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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Laboratory for Agriculture and The Environment » Agroecosystems Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #217077
Title: E. coli and Enterococcus in a Large Agricultural Watershed: Temporal, Hydrologic and Animal Production

Author
item Moorman, Thomas
item Tomer, Mark
item James, David

Submitted to: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/8/2007
Publication Date: 11/8/2007
Citation: Moorman, T.B., Tomer, M.D., James, D.E. 2007. E. coli and enterococcus in a large agricultural watershed: temporal, hydrologic and animal production [CD-ROM]. In: ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting Abstracts, Nov. 4-8, 2007, New Orleans, LA.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Populations of E. coli and Enterococcus were monitored in the South Fork of the Iowa River and the tributaries Tipton Creek and Beaver Creek. These three drainages have differing populations of swine and are dominated by corn and soybean production. Bacterial populations in stream water show strong seasonal trends with lowest populations in winter and greatest populations in late summer. Although storm events deliver large E. coli and Enterococcus populations in overland flow and tile drainage after manure application, field scale monitoring shows wildlife sources are also important. The effects of animal distributions and conservation practices are discussed.