Overview of the Mark Twain Lake/Salt River Basin Conservation Effects Assessment Project

Lerch, Robert N.; Sadler, E. J.; Kitchen, Newell R.; Sudduth, Kenneth A.; Kremer, Robert J.; Myers, D. C.; Baffaut, Claire; Anderson, Stephen H.; Lin, Chung‐Ho

doi:10.2489/jswc.63.6.345

Cited by 49 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…The Crooked Creek watershed is 288 km 2 (110 mi 2 ), with 56.0% of the area used for cropland, followed by pasture (26.5%) and forest (14.5%). The Otter Creek watershed encompasses a 272 km 2 (105 mi 2 ) area, with 64.6% in cropland, 20.3% in pasture, and 12.6% in forest (Lerch et al 2008). The Crooked and Otter Creek watersheds are similar in size, soils, topography, and land use (Lerch et al 2008) and were selected because they are representative of the intensively row-cropped claypan watersheds of MLRA 113 (figure 2) (Lerch and Blanchard 2003;Lerch et al 2008).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, mean annual sediment and nutrient loss rates were based on stream order to provide the best mass estimates as opposed to applying a To estimate overland erosion, the tolerable soil loss rate (T-value) was used. For the study area, the T-value is estimated to be 7.6 Mg ha -1 y -1 (3.4 tn ac -1 yr -1 ) (Lerch et al 2008; National Academy of Sciences 1986). While the T-value represents the maximum amount of erosion that can occur and still sustain high levels of crop productivity, much of the land in the study area exceeds this threshold.…”

Section: Legendmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Model inputs were averaged across the two watersheds and included relief (R) = 67.1 m (220 ft) and length (L) = 65,900 m (216,300 ft), giving R/L = 0.001; and area (A) = 280 km 2 (108 mi 2 ). The total loss of nitrogen on a yearly basis was estimated using stream discharge and total nitrogen concentration data for Crooked and Otter Creek, which have been monitored year-round since 2005 as part of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (Lerch et al 2008). Daily discharge data for Crooked Creek (station number 05503800) were obtained from the U. S. Geological Survey (2009).…”

Section: Legendmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Daily discharge data for Crooked Creek (station number 05503800) were obtained from the U. S. Geological Survey (2009). The daily discharge data for Otter Creek were based on rating curves developed by the USDA Agricultural Research Service (Lerch et al 2008). As part of the monitoring effort, water samples were collected from each stream for determination of total N concentrations.…”

Section: Legendmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Streambank erosion in two watersheds of the Central Claypan Region of Missouri, United States

Willett¹,

Lerch²,

Schultz³

et al. 2012

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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This study was undertaken to assess the importance of streambank erosion to the total in-stream sediment of two agricultural watersheds within the Central Claypan Areas. The objective of this research was to determine the effect of stream order, adjacent land use, and season on streambank erosion rates. Thirty-four study sites were established in 2007 and 2008 within Crooked and Otter Creek watersheds, two claypan watersheds located in northeastern Missouri. At each site, field assessments of severely to very severely eroding bank length were determined along 300 to 400 m (984 to 1,312 ft) stream reaches. A factorial experimental design was implemented with four land uses (crop, forest, pasture, and riparian forest), three seasons, and three stream orders (1st, 2nd, and 3rd). Each treatment was replicated three times for each stream order, except for the cropped 3rd order treatment as only one suitable treatment site could be found. Streambank erosion was measured using erosion pins, which were installed in randomly assigned plots that included at least 20% of the eroded bank length within each site. The effect of different seasons was assessed by measuring the length of the exposed pins three times per year (March, July, and November). The bulk density and carbon and nitrogen content of bank material were also determined. Sediment loss rates showed that season and the three-way interaction between season, land use, and stream order were highly significant. Erosion rates were consistently higher in the winter months than spring/ summer and fall seasons; however, the significant three-way interaction precluded a simple interpretation of the seasonal effect. Soil nutrient concentration data showed that forest sites had significantly lower C and N concentrations than other land uses. At the watershed scale, bank sediment accounted for 79% to 96% of the total in-stream sediment and 21% to 24% of the total N exported from the study area. These results indicate that streambanks are the dominant source of sediment and a significant source of N in these streams. Therefore, improved management of riparian areas to decrease streambank erosion would result in significant water quality improvement in streams of the Central Claypan Areas in northeastern Missouri. (1996) reported that streambank erosion accounted for up to 80% of the in-stream sediment. Recent work utilizing stable isotopes has shown that streambank erosion can account for the majority of suspended sediment present in streams during high flow conditions (Wilson et al. 2008). In addition, streambank erosion is an important source of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) contamination in streams (DeWolfe et al. 2004;Zaimes et al. 2008). State and federal conservation agencies acknowledge both the impact of sediment and associated nutrients on aquatic habitats (Shields et al. 1994) and the implications of soil loss on agricultural productivity.Due to the runoff-prone nature of claypan soils, overland erosion from cropped fields has been widely assumed to b...

