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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 #302503
Title: Modeling the impacts of winter cover crops on water quality in two adjacent sub-watersheds within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Maryland, USA

Author
item Sadeghi, Ali
item SANGCHUL, LEE - University Of Maryland
item YEO, IN-YOUNG - University Of Maryland
item Lang, Megan
item McCarty, Gregory
item HIVELY, DEAN - Us Geological Survey (USGS)

Submitted to: Annual International SWAT Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Choptank River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore has been designated by the USEPA as “impaired waters” under Section 303(d) of the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972, mainly because of significant nutrient loads that resulted in not meeting the EPA water quality standards. This water quality deterioration is largely related to the presence of dense poultry production and the excessive use of poultry manure to fertilize agriculture fields, which occupy nearly 60% of the watershed. As part of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP), a joint ARS & NRCS program, we have been investigating the impacts of best management practices (BMP), such as cover crops, on nutrient and sediment loads in the Choptank. The Choptank River, above the tidal line, is fed by two major tributaries, the Tuckahoe to the west and the Upper Choptank to the east, providing two adjacent sub-watersheds within the larger Choptank Watershed. Although both of these sub-watersheds are similar in size, monitoring data have shown different behavior in terms of nutrient export patters. The aim of this investigation is to apply the Soil and Water assessment Tool (SWAT) to each of the two sub-watersheds and then compare the model simulation results with respect to pollution load amounts and patterns. It is expected that the outcome of this model exercise will provide a better understanding of the cause(s) of the observed differences in nutrients losses from the two sub-watersheds and the effectiveness of different cover crop scenarios, in terms of implementation of crop cover species, planting dates, and location.