ARS | Publication request: LINKING INTENSIVE MONITORING SITES TO CONSERVATION PLANNING 1231

Submitted to: International Soil Conservation Organization Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 28, 1999
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Recent improvements in computer technology present an opportunity to use information from intensively monitored sites to improve resource management on farms. A number of developments are converging, which may substantially improve the scientific basis available for farmers to make natural resource decisions in the near future. The Management System Evaluation Areas (MSEA) )have been collecting data primarily on the effects of management on ground water, since the early 1990s. A new effort to collect data on a broader range of resource problems is being undertaken at Agricultural Systems for Environmental Quality (ASEQ) sites. Multiobjective Decision Support Systems have advanced rapidly in recent years allowing more systematic considera- tion of the effects of management on many resources at the farm level during the conservation planning process. Once documented, the effects of management on a number of resources for fields from similar climate, soil/ slope groups can be made available over the internet to both producers and conservationists. Information from the planning process can also be applied to improve research by highlighting the issues important for decision making, particularly the resource problems and management system alternatives that should be observed and simulated. An example of how new capabilities can facilitate the application of data to improve conservation planning in the Deep Loess Region of Western Iowa will be presented.