Modeling Best Management Practices in a Small Watershed Using Process Based Modeling Approaches and GIS

Modeling Best Management Practices in a Small Watershed Using Process Based Modeling Approaches and GIS
Author: Taesoo Lee
Publisher:
Total Pages: 186
Release: 2008
Genre:
ISBN:

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Soil erosion is a problem that causes both the loss of valuable soil and water quality degradation by sediment and attached nutrients and pollutants. Soil loss and sediment discharge to waterbodies can be prevented and mitigated by best management practices (BMPs). The USDA-NRCS reported that BMPs such as filter strips and grassed waterways can reduce up to 50 to 70% of the runoff and sediment leaving agricultural land. This study includes measured data analyses and representation of BMPs such as row cropping, filter strips and grassed waterways in a small experimental watershed (2.09 ha) at Nelson Farm, MS. Row cropping was conducted throughout a study period from 1990 to 1995 (6 years). Filter strips and grassed waterways were implemented in October 1991 and August 1994, respectively. A total of three phases were established according to the BMP implementation schedule. Phase 1 started from December 1990 to October 1991 with row cropping only, phase 2 started from October 1991 to August 1994 with row cropping and filter strips, and phase 3 started from September 1994 to December 1995 with row cropping, filter strips, and grassed waterway. The WEPP (Water Erosion Prediction Project) model and its parameters including physically based parameters are used and adjusted for the representation of BMPs. Input data includes weather data measured by the National Sedimentation Laboratory researchers and staff in Oxford, Mississippi. Management, crop yield, and BMP information in previous studies by Dabney and Meyer were used. Watershed characteristics were derived from a 2 foot contour map using GIS. These watershed characteristics were also found in previous studies. The parameter setting for the vegetative practices were calibrated and validated to agree with observed data at the location of the practices in each phase. There are two WEPP projects depending on two different flow paths, one is based on flow along the cropping row and the other is based on flow over the crop rows when the rows are collapsed by large runoff events after tillage. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was run with the same watershed properties and parameter settings although there were some parameters not available in SWAT. In general, SWAT estimated larger runoff and sediment yields although the difference was small. A possible explanation is that SWAT uses one representative slope, which is a linear slope, while WEPP uses dynamic slope steepness, which includes convex and concave slope shapes. Another reason is that there is no spatial location for filter strips and no representation for the multiple filter strips is possible in SWAT. The BMP impact analyses (using WEPP) estimate the reduction of runoff and sediment yield by each BMP in each phase. The results of these analyses show that row cropping reduced 11.1% of runoff and 15.8% of sediment yield in phase (1) Row cropping and filter strips reduced 14.6% of runoff and 41.9% of sediment yield in phase (2) Row cropping, filter strips, and grassed waterway reduced 20.5% of runoff and 65.7% of sediment yield in phase (3) Total reduction by all BMPs installed according to their schedule during the study period was 14.3% of runoff and 38.5% of sediment yield. Various scenario analyses have been conducted. These include the failure of BMPs, the effectiveness of a combination of BMPs, the long-term impacts of BMPs, and the spatially distributed estimation of the effectiveness of filter strips. BMP failure analysis was conducted for filter strips and grassed waterway in each phase based on the parameter value adjustment by 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% from the range of possible parameter values. In phase 2, with filter strips, the results of filter strips failure analysis show the reduction of runoff ranges from -4.2% (best) to +0.6% (no function) and that of sediment yield ranges from -29.6% (best) to +14.0% (no function). There would be more runoff and sediment yield generated than observed when the filter strips are not maintained because there is no vegetation on filter strips. In phase 3, with filter strips and a grassed waterway, the results of failure analysis show the reduction of runoff ranges from -2.1% (best) to +12.1% (no function) and that of sediment yield ranges from -14.3% (best) to +138.1% (no function). For the same reason, the runoff and sediment yield were larger in the 'no function' scenario than observed. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).

