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ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Soil and Water Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #415329
Research Project: Developing and Evaluating Strategies to Protect and Conserve Water and Environmental Resources While Maintaining Productivity in Agronomic Systems

Location: Soil and Water Management Research

Title: USDA LTAR Common Experiment measurement: Discharge from artificial subsurface drains

Author
item Feyereisen, Gary
item King, Kevin
item Cole, Kevin
item Williams, Mark
item Malone, Robert - Rob
item Bosch, David

Submitted to: Protocols.io
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/22/2024
Publication Date: 8/22/2024
Citation: Feyereisen, G.W., King, K.W., Cole, K.J., Williams, M.R., Malone, R.W., Bosch, D.D. 2024. USDA LTAR Common Experiment measurement: Discharge from artificial subsurface drains. Protocols.io. https://doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.x54v92ewzl3e/v1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.x54v92ewzl3e/v1

Interpretive Summary: This protocol is part of a set of published at protocols.io for the LTAR Common Experiment. This protocol outlines how to measure discharge from artificial subsurface drainage on agricultural lands. Artificial subsurface drainage is also known as tile drainage. The goal is to provide repeatable guidelines to achieve consistent data collection, instrument maintenance, data processing, and quality control for obtaining these data at established or new sites.

Technical Abstract: Subsurface drain discharge, sometimes simply referred to as drainage, is a process by which water is removed from a soil profile or area. On agricultural lands with intermittent high-water tables due to precipitation or melting snow, water is removed using artificial subsurface drains (commonly referred to as tile drains) or ditches to allow timely field operations and protect growing crops from being waterlogged. This discussion is limited to artificial subsurface drain discharge. In agricultural regions where crop production requires artificial subsurface drainage, drain discharge can represent a substantial portion of the annual water budget. Thus, measuring this water flow is important in understanding the water use of crops and potential impacts on downstream water movement. The measurement of subsurface drain discharge, together with a measurement of sediment and water pollutants, provides an assessment of the losses of these constituents from agriculture to the environment. Tracking them over time quantifies the beneficial effects of improved agricultural practices.