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ARS Home » Plains Area » El Reno, Oklahoma » Oklahoma and Central Plains Agricultural Research Center » Agroclimate and Hydraulics Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #396186
Research Project: Towards Resilient Agricultural Systems to Enhance Water Availability, Quality, and Other Ecosystem Services under Changing Climate and Land Use

Location: Agroclimate and Hydraulics Research Unit

Title: Use of archived data to derive soil health and water quality indicators to monitor water quality in the Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed

Author
item Fortuna, Ann-Marie
item STEINER, JEAN - Retired ARS Employee
item Moriasi, Daniel
item Starks, Patrick

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Soil Science Society of America
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/27/2022
Publication Date: 11/9/2022
Citation: Fortuna, A., Steiner, J.L., Moriasi, D.N., Starks, P.J. 2022. Use of archived data to derive soil health and water quality indicators to monitor water quality in the Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed. Proceedings of the Soil Science Society of America. ASA, CSSA, SSSA Annual Meeting, Nov 6-9, 2022, Baltimore, MD

Interpretive Summary: Abstract only.

Technical Abstract: Current gaps that impede researchers from developing a soil and watershed health nexus include the design of long-term field scale experiments to provide climate, soil and water databases and statistical methodologies to link soil point measurements with summary measures of water quality and biophysical mechanisms. Our research objectives were to: use nonparametric Spearman rank-order correlations to identify soil health (SHI) and water quality (WQI) indicators that varied within areas of the larger Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed (FCREW); use principal components analysis (PCA) to select SHI and WQI that represented the effects of land use, management and natural effects on water quality for the FCREW; and utilize the statistical outcomes to assess the sustainability of previous land use, management and natural effects on water quality to maintain and improve management of the FCREW. Correlation coefficient matrices for three sub-watersheds verified statistically significant interactions between SH and WQ indicators, three water quality and four soil health indicators were correlated during the annual wet cycle. The measurements represented biological and inorganic nutrient transformations in runoff that were driven by land management and use. The PCA and factor analysis provided important information with respect to land use and cover across the FCREW. Indicators could be used to develop a sampling protocol to monitor water quality within sub-watersheds and the FCREW for determination of non-point sources of pollution.