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Title: Agricultural hydrology and water quality II: Introduction to the featured collection

Author
item Buda, Anthony
item WILLIARD, KARL - Southern Illinois University
item SCHOONOVER, JON - Southern Illinois University
item SRINIVASAN, MATHIREMANGALAM - National Institute Of Water And Atmospheric Research (NIWA) Ltd

Submitted to: Journal of the American Water Resources Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/19/2015
Publication Date: 7/14/2015
Citation: Buda, A.R., Williard, K.W., Schoonover, J.E., Srinivasan, M.S. 2015. Agricultural hydrology and water quality II: Introduction to the featured collection. Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 51(4):877-882.

Interpretive Summary: Agricultural hydrology and water quality is broad discipline devoted to understanding the association between modern agriculture and water resources. We summarized field, modeling, and synthesis studies on this important topic from locations in the continental United States, as well as in New Zealand. Studies highlighted water quality and restoration research in stream riparian zones, the management of surface drainage waters for water quality protection, conservation practice targeting in agricultural watersheds, and regional and national studies on legacy nutrients and best management practices for water quality protection. Taken together, the studies in this collection advance our understanding of current issues in agricultural hydrology and water quality and set new research priorities for the coming decades.

Technical Abstract: Agricultural hydrology and water quality is a multidisciplinary field devoted to understanding the interrelationship between modern agriculture and water resources. This paper summarizes a featured collection of 10 manuscripts emanating from the 2013 American Water Resources Association Specialty Conference on Agricultural Hydrology and Water Quality, which sought to provide a forum for research dissemination in this important area of study. The manuscripts covered a range of topics, including water quality and restoration studies in stream riparian zones, management of surface drainage waters for water quality protection, conservation practice targeting in agricultural watersheds, and regional and national scale studies in agricultural hydrology and water quality. Research on riparian areas highlighted the influence of seepage zones on near-term spatial and temporal water quality variations in streams as well as the potential lagged response between riparian restoration and the return of soil and water quality functions. In artificially drained landscapes of the US Midwest, three studies on the two-stage ditch found that it was more hydraulically stable than trapezoidal channels and that it also enhanced the treatment of nutrients and sediments in agricultural drainage waters. In addition, two watershed modeling studies demonstrated the value of pairing SWAT with farmer engagement to spatially optimize and adaptively target agricultural conservation practices for nutrient and sediment mitigation. At the regional and national level, long-term research in New Zealand spotlighted the growing problem of legacy phosphorus in surface water and groundwater, while two studies in the USA demonstrated the water quality benefits of targeting and possibly stacking best management practices in the Mississippi River basin for optimal water quality protection. In closing, the research summarized in this collection provides a snapshot of the complex association between agriculture, hydrology, and water quality, and identifies future research needs for improved agricultural management and stewardship.