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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 #354770
Research Project: Agroecosystem Benefits from the Development and Application of New Management Technologies in Agricultural Watersheds

Location: Agroecosystems Management Research

Title: Choosing the perfect plot

Author
item REINHART, BEN - Purdue University
item Jaynes, Dan
item Tomer, Mark
item James, David

Submitted to: Trade Journal Publication
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/15/2018
Publication Date: 5/1/2018
Citation: Reinhart, B., Jaynes, D.B., Tomer, M.D., James, D.E. 2018. Choosing the perfect plot. Trade Journal Publication. 45(1):24-26.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Two new tools are available that drainage contractors can use in evaluating the suitability of potential sites for controlled drainage and saturated buffers; two practices that decrease the loss of nitrogen to surface waters. Working in collaboration with researchers from the Transforming Drainage project, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) soil scientists have developed estimates of where in the landscape controlled drainage is applicable and the results are now viewable in an on-line GIS viewer. This on-line tool allows drainage contractors to take advantage of this spatial analysis to evaluate the potential for implementing controlled drainage in Midwestern tile-drained fields. For saturated buffers, ARS scientists working with the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework, or ACPF tool, have developed a web-based tool that shows the suitability of particular sites for this edge-of-field practice in the state of Iowa. The tool is easy to use, does not require knowledge of GIS techniques and allows drainage contractors to easily determine the suitability of any site for the installation of a saturated buffer.