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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Water Quality and Ecology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #148229
Title: REDUCING AGRICULTURAL NON-POINT SOURCE CONTAMINATIONS: EVOLVING CONCEPTS ON USE OF WETLAND VEGETATION FROM ARS/COOPERATOR RESEARCH

Author
item Cooper, Charles
item Moore, Matthew
item Smith Jr, Sammie
item Testa Iii, Sam
item Knight, Scott

Submitted to: Science and Sustainability Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2003
Publication Date: 4/12/2003
Citation: Cooper, C.M., Moore, M.T., Smith Jr, S., Testa III, S., Knight, S.S. 2003. Reducing agricultural non-point source contaminations: evolving concepts on use of wetland vegetation from ARS/cooperator research. Proceedings of the 5th Science And Sustainability Conference for the University of Mississippi Field Station and Center for Water Wetland Resources. Publication No. 19. no page numbers.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Ecologists have realized the value of natural wetlands in trapping/processing contaminants for decades. Research on constructed wetlands for tertiary treatment of municipal waste began in the 1980s. Concepts rapidly moved to processing of other wastes, including concentrated animal waste. In 1991 - 1995, ARS (USDA-Agricultural Research Service) and NRCS (USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service) performed a constructed wetland study on concentrated dairy parlor milking waste. In 1997, we simulated a storm-flow event with insecticides in a natural forested wetland in Sunflower County, Mississippi. Beginning in 1998, ARS scientists extended the constructed wetland concept to pesticides and began experimentation on pesticide reduction in constructed wetlands with cooperators at the University of Mississippi Field Station (UMFS). Additional cooperators during the three years of experiments included Braunschwieg Technical University in Germany and Arkansas State University. We then postulated that vegetated agricultural drainage ditches should be effective in processing pesticides/nutrients and began experiments in the Mississippi delta in 2002. Research for 2003 includes: 1) vegetated ditch processing experiments for pesticides and nutrients at the UMFS, 2) pesticide reduction experiments in the Mississippi delta cooperative with ARS scientists from Stoneville, MS, and 3) a vegetated ditch experiment at the Delta Conservation and Demonstration Center near Greenville, MS. cooperative with USDA-NRCS and the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Users of results include state governments, USEPA, USDA-NRCS and private industry. Highlights of results will be discussed.