Evaluation of the APEX Model to Simulate Runoff Quality from Agricultural Fields in the Southern Region of the United States

Ramírez-Ávila, John J.; Radcliffe, D. E.; Osmond, Deanna L.; Bolster, Carl H.; Sharpley, Andrew N.; Ortega-Achury, Sandra L.; Forsberg, Adam; Oldham, J. Larry

doi:10.2134/jeq2017.07.0258

Cited by 20 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The data contained in PLEAD have been used by several research groups in multiple research studies to address important modeling questions relevant to P management planning. In the US southern region, Ramirez‐Avila et al (2017) found that when calibrated, APEX satisfactorily predicted event‐based surface runoff volumes for most sites but did not adequately predict sediment, dissolved P, or total P losses in runoff water. Specifically, they found that the APEX model tended to underestimate dissolved and total P losses from fields where manure was surface applied and attributed this to the need of a surface manure P pool routine in the model.…”

Section: Potential Uses Of Databasementioning

confidence: 96%

Development of PLEAD: A Database Containing Event‐based Runoff Phosphorus Loadings from Agricultural Fields

et al. 2019

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Computer models are commonly used for predicting risks of runoff P loss from agricultural fields by enabling simulation of various management practices and climatic scenarios. For P loss models to be useful tools, however, they must accurately predict P loss for a wide range of climatic, physiographic, and land management conditions. A complicating factor in developing and evaluating P loss models is the relative scarcity of available measured field data that adequately capture P losses before and after implementing management practices in a variety of physiographic settings. Here, we describe the development of the P Loss in runoff Events from Agricultural fields Database (PLEAD)-a compilation of event-based, field-scale dissolved and/or total P loss runoff loadings from agricultural fields collected at various research sites located in the US Heartland and southern United States. The database also includes runoff and erosion rates; soil-test P; tillage practices; planting and harvesting rates and practices; fertilizer application rate, method, and timing; manure application rate, method, and timing; and livestock grazing density and timing. In total, >1800 individual runoff events-ranging in duration from 0.4 to 97 h-have been included in the database. Event runoff P losses ranged from <0.05 to 1.3 and 3.0 kg P ha −1 for dissolved and total P, respectively. DATASETS Core Ideas• Development of database containing P loss from agricultural fields is described.• We provide public access to P loss data for individual runoff events.• The data can be used to evaluate P loss models and P Indices.

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Section: Potential Uses Of Databasementioning

confidence: 96%

Development of PLEAD: A Database Containing Event‐based Runoff Phosphorus Loadings from Agricultural Fields

et al. 2019

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“…Model input data and measured dissolved and total P loads were obtained from the P Loss in runoff Events from Agricultural fields Database (PLEAD; Bolster et al, 2019). Details of the field sites and experimental conditions are described in Bolster et al (2019) and Ramirez et al (2017). Briefly, two subwatersheds (11.2 and 13 ha in…”

Section: Example Usementioning

confidence: 99%

Updates to the Annual P Loss Estimator (APLE) model

Bolster

Vadas

2022

J of Env Quality

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The Annual P Loss Estimator (APLE) is a spreadsheet-based model developed for predicting annual field-scale P loss in surface runoff and changes in soil test P. This empirically based model was designed for use by those without significant modeling experience. However, a significant limitation with the model is that it does not calculate runoff. Moreover, APLE is deterministic and thus predicts a single value for a given set of inputs, thereby ignoring any uncertainties associated with model inputs. Here, we describe modifications to APLE that allow users to estimate runoff using the Curve Number method. Using Monte Carlo simulations, the updated version of APLE also provides users the ability to account for model input uncertainties in estimating model prediction errors. We provide examples of using the revised version of APLE (ver. 3.0) for calculating P loss from two fields in Mississippi over a 4-yr period and calculating the change in Mehlich-3 P concentrations over a 9-yr period at three locations in Maryland following cessation of P application. Both examples demonstrate that incorporating estimates of uncertainties in both measured data and model predictions provides modelers with a more realistic understanding of the model's performance.

