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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #308024
Title: Use of the soil and water assessment tool to assess winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency in the Choptank River Watershed, USA

Author
item Sadeghi, Ali
item LEE, S.I - Collaborator
item YEO, I.-Y. - Collaborator
item LANG, M. W. - Collaborator
item McCarty, Gregory
item HIVELY, DEAN. W. - Us Geological Survey (USGS)

Submitted to: ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/10/2014
Publication Date: 11/1/2014
Citation: Sadeghi, A.M., Lee, S., Yeo, I., Lang, M., Mccarty, G.W., Hively, D. 2014. Use of the soil and water assessment tool to assess winter cover crop nutrient uptake efficiency in the Choptank River Watershed, USA. ASABE Annual International Meeting. Paper No.26.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, a major tributary of the Chesapeake Bay, has been designated by the USEPA as “impaired waters” under Section 303(d) of the US Federal Clean Water Act of 1972. It has been reported that water quality deterioration in most rivers is the result of excessive nutrient loadings from non-point sources, such as agricultural fields. As part of the USDA Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), we are investigating the effects of winter cover crops on nutrient loads in the Choptank River. Above the tidal line, the Choptank River is fed by two major tributaries, the Tuckahoe to the west and the Upper Choptank to the east. These tributaries provide two adjacent sub-watersheds within the larger Choptank Watershed. Although these sub-watersheds are similar in size and have approximately the same area in agricultural production, monitoring data exhibit different nutrient export patters. The aim of this investigation is to apply the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (or SWAT) to each of the two sub-watersheds and compare model results with respect to pollution load amounts and patterns. It is expected that the outcome of this model exercise will improve understanding of the cause(s) of the observed differences in nutrient levels and the effectiveness of different cover crop scenarios that vary by species, planting date, and location.