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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 #401584
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 soil and water measurement from the Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed (FCREW) to mimic an edge-of-field experiment for monitoring of natural resources

Author
item Fortuna, Ann-Marie
item Starks, Patrick
item Moriasi, Daniel
item STEINER, JEAN - American Society Of Agronomy

Submitted to: Soil and Water Conservation Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/20/2024
Publication Date: 8/7/2023
Citation: Fortuna, A., Starks, P.J., Moriasi, D.N., Steiner, J. 2023. Use of archived soil and water measurement from the Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed (FCREW) to mimic an edge-of-field experiment for monitoring of natural resources. Soil and Water Conservation Society. Des Moines, Iowa, August 6-9, 2023.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: One of the primary goals of the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) practice programs is to protect and improve water quality. Land cover is often used to predict water quality indicators (WQI) but may limit land manager’s abilities to predict effects of previous management (fertilizer applications, disturbance, and shifts in plant populations). NRCS Practice Code 201, Edge-of-Field Water Quality Monitoring and Evaluation, provides a systematic approach to evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices or systems in reducing erosion and loading of constituents to water resources. This approach enables us to fill an existing gap between soil health and watershed health. To strengthen this linkage, long-term field scale experiments and statistical methodologies must be designed and implemented to connect soil health indicators (SHI) with summary measures of water WQI. Our research objectives were to: 1) mimic an edge-of-field experiment using historical SHI and WQI, 2) use the results of nonparametric Spearman rank-order correlations to identify SHI and WQI that varied across the Fort Cobb Reservoir Experimental Watershed (FCREW) due to the effects of land use, management and inherent properties (soil texture, aspect, elevation, slope) on WQI, and 3) utilize the statistical outcomes to assess the sustainability of conservation systems on WQI. Correlation coefficient matrices verified statistically significant relationships between WQI and SHI across the FCREW. Adoption of conservation practices within the FCREW improved WQ such that water samples met the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards. Future research should integrate current WQI sampling sites into an edge-of-field design representing all management by soil series combinations within the FCREW. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.