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“…Additionally, at these finer scales, key natural system processes and interactions might be better understood, reducing the number of uncertainties that the model needs to capture, but the impact of precision error around each uncertainty in the model or the input data is enhanced (Refsgaard et al, 2007). Accordingly, Baffaut et al (2017), Bhandari et al (2017), Bolster et al (2017), Forsberg et al (2017), Nelson et al (2017), and Ramirez‐Avila et al (2017) report that fate‐and‐transport models can perform well when applied in locations where they have been carefully calibrated and corroborated, but they perform poorly for P and sediment when applied in locations where they have not been adequately calibrated or corroborated. Elsewhere, Bhandari et al (2017) and Ramirez‐Avila et al (2017) find that calibrated versions of APEX perform better in predicting total P losses than uncalibrated versions of APEX.…”

Section: Phosphorus Site Assessment and Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Accordingly, Baffaut et al (2017), Bhandari et al (2017), Bolster et al (2017), Forsberg et al (2017), Nelson et al (2017), and Ramirez‐Avila et al (2017) report that fate‐and‐transport models can perform well when applied in locations where they have been carefully calibrated and corroborated, but they perform poorly for P and sediment when applied in locations where they have not been adequately calibrated or corroborated. Elsewhere, Bhandari et al (2017) and Ramirez‐Avila et al (2017) find that calibrated versions of APEX perform better in predicting total P losses than uncalibrated versions of APEX. Nelson et al (2017) seeks to develop regional parameters to enable the widespread transfer of APEX to different sites.…”

Section: Phosphorus Site Assessment and Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Promise, Practice, and State of Planning Tools to Assess Site Vulnerability to Runoff Phosphorus Loss

et al. 2017

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Over the past 20 yr, there has been a proliferation of phosphorus (P) site assessment tools for nutrient management planning, particularly in the United States. The 19 papers that make up this special section on P site assessment include decision support tools ranging from the P Index to fate-and-transport models to weather-forecast-based risk calculators. All require objective evaluation to ensure that they are effective in achieving intended benefits to protecting water quality. In the United States, efforts have been underway to compare, evaluate, and advance an array of P site assessment tools. Efforts to corroborate their performance using water quality monitoring data confirms previously documented discrepancies between different P site assessment tools but also highlights a surprisingly strong performance of many versions of the P Index as a predictor of water quality. At the same time, fate-and-transport models, often considered to be superior in their prediction of hydrology and water quality due to their complexity, reveal limitations when applied to site assessment. Indeed, one consistent theme from recent experience is the need to calibrate highly parameterized models. As P site assessment evolves, so too do routines representing important aspects of P cycling and transport. New classes of P site assessment tools are an opportunity to move P site assessment from general, strategic goals to web-based tools supporting daily, operational decisions. in runoff from agricultural fields is a complex process in which decisions about crop response, cost, and impact of offsite pollution are but a few of the variables considered. Over the past 20 yr, there has been a proliferation of decision support tools in the nutrient management planning arena intended to provide objective assessment of the potential for P loss in runoff from agricultural fields. The most notable of these tools is the P Index, which has been widely modified and implemented in the United States and has also been adapted, largely on an experimental or proposed basis, to the physiographic and management conditions of other countries (Heathwaite et al., 2003;Bechmann et al., 2005). Other tools to infer runoff P loss potential and inform field management options have been advanced with varying degrees of attention and adoption (Vadas et al., 2009;White et al., 2012). Evaluation of these tools is extremely complicated, as empirical information and even underlying science are often missing. In this special collection of papers (Fig. 1a), we traverse the state of the science on P site assessment, highlighting a broad range of site assessment approaches, efforts to corroborate and revise P site assessment tools, and findings that shed light on questions surrounding P site assessment. A Plethora of OptionsAlthough site assessment tools range widely, few are as well documented and widely implemented as the P Index (Lemunyon and Gilbert, 1993). In the United States, implementation of the P Index was prompted by federal law, required widespread...

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Evaluation of the APEX Model to Simulate Runoff Quality from Agricultural Fields in the Southern Region of the United States

Cited by 20 publications

References 36 publications

Development of PLEAD: A Database Containing Event‐based Runoff Phosphorus Loadings from Agricultural Fields

Development of PLEAD: A Database Containing Event‐based Runoff Phosphorus Loadings from Agricultural Fields

Updates to the Annual P Loss Estimator (APLE) model

The Promise, Practice, and State of Planning Tools to Assess Site Vulnerability to Runoff Phosphorus Loss

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