Runoff water quantity and quality data from native tallgrass prairie and crop–livestock systems in Oklahoma between 1977 and 1999

Abstract

Erosion and sedimentation pose serious threats to soil and water quality worldwide, including in the U.S. southern Great Plains. To better understand these processes in agricultural landscapes, eight 1.6-ha watersheds were established and instrumented in 1976 at the USDA-ARS Grazinglands Research Laboratory, ∼50 km west of Oklahoma City near El Reno, OK, to measure precipitation and surface runoff quantity and quality. Prior to construction, all watersheds were in native grass, primarily big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman.), little bluestem [Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash], and Indiangrass [Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash]; afterwards, four of the eight watersheds were cropped initially into winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (two conventionally tilled and two minimally or no-till). Although there have been many peer-reviewed papers from the Water Resources and Erosion (WRE) watersheds, none included all the datasets collected during the period 1977-1999. The objectives of this paper were (a) to present and discuss all archived historical data, including methods of collection and analysis, (b) to provide summary analyses of the variability in each dataset, and (c) to provide details about how to access these datasets. These datasets are valuable resources to improve modeling in relation to land use and management changes, climate variability, and other environmental factors and may be useful in developing strategies to mitigate environmental impacts of agricultural systems. They are available at https://doi.org/10.15482/USDA.ADC/1518421.

Calibrating Agro-Hydrological Model under Grazing Activities and Its Challenges and Implications

“…Soils in the study site are dominated by Bethany and Kirkland silt loams, with smaller areas of Milan loams, Aydelotte silt loams, and Renfrow silt loams [57]. This region has a semi-arid to subhumid climate characterized by long, hot, and dry summers and short, temperate, and dry winters [55]. The average annual precipitation in the study area for the 1976-1999 period was 875 mm, with approximately 40% occurring in the spring (March-May).…”

“…The average annual precipitation in the study area for the 1976-1999 period was 875 mm, with approximately 40% occurring in the spring (March-May). Readers may refer to Vogel et al [58,59] for management practices and soil properties in WRE watersheds and Nelson et al [55] for methods of collection and analysis of historical data.…”

“…Nelson et al [54] reported all management activities applied from 1977 to 2000. These management systems are common to grazing management and cropping patterns that are applied across the Southern Great Plains.…”

“…The APEXgraze model allows for the evaluation of grazing management effects on soil degradation, wa-ter quality, and plant communities in rangeland watersheds and environmental impacts under current and projected climate conditions [5,35,53]. This upgrade has, however, not been evaluated for capturing runoff and sediment dynamics at farm-scale watersheds, and none of the studies parametrized the "APEXgraze" under grazing systems in pastures or croplands [54,55].…”

Linking geospatial information and effects of land management to edaphic properties

“…Watershed unit 8 (WWCT) has been managed using a combination of offset disking and chisel plowing and planted to winter wheat since 1976 (figure 1). The above truncated description of management applied to the watersheds was derived from Nelson et al (2020) and Vogel et al (2000). A detailed description of all management practices including fertilizer applications is available at https://doi.org/10.15482/ USDA.ADC/1518421.…”