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ARS Home » Northeast Area » University Park, Pennsylvania » Pasture Systems & Watershed Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #246531
Title: U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Mahantango Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania, United States: physiography and history

Author
item Bryant, Ray
item Veith, Tameria - Tamie
item Feyereisen, Gary
item Buda, Anthony
item Church, Clinton
item Folmar, Gordon
item Schmidt, John
item Dell, Curtis
item Kleinman, Peter

Submitted to: Water Resources Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/7/2011
Publication Date: 8/20/2011
Citation: Bryant, R.B., Veith, T.L., Feyereisen, G.W., Buda, A.R., Church, C., Folmar, G.J., Schmidt, J.P., Dell, C.J., Kleinman, P.J.A. 2011. U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Mahantango Creek Watershed, Pennsylvania, United States: physiography and history. Water Resources Research. 47. DOI: 10.1029/2010WR010056.

Interpretive Summary: The Mahantango Creek Watershed, monitored since 1967 by USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit at University Park, Pennsylvania, is a 420 km2 subwatershed of the Susquehanna River basin, which drains to the Chesapeake Bay. Located approximately 40 km north of Harrisburg in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, the Mahantango Creek Watershed is generally representative of the physiography and land use within the Northern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys physiographic province. More than 40 studies conducted within this area shed light on the complex interactions between agricultural management and hydrologic processes that control nutrient loss from nonpoint sources. The physical description of the watershed and a history of monitoring and research activities contained in this report are intended to facilitate the use and interpretation of related databases that are archived in the USDA-ARS, STEWARDS Watershed Data System (http://arsagsoftware.ars.usda.gov/stewards/). Four types of basic data are discussed in an accompanying series of data reports: stream discharge, precipitation and meteorological measurements, stream water quality, and digital spatial coverages. Each report describes data collection methods, period of data record, details on data access, and examples of data use. The information will be of value for designing means to control nutrient loss from non-point sources.

Technical Abstract: The 420 km**2 Mahantango Creek Watershed, located within the Northern Appalachian Ridges and Valleys, is a subwatershed of the Susquehanna River Basin, which flows to Chesapeake Bay. Research on agricultural management and hydrologic processes that control nutrient loss from nonpoint sources is conducted within WE-38, a smaller 7.3 km**2 subwatershed. The physical description of the watershed and history of monitoring and research activities contained in this report, as well as data discussed in three companion papers, are intended to facilitate use and interpretation of archived databases on the USDA-ARS STEWARDS (Sustaining the Earth’s Watersheds – Agricultural Research Data System) website (http://arsagsoftware.ars.usda.gov/stewards/).