ARS | Publication request: Tools to improve the placement of conservation practices in watersheds

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 1, 2012
Publication Date: July 25, 2012
Citation: Tomer, M.D., Veith, T.L., Baffaut, C., Mccarty, G.W. 2012. Tools to improve the placement of conservation practices in watersheds [abstract]. Soil and Water Conservation Society Conference Abstract Book. p. 16-17.

Technical Abstract: Conservation programs can become costly and ineffective if implemented based solely on voluntary landowner participation rather than on implementing BMPs where reduction potentials are greatest and their impacts most cost-effective. Studies have long reported that the successes of nonpoint source pollution control efforts depend upon the ability to properly identify, target, and remediate critical source areas of pollution. This presentation will provide an update on technologies that can help prioritize which conservation practices should be most effective for improving water quality in watersheds and where they should be placed to provide that benefit with maximum effectiveness. Simulation models, remote sensing data, and terrain analyses comprise a variety of new approaches for watershed-scale conservation planning and assessment. These technologies cross scales from identifying zones with fields to broad changes across the watershed and often include additonal benefits such as increasing ecosystem services or decreasing farmer costs. Integration of these hydrologic and topographic approaches with the response of the whole farm system can lead to a collaborative and integrated framework that promotes successful and effective water quality control at the watershed level.