Research Project: 4R Certification Program Assessment in Lake Erie Watershed

Location: Soil Drainage Research

Project Number: 5080-13210-003-005-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Jun 1, 2019
End Date: May 31, 2023

Objective:
Demonstrate the water quality benefits of the 4R nutrient management certification program in the Great Lakes Basin to address algal blooms in Lake Erie.

Approach:
We plan to use a combination of edge-of-field (EOF), watershed, and modeling approaches to demonstrate the benefits of a 4R certification program. Paired EOF sites will be used to provide process (surface/tile) based information on a specific 4R practice. Baseline data will first be collected on the pair and then a change will be made in one of the paired fields to measure the impact. A similar paired approach will be used for the watershed based assessment. We will implement as many 4R practices in one of the watersheds as possible while not promoting the practices in the other. Hydrology and water quality data collection at the outlets of these watersheds will permit the assessment of the 4R program. Data from EOF and watershed sites will be used to calibrate EOF and watershed models to provide assessment of the 4R program at the basin scale. These models also have the capability to project the impact of land management on algal blooms in Lake Erie.