The Red Soils of China

The Red Soils of China
Author: Michael Wilson
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 424
Release: 2004-05-26
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9781402021374

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The red soils of China are typical in their chemical, physical and mineralogical characteristics of red soils in other tropical and sub-tropical areas of the world, particularly in South America, Africa and south-east Asia. For the most part, these soils are highly weathered and inherently infertile. They are acidic, nutrient deficient, poor in organic matter and have a low water-holding and supplying capacity. They cannot sustain arable cropping systems without the most careful management and are highly susceptible to soil erosion, particularly on sloping land. It is the purpose of this book to present recent research showing how the problems associated with using the red soils in China for sustainable agricultural production can be overcome, using a variety of traditional and novel approaches. In principle, these approaches should be useful in other tropical and sub-tropical countries faced with the problem of making the best use of their fragile red soil resources. The term "in principle" is used deliberately because, of course, the different red soil countries invariably operate within dissimilar socio-economic frameworks. At the present time, China may be considered to be in the process of an "industrial revolution", rather like that that took place in Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

A GIS-based Watershed Impact Management Model Case Study

A GIS-based Watershed Impact Management Model Case Study
Author: Chioma N. Udeze
Publisher:
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2013
Genre:
ISBN:

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Assessment of land use changes on hydrological processes is essential for the planning and development of sustainable land management practices and water resources. Understanding how land management practices influence hydrological components is essential for the prediction of hydrological consequences of changes in land use. Given the plethora of hydrological models, digital data sources, and the limited availability of observed data, it is difficult to quantify the impacts of land use changes on hydrology. In this study, a Watershed Impact Management (WIM) model framework was conceptualized. A case study of the Yocona River Basin, Mississippi was implemented with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) using the ArcGIS extension and interface. The objective of this study was to quantify the impacts of three different land use change scenarios. These scenarios were developed based on projected future land use planning for the City of Oxford and Lafayette County. Expanded urbanization in Scenario A was the strongest contributor to increased runoff and water yield. Incorporation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) in Scenario B resulted in a significant reduction of sediment yield and nutrient load. However, no changes were evident in groundwater nitrate loading despite the addition of BMPs. The replacement of all non-urban areas with forest trees in the Yocona River Basin, (Scenario C) resulted in decreased runoff and sediment yield. The WIM modeling approach in the quantification and assessment of impacts of land use change can be applied to all watersheds, even those with limited data availability and will provide quantitative information in planning and decision-making for land and water resource management.

GIScience for the Sustainable Management of Water Resources

GIScience for the Sustainable Management of Water Resources
Author: Gowhar Meraj
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2022-12-22
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1000578283

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Water is one of the most critical resources of nature that is necessary for sustaining life for all living things. This volume discusses in detail a selection of geospatial approaches, tools, and techniques for understanding the root causes behind the degradation of our water resources. Satellite remote sensing provides essential data for mapping water resources, hydrology flux measurement, monitoring drought, and flood inundation. With an abundance of informative case studies, this volume discusses the use of the satellite remote sensing and GIS-based systems for managing urban storm water; for flood and soil erosion management; for mapping groundwater zones; for crop production, including measuring soil moisture and aridity; for gauging the impact of climate change; for evaluating glacier change dynamics; for assessing the impact of urban growth on water resources; for measuring the degradation of rivers; and more.

Soil Carbon Management

Soil Carbon Management
Author: John M. Kimble
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2007-05-21
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1420044095

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Better Manage Soil C for Improved Soil Quality In the United States, soil has fueled the availability of abundant, safe food, thus underpinning economic growth and development. In the future we need to be more vigilant in managing and renewing this precious resource by replacing the nutrients and life-sustaining matter that we remove for

Modeling Impacts of Climate Change and Agricultural Management on Watershed Outputs in Midwestern USA

Modeling Impacts of Climate Change and Agricultural Management on Watershed Outputs in Midwestern USA
Author: Awoke Dagnew Teshager
Publisher:
Total Pages: 246
Release: 2016
Genre: Agricultural ecology
ISBN:

