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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fort Collins, Colorado » Center for Agricultural Resources Research » Water Management and Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #385185
Research Project: Response of Ecosystem Services in Agricultural Watersheds to Changes in Water Availability, Land Use, Management, and Climate

Location: Water Management and Systems Research

Title: Preferential flow in riparian buffers: Current research and future needs

Author
item HEEREN, DEREK - University Of Nebraska
item GUERTAULT, LUCIE - North Carolina State University
item Mankin, Kyle

Submitted to: Transactions of the ASABE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/23/2021
Publication Date: 12/16/2021
Citation: Heeren, D., Guertault, L., Mankin, K.R. 2021. Preferential flow in riparian buffers: Current research and future needs. Transactions of the ASABE. 64(6):1907-1911. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.14732.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.14732

Interpretive Summary: Preferential flow (PF) is where contaminated water from uphill runoff by-passes the surface and soil filtering of riparian buffers. PF can substantially reduce riparian buffer effectiveness in reducing contaminant from overland runoff. This article introduces a collection of five articles on current research into measurement, visualization, modeling, and impacts of PF processes on contaminant fate and transport through riparian buffers. Research includes advances in light transmission for measuring soil water content flow rates in buffers, Temporal Electrical Resistivity Imagery to indicate presence of PF pathways, partitioning buffer infiltration between matrix flow and PF, approaches for simulating non-sequential water movement due to PF, and effects of PF on pesticide removal in an agricultural watershed. Future work is needed to develop methods and tools to identify PF areas and management solutions within a landscape, and to update both research and design models to better quantify and account for PF processes.

Technical Abstract: Preferential flow (PF) in riparian buffers can substantially reduce their effectiveness in reducing contaminant from overland runoff. The objective of this article is to introduce a collection of five articles on current research into subsurface PF measurement, visualization, modeling, and impacts on contaminant fate and transport at scales ranging from the subsurface pore scale to the plot scale to the watershed scale. This collection presents selected works from a broader invited session on “Preferential flow and piping in riparian buffers” at the 2020 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Research includes advances in light transmission for measuring soil water contents flow rates in buffers, Temporal Electrical Resistivity Imagery to indicate presence of PF pathways, partitioning buffer infiltration between matrix flow and PF, approaches for simulating non-sequential water movement due to PF, and effects of PF on pesticide removal in an agricultural watershed. Future work is needed to develop methods and tools to identify PF areas and management solutions within a landscape, and to update both research and design models to better quantify and account for PF processes.