Location: Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory
Project Number: 3098-13610-008-077-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Sep 1, 2019
End Date: Aug 31, 2021
Objective:
ARS, with assistance from Texas A&M AgriLife Research will collect and prepare various input datasets and model simulations to predict edge-of-field sediment and nutrient reductions from various conservation practices subsidized by the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center (FPAC).
Approach:
Simulation model input data will be obtained from various sources, both public and private. When possible, agricultural management data, and other locally-specific model input and output data will be compiled from NRCS’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) Croplands NRI databases. FPAC field boundaries will be processed in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine dominant soil type, slope, and multi-year crop rotation. A sampling procedure will be developed to determine likely donor points from existing CEAP models. CEAP simulations will be augmented with additional simulations as needed to provide adequate sampling from which to interpolate predictions for each FPAC field. Model predictions will be developed for edge-of-field flow, sediment, and nutrient loads with and without conservation practices for a sample set of approximately 2,000 locations across the U.S. Only conservation practices which can be reasonably well simulated in APEX or SWAT models can be included. The effectiveness of suitable practices installed in fields provided by FPAC will be estimated at a spatially aggregated level.
