Runoff Water Quality during Drought in a Zero-Order Georgia Piedmont Pasture: Nitrogen and Total Organic Carbon

Endale, Dinku M.; Fisher, Daniel K.; Owens, L. B.; Jenkins, Michael B.; Schomberg, Harry H.; Tebes-Stevens, Caroline; Bonta, J. V.

doi:10.2134/jeq2010.0411

Cited by 17 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The study period of April of 2002 through April of 2010 coincided with a period of contrasting weather pattern, including sustained drought described in Endale et al (2011). The SPI analysis also reflected this at 1-, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month aggregated time scales (figure 2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

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Runoff under natural rainfall from small tall fescue catchments in the Georgia Piedmont, United States

Endale¹,

Franzluebbers²,

Stuedemann³

et al. 2013

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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The environmental outcomes from tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum [Schreb.] Darbysh.) pastures managed with different levels of endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum) infection and choices of harvest and fertilization methods are not well known. We monitored runoff from 14 tall fescue paddocks, 0.9 to 1.1 ha (2.2 to 2.7 ac) each, from April of 2002 to April of 2010 near Watkinsville in the Georgia Piedmont. Three grazed Jesup tall fescue-endpohyte associations (endophyte infected high alkaloid-Wild, endophyte infected low alkaloid-MaxQ, and endophyte free-Free), and two sources of fertilization (inorganic and broiler litter), were replicated twice in a randomized block design. A replicated hayed treatment was planted to Jesup MaxQ with inorganic fertilization as a grazing control. Drought reduced the maximum number of runoff events to 77. A Standardized Precipitation Index analysis showed that the degree of drought was dependent on the time scale considered. The near normal period peaked at a 1-month (74%) scale and was least at a 9-month time scale (32%). Considering a 1-month time scale, there were on average 4 times as many runoff events per month during the near normal, and 16 times as many during the wet and wetter period, as those in the dry and drier period. Fertilizer and fertilizer by fescue interactions in grazed paddocks had significant effect on runoff, whereas main effects of fescue type and harvest methods (graze versus hay) did not. Inorganically fertilized paddocks had 30% greater runoff than those with broiler litter fertilization. The largest runoff amount occurred with inorganic fertilizer and endophyte-free fescue, suggesting a combined impact of reduced persistence of the endophyte-free fescue, with low organic matter input from the inorganic fertilizer. Grazing of Piedmont pastures with MaxQ-endophyte association of tall fescue, and fertilized with broiler litter, does not appear to pose additional risk for runoff, compared to tall fescue pastures under the common wild-type-endophyte association that are hayed or grazed, and fertilized inorganically or with broiler litter. These results further support a previous recommendation for increased adoption of MaxQ with broiler litter fertilization in the southeastern United States, because of excellent average daily gain by cattle and stand persistence of MaxQ.Keywords: broiler litter-endophyte-ergot alkaloid-grazing-hydrology-pasture the large broiler industry in the Georgia Piedmont, have similar ramifications, as does forage removal by grazing animals or haying. Combining these management choices may have implications on nutrient loss via surface and subsurface water movement.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Long-term evaluations that capture the impacts of contrasting weather patterns are needed to develop effective nutrient management strategies in grazing systems (Endale et al 2011). The objective of this study was to determine the runoff characteristics (amount, frequency, correlation with rainfall, etc.)…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Runoff under natural rainfall from small tall fescue catchments in the Georgia Piedmont, United States

Endale¹,

Franzluebbers²,

Stuedemann³

et al. 2013

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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“…The upland Cecil soils have a somewhat thicker clayey Bt horizon. Both soil types are characterized by brownish‐grey sandy loam to red clay loam surface horizons overlying red argillic horizons (Endale et al, ). The watershed is underlain by Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks including granite gneiss, mica schist, and felsic gneiss and schist (Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division, ).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

High resolution water body mapping for SWAT evaporative modelling in the Upper Oconee watershed of Georgia, USA

Ignatius

Jones

2017

Hydrological Processes

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Technological improvements in remote sensing and geographic information systems have demonstrated the abundance of artificially constructed water bodies across the landscape. Although research has shown the ubiquity of small ponds globally, and in the southeastern United States in particular, their cumulative impact in terms of evaporative alteration is less well quantified. The objectives of this study are to examine the hydrologic and evaporative importance of small artificial water bodies in the Upper Oconee watershed in the northern Georgia Piedmont, USA, by mapping their locations and modelling these small reservoirs using the Soil Water Assessment Tool. Comparative Soil Water Assessment Tool models were run with and without the inclusion of small reservoir surface area and volume. The models used meteorological inputs from 1990–2013 to represent years with drought, high precipitation, and moderate precipitation for both the calibration and evaluation periods. Statistical comparison of streamflow indicated that the calibration methodology produced results where the default model simulation without reservoirs fit observed flows more closely than the modified model with small reservoirs included (e.g., Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency of 0.72 vs. 0.64, r2 of 0.73 vs. 0.66, and percent bias of 11.4 vs. 21.6). In addition, Penman–Monteith, Hargreaves, and Priestley–Taylor evapotranspiration equations were used to estimate actual evaporation from 2,219 small water bodies identified throughout the 1,936.8 km2 watershed. Depending on the evaporation equation used, water bodies evaporated an average of 0.03–0.036 km3/year for the period 2003–2013. Using Penman–Monteith further, if the reservoirs were not considered and average actual evapotranspiration rates from the rest of the basin were applied, only 0.016 km3 of water would have left the basin as a result of evapotranspiration. This finding suggests construction of small reservoirs increased evaporation by an average of 0.017 km3 per year (approximately 46,500 m3/day). As the construction of small reservoirs continues and high resolution image data used to map these water bodies becomes increasingly available, watershed models that evolve to address the cumulative impacts of small water bodies on evaporation and other hydrologic processes will have greater potential to benefit the water resource management community.

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“…Dissolved oxygen predominantly decreased during drought conditions, while water temperature did not change. Such changes can occur despite the fact that nitrogen and total organic carbon runoff from farmland can be much lower during drought periods (Endale et al, 2011).…”

Section: Droughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in weather and climate extremes: State of knowledge relevant to air and water quality in the United States

Peterson

Karl

Kossin

et al. 2013

Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association

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Air and water quality are impacted by extreme weather and climate events on time scales ranging from minutes to many months. This review paper discusses the state of knowledge of how and why extreme events are changing and are projected to change in the future. These events include heat waves, cold waves, floods, droughts, hurricanes, strong extratropical cyclones such as nor'easters, heavy rain, and major snowfalls. Some of these events, such as heat waves, are projected to increase, while others, with cold waves being a good example, will decrease in intensity in our warming world. Each extreme's impact on air or water quality can be complex and can even vary over the course of the event.Implications: Because extreme weather and climate events impact air and water quality, understanding how the various extremes are changing and are projected to change in the future has ramifications on air and water quality management.

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Runoff Water Quality during Drought in a Zero-Order Georgia Piedmont Pasture: Nitrogen and Total Organic Carbon

Cited by 17 publications

References 32 publications

Runoff under natural rainfall from small tall fescue catchments in the Georgia Piedmont, United States

Runoff under natural rainfall from small tall fescue catchments in the Georgia Piedmont, United States

High resolution water body mapping for SWAT evaporative modelling in the Upper Oconee watershed of Georgia, USA

Changes in weather and climate extremes: State of knowledge relevant to air and water quality in the United States

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