Pay-for-Performance Conservation Using SWAT Highlights Need for Field-Level Agricultural Conservation

Muenich, Rebecca Logsdon; Kalcic, Margaret; Winsten, Jonathan R.; Fisher, Kristin A.; Day, Monica; O'Neil, Glenn; Wang, Yu-Chen; Scavia, Donald

doi:10.13031/trans.12379

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Agricultural management decisions are complex and based on multiple factors including weather, crop prices, previous crops grown, etc., which vary annually. Interviews with farmers, mailed surveys, and aerial or remote sensing have all been previously used to extract or approximate the management input for models to detail agricultural management datasets [73,81]. This could eventually be added to the model (similar methodology has been shown at a larger scale in Muenich et al [81]), but this was outside of the scope of this initial study.…”

Section: Model Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Interviews with farmers, mailed surveys, and aerial or remote sensing have all been previously used to extract or approximate the management input for models to detail agricultural management datasets [73,81]. This could eventually be added to the model (similar methodology has been shown at a larger scale in Muenich et al [81]), but this was outside of the scope of this initial study. Therefore, management assumptions were made based on inputs from local NRCS agents and the NCP database BMPs.…”

Section: Model Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Impact of Site-Specific BMPs Using a Spatially Explicit, Field-Scale SWAT Model with Edge-of-Field and Tile Hydrology and Water-Quality Data in the Eagle Creek Watershed, Ohio

Merriman

Daggupati

Srinivasan

et al. 2018

Water

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The Eagle Creek watershed, a small subbasin (125 km2) within the Maumee River Basin, Ohio, was selected as a part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) “Priority Watersheds” program to evaluate the effectiveness of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs) funded through GLRI at the field and watershed scales. The location and quantity of BMPs were obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service National Conservation Planning (NCP) database. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was built and calibrated for this predominantly agricultural Eagle Creek watershed, incorporating NCP BMPs and monitoring data at the watershed outlet, an edge-of-field (EOF), and tile monitoring sites. Input air temperature modifications were required to induce simulated tile flow to match monitoring data. Calibration heavily incorporated tile monitoring data to correctly proportion surface and subsurface flow, but calibration statistics were unsatisfactory at the EOF and tile monitoring sites. At the watershed outlet, satisfactory to very good calibration statistics were achieved over a 2-year calibration period, and satisfactory statistics were found in the 2-year validation period. SWAT fixes parameters controlling nutrients primarily at the watershed level; a refinement of these parameters at a smaller-scale could improve field-level calibration. Field-scale modeling results indicate that filter strips (FS) are the most effective single BMPs at reducing dissolved reactive phosphorus, and FS typically decreased sediment and nutrient yields when added to any other BMP or BMP combination. Cover crops were the most effective single, in-field practice by reducing nutrient loads over winter months. Watershed-scale results indicate BMPs can reduce sediment and nutrients, but reductions due to NCP BMPs in the Eagle Creek watershed for all water-quality constituents were less than 10%. Hypothetical scenarios simulated with increased BMP acreages indicate larger investments of the appropriate BMP or BMP combination can decrease watershed level loads.

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Section: Model Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Model Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Impact of Site-Specific BMPs Using a Spatially Explicit, Field-Scale SWAT Model with Edge-of-Field and Tile Hydrology and Water-Quality Data in the Eagle Creek Watershed, Ohio

Merriman

Daggupati

Srinivasan

et al. 2018

Water

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“…The concept of pay-for-performance (PFP) is being considered as a way to induce producers to opt for best management practices (BMPs) that are proven to reduce pollutant contamination downstream. Muenich et al (2017) reviewed the PFP concept, noting that the establishment of a robust basis for convincing cause-effect relationships in BMP versus consistent PFP results can be problematic. Muenich et al (2017) used SWAT to assess BMPs for improving runoff quality in a basin draining into Lake Erie.…”

Section: Watershed Technology Tools and Techniques For Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Muenich et al (2017) reviewed the PFP concept, noting that the establishment of a robust basis for convincing cause-effect relationships in BMP versus consistent PFP results can be problematic. Muenich et al (2017) used SWAT to assess BMPs for improving runoff quality in a basin draining into Lake Erie. Other studies (e.g., Lee et al, 2017, discussed below) focused on the drainage areas of other lakes in the Great Lakes system, as well as Chesapeake Bay and other locations across the U.S.…”

Section: Watershed Technology Tools and Techniques For Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

International Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Quantity at the Local, Basin, and Regional Scales

Tollner¹,

Douglas-Mankin²

2017

Transactions of the ASABE

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ABSTRACT. This article introduces the five papers in the "atershed science and engineering have advanced rapidly in recent decades with the development and application of expanded knowledge and cutting-edge technologies in environmental monitoring, geospatial data processing, modeling, and analysis. While these approaches have solved many critical problems, many more challenges remain.Advances in international watershed technology have been summarized in two recent American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) special collections Douglas-Mankin, 2013, 2016) that resulted from the third and fourth in a series of international conferences on the topic. Efforts to increase exchange of the latest international research and technology related to sustainable watershed resource management continued with the fifth biennial ASABE 21st Century Watershed Technology Conference and Workshop: Improving Water Quality and the Environment. The conference received broad sponsorship from ASABE; the Texas Institute for Applied Environmental Research (TiAER) at Tarleton State University; Universidad Regional Amazonica (IKIAM), Quito, Ecuador; Secretary of Education, Office of Science, Technology, and Innovation (SENESCYT), Quito, Ecuador; the University of Florida; and the USDA-ARS. Professionals working in watershed technology and related areas met in Quito, Ecuador, on 3-9 December 2016 to exchange information on science, applications, and developments in watershed science and technology. The meeting papers are available in the ASABE Technical Library (http://elibrary.asabe.org) and may be located with a search of the conference papers.The presentations included a breadth of quality work relating to applications of agricultural and biological engineering in developing and developed countries to solve practical problems. Five papers from the conference were selected for inclusion in this collection as exemplary contributions to advancing watershed technology and science. This introductory article introduces and summarizes these papers.

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“…Attention has logically been placed on loads from the Detroit (DT) and the Maumee rivers because they contribute about 90% of total phosphorus (TP) load to the western basin of the lake (Scavia et al ). While there have been several assessments for the Maumee watershed (e.g., Kalcic et al ; Muenich et al ; Scavia et al ), there has been no similar assessment for the nearly 20,000 km 2 international watershed that drains into Lake Erie from the Detroit River. This study was designed to begin filling that gap with a robust watershed model to allow assessing potential nutrient load reduction strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Flow, Nutrient, and Sediment Delivery from a Large International Watershed Using a Field‐Scale SWAT Model

Dagnew¹,

Scavia

Wang

et al. 2019

J American Water Resour Assoc

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A large international watershed, the St. Clair‐Detroit River System, containing both extensive urban and agricultural areas, was modeled using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model. The watershed, located in southeastern Michigan, United States, and southwestern Ontario, Canada, encompasses the St. Clair, Clinton, Detroit (DT), Sydenham (SY), Upper, and Lower Thames subwatersheds. The SWAT input data and model resolution (i.e., hydrologic response units, HRUs), were established to mimic farm boundaries, the first time this has been done for a watershed of this size. The model was calibrated (2007–2015) and validated (2001–2006) with a mix of manual and automatic methods at six locations for flow and water quality at various time scales. The model was evaluated using Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency and percent bias and was used to explore major water quality issues. We showed the importance of allowing key parameters to vary among subwatersheds to improve goodness of fit, and the resulting parameters were consistent with subwatershed characteristics. Agricultural sources in the Thames and SY subwatersheds and point sources from DT subwatershed were major contributors of phosphorus. Spatial distribution of phosphorus yields at HRU and subbasin levels identified locations for potential management targeting for both point and nonpoint sources and revealed that in some subwatersheds nonpoint sources are dominated by urban sources.

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Pay-for-Performance Conservation Using SWAT Highlights Need for Field-Level Agricultural Conservation

Abstract: ABSTRACT. Pay-for-performance (PFP) is a relatively new approach to agricultural conservation that attaches an incentive

Cited by 12 publications

References 37 publications

Assessing the Impact of Site-Specific BMPs Using a Spatially Explicit, Field-Scale SWAT Model with Edge-of-Field and Tile Hydrology and Water-Quality Data in the Eagle Creek Watershed, Ohio

Assessing the Impact of Site-Specific BMPs Using a Spatially Explicit, Field-Scale SWAT Model with Edge-of-Field and Tile Hydrology and Water-Quality Data in the Eagle Creek Watershed, Ohio

International Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and Quantity at the Local, Basin, and Regional Scales

Modeling Flow, Nutrient, and Sediment Delivery from a Large International Watershed Using a Field‐Scale SWAT Model

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