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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Columbia, Missouri » Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #371443
Research Project: Long-term Management of Water Resources in the Central Mississippi River Basin

Location: Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research

Title: Assessing Soil Vulnerability Index performance with respect to rainfall characteristics

Author
item PHUNG, QUANG - University Of Missouri
item THOMPSON, ALLEN - University Of Missouri
item Baffaut, Claire

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/18/2020
Publication Date: 7/27/2020
Citation: Phung, Q., Thompson, A., Baffaut, C. 2020. Assessing Soil Vulnerability Index performance with respect to rainfall characteristics [abstract]. Soil and Water Conservation Society International Annual Conference, July 26-29, 2020, Des Moines, Iowa.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Soil Vulnerability Index (SVI) was developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to serve as an interpretive tool highlighting surface runoff and leaching risk to guide the implementation of management and conservation practices. The SVI is intended to be used throughout the United States; however, it was developed based on the physiographic and rainfall characteristics of the Upper Mississippi and Ohio-Tennessee River basins. Rainfall characteristics such as the timing, number, and intensity of individual storm events can influence runoff, sediment loss, and leaching and these rainfall characteristics vary with each region. Thus, there is a need to evaluate the effects of rainfall characteristics on cropland vulnerability on the basis of sediment and nutrient loss. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of varying precipitation characteristics on surface runoff, and relative soil and nutrient loss within watersheds over multiple regions. The study included four Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) watersheds in Ohio, Missouri, Mississippi, and Georgia, selected for their representative rainfall characteristics located both within and outside of the Upper Mississippi and Ohio-Tennessee River basins. The study results were based on rainfall data from 1989 to 2018 for these watersheds. Sediment yields within each studied watershed were simulated using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) and the Annualized Agricultural Non-Point Source Pollution Model (AnnAGNPS). Precipitation data were substituted among watersheds to evaluate the influence of precipitation on matching SVI vulnerability classifications with those identified using SWAT/AnnAGNPS. Result from this study will help to determine whether or not there is a need to include rainfall characteristics into the SVI classification.