management requires the ability to assess the potential impacts of climate and management actions on runoff and erosion at both hillslope and watershed scales. The premise of the project is that the practice of rangeland management can be improved if rangeland managers have Decision Support Tools (DSTs) that use readily available data and are easy-to-use, are built on range management concepts, and are designed to assess rangeland hydrologic and erosion processes. The project uses the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment tool (AGWA) as the foundation of a DST for rangeland watershed management. AGWA is a GIS interface for data organization, parameterization, integration, and visualization of models used in support of watershed assessments. The project integrates several ongoing projects to transform the current operational AGWA tool into a comprehensive DST for rangeland watershed management. Specifically, the project is: incorporating the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) into the AGWA interface for hillslope assessments; developing parameterization methods that represent the complexity of rangeland sites for different models; developing tools that will allow users to represent and analyze the impacts of common rangeland management practices on runoff and erosion; and developing tools that will allow users to assess the economic costs of soil and water conservation practices.