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Applications of the SWAT model typically involve delineation of a watershed into subwatersheds/subbasins that are then further subdivided into hydrologic response units (HRUs) which are homogeneous areas of aggregated soil, landuse, and slope and are the smallest modeling units used within the tool. In a standard SWAT application, multiple potential HRUs (farm fields) in a subbasin are usually aggregated into a single HRU feature. In other words, the standard version of the model combines multiple potential HRUs (farm fields) with the same landuse/landcover (LULC), soil, and slope, but located in different places within a subbasin (spatially non-unique), and considers them as one HRU. In this study, ArcGIS pre-processing procedures were developed to spatially define a one-to-one match between farm fields and HRUs (spatially unique HRUs) within a subbasin prior to SWAT simulations to facilitate input processing, input/output mapping, and further analysis at the individual farm field level. Model input data such as LULC, soil, crop rotation and other management data were processed through these HRUs. The SWAT model was then calibrated/validated for the Raccoon River watershed in Iowa for 2002 to 2010 and the Big Creek River watershed in Illinois for 2000 to 2003. SWAT was able to replicate annual, monthly and daily streamflow, as well as sediment, nitrate and mineral phosphorous within recommended accuracy in most cases. The one-to-one match between farm fields and HRUs created and used in this study is a first step in performing LULC change, climate change impact, and other analyses in a more spatially explicit manner. The calibrated and validated SWAT model was then used to assess agricultural scenario and climate change impacts on watershed water quantity, quality, and crop yields. Modeling impacts of agricultural scenarios and climate change on surface water quantity and quality provides useful information for planning effective water, environmental, and land use policies. Despite the significant impacts of agriculture on water quantity and quality, limited literature exists modeling the combined impacts of agricultural scenarios and climate change on crop yields and watershed hydrology. Here, SWAT, was used to model the combined impacts of five agricultural scenarios and three climate scenarios downscaled using eight climate models. These scenarios were implemented in a well calibrated SWAT model for the Raccoon River watershed (RRW), IA. We run the scenarios for the historical baseline, early-century, mid-century, and late-century periods. Results indicate that historical and more corn intensive agricultural scenarios with higher CO2 emissions consistently result in more water in the streams and greater water quality problems, especially late in the 21st century. Planting more switchgrass, on the other hand, results in less water in the streams and water quality improvements relative to the baseline. For all given agricultural landscapes simulated, all flow, sediment and nutrient outputs increase from early-to-late century periods for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. We also find that corn and switchgrass yields are negatively impacted under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios in the mid and late 21st century. Finally, various agricultural best management practice (BMP) scenarios were evaluated for their efficiency in alleviating watershed water quality problems. The vast majority of the literature on efficiency assessment of BMPs in alleviating water quality problems base their scenarios analysis on identifying subbasin level simulation results. In the this study, we used spatially explicit HRUs, defined using ArcGIS-based pre-processing methodology, to identify Nitrate (NO3) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS) hotspots at the HRU/field level, and evaluate the efficiency of selected BMPs in a large watershed, RRW, using the SWAT model. Accordingly, analysis of fourteen management scenarios were performed based on systematic combinations of five agricultural BMPs (fertilizer/manure management, changing cropland to perennial grass, vegetative filter strips, cover crops and shallower tile drainage systems) aimed to reduce NO3 and TSS yields from targeted hotspot areas in the watershed at field level. Moreover, implications of climate change on management practices, and impacts of management practices on water availability and crop yield and total production were assessed. Results indicated that either implementation of multiple BMPs or conversion of an extensive area into perennial grass may be required to sufficiently reduce nitrate loads to meet the drinking water standard. Moreover, climate change may undermine the effectiveness of management practices, especially late in the 21 st century. The targeted approach used in this study resulted in slight decreases in watershed average crop yields, hence the reduction in total crop production is mainly due to conversion of croplands to perennial grass.

Simulation Modeling for Watershed Management

Simulation Modeling for Watershed Management
Author: James Westervelt
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012-09-17
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9781461265610

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A discussion of the role of modeling in the management process, with an overview of state-of-the-art modeling applications. The first chapters provide a background on the benefits and costs of modeling and on the ecological basis of models, using historical applications as examples, while the second section describes the latest models from a wide selection of environmental disciplines. Since management frequently requires the integration of knowledge from many different areas, both single discipline and multidiscipline models are discussed in detail, and the author emphasizes the importance of understanding the issues and alternatives in choosing, applying, and evaluating models. Land and watershed managers as well as students of forestry, park management, regional planing and agriculture will find this a thorough and practical introduction to all aspects of modeling.