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Legendmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Legendmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Legendmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Streambank erosion in two watersheds of the Central Claypan Region of Missouri, United States

Willett¹,

Lerch²,

Schultz³

et al. 2012

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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“…Nearly all the row crops on HSGD soils within the Devils Icebox area lie above the losing reach of Bonne Femme Creek. These claypan soils with high runoff potential are known to be especially problematic with respect to surface transport of sediment, nutrients, and herbicides (Lerch and Blanchard, 2003;Lerch et al, 2008).…”

Section: Areal Loss Ratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contaminant Transport in Two Central Missouri Karst Recharge Areas

Lerch¹

2011

JCKS

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Karst watersheds with significant losing streams represent a particularly vulnerable setting for groundwater contamination because of the direct connection to surface water. Because of the existing agricultural land-use and future likelihood of urbanization, two losing-stream karst basins were chosen for intensive monitoring in Boone County, Missouri: Hunters Cave and Devils Icebox. Both caves were formed in Burlington Limestone and have similar recharge areas (33 to 34 km 2 ) and land uses. Year-round monitoring was conducted from April 1999 through March 2002 to characterize the water quality of the main cave streams relative to herbicide, nutrient, and sediment contamination. Water sampling entailed grab samples at regular intervals and runoff-event samples collected using automated sampling equipment. 21 at Hunters Cave. Herbicides or their metabolites were detected in more than 80% of the samples from both cave streams, and herbicide concentrations and areal loss rates were generally similar between the sites. Overall, the greater loads and mass flux of contaminants in the Devils Icebox recharge area compared to Hunters Cave was a result of both greater stream discharge and the occurrence of more cropped fields (94%) on claypan soils with high runoff potential. These claypan soils are known to be especially problematic with respect to surface transport of contaminants. Prevailing land use has significantly degraded the water quality in both recharge areas, but a watershed plan has been developed for the Bonne Femme watershed, which encompasses these two recharge areas. With the baseline data collected in this study, the impact of changing land uses and the implementation of management practices or new ordinances designed to improve water quality can be documented.

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Controls on nitrate‐N concentrations in groundwater in a Missourian claypan watershed

Al-Qudah

Liu

Lerch

et al. 2016

Earth and Space Science

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Nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications have resulted in widespread groundwater nitrate-N (NO 3 -N) contamination in the U.S. Corn Belt. Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed (GCEW) is an agricultural watershed in the claypan soil region of northeastern Missouri with a network of 96 wells at depths of 2.7-15.7 m. The objectives of this study were to (1) inspect the spatial and temporal variations of NO 3 -N concentrations in GCEW's groundwater, particularly with well depth at scales ranging from individual well, well nest, and field to the entire watershed during the period 1991 to 2004; (2) understand the processes controlling the variability of NO 3 -N concentrations in groundwater at various scales within GCEW; and (3) compare groundwater NO 3 -N concentrations in GCEW to other agricultural watersheds in the U.S. Nitrate-N concentrations were determined in more than 2000 samples collected from 1991 to 2004. Despite the low hydraulic conductivity of the claypan soils, considerable NO 3 -N contamination of the glacial till aquifer occurred, with 38% of the wells exceeding 10 mg L À1 . Groundwater recharge by preferential pathways through the claypan appeared to be the primary mechanism for NO 3 -N movement to the aquifer. Changes in concentration with depth steadily increased to 8.5-10 m and then decreased with further depth. This pattern was consistent with decreased hydraulic conductivity in the Paleosol layer at 8.5-10 m, denitrification below this layer, and mixing of recent contaminated water with older uncontaminated water in the lowest strata. Only 19-23% of sampled wells exceeded 10 mg L À1 in nonclaypan agricultural watersheds over the continental U.S., suggesting that groundwater in GCEW was more susceptible to NO 3 -N contamination than nonclaypan watersheds. These results demonstrated that preferential flow through the soil and hydraulic conductivity of the subsurface strata controlled NO 3 -N transport in this claypan watershed.

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Overview of the Mark Twain Lake/Salt River Basin Conservation Effects Assessment Project

Cited by 49 publications

References 39 publications

Streambank erosion in two watersheds of the Central Claypan Region of Missouri, United States

Streambank erosion in two watersheds of the Central Claypan Region of Missouri, United States

Contaminant Transport in Two Central Missouri Karst Recharge Areas

Controls on nitrate‐N concentrations in groundwater in a Missourian claypan watershed

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