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Wisconsin’s Field Scale Assessment Tools

Wisconsin’s Field Scale Assessment Tools. Dennis Busch, UW-Platteville Eric Cooley, UW-Discovery Farms Laura Ward Good, UW-Madison . Wisconsin Field Scale Assessment Tools. Research Pioneer Farm Discovery Farms Wisconsin’s NMP tools Wisconsin P Index What it does

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Wisconsin’s Field Scale Assessment Tools

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  1. Wisconsin’s Field Scale Assessment Tools Dennis Busch, UW-Platteville Eric Cooley, UW-Discovery Farms Laura Ward Good, UW-Madison

  2. Wisconsin Field Scale Assessment Tools Research Pioneer Farm Discovery Farms Wisconsin’s NMP tools Wisconsin P Index What it does Testing Use in water quality projects

  3. What Are Discovery Farms? Wisconsin Discovery Farms are real-life farms in different geographic areas facing diverse environmental challenges. Our goal is to identify and reduce the sources of sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen, and other factors that may impair surface and groundwater. 5 to 7 year total program length.

  4. What Do We Measure? The quantity and quality of water leaving the agricultural basins - Streams - Edge-of-field - Subsurface tiles

  5. Monitoring Runoff in the Winter • Relatively few research studies • Potentially long duration runoff events (both rain and snowmelt events) • Runoff during the day and freezing at night • Multiple site visits

  6. Watersheds

  7. Initial Data Collected(2001 – 2012) • 10 Core farms – 29 sites / 118 site years of data • 16 edge-of-field stations / 66 site years of data • 7 stream stations / 26 site years of data • 6 tile drainage stations / 26 site years of data • 2 Watersheds – 14 sites / 28 site years of data • 6 edge-of-field stations / 12 site years of data • 6 stream stations / 12 site years of data • 1 wooded, 1 municipal / 4 site years of data

  8. www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org Updated website!

  9. Agro-ecosystems Research Producer-Driven • Joint Steering Committee • Pioneer Farm / Discovery Farms • Sub-Committees • Data, Research, Multistate, Watershed • Project Advisory Group

  10. Image Credit: WIDNR UW-Platteville Pioneer Farm

  11. Surface-Water Runoff Monitoring

  12. Paired-basins monitored at UW-Platteville Pioneer Farm.

  13. Groundwater Monitoring • Began in fall of 2006 • Quarterly Samples: • Sample Temperature • pH • Conductivity • Nitrite + Nitrate • Chloride • Solinst water level data loggers

  14. Field Scale Assessment for Water Quality Risks: Tools developed for cropland nutrient management planning • Nitrogen • Sediment • Phosphorus • Pathogens

  15. Decision Aid: Daily Runoff Risk

  16. Soil and Topographic Risk Maps

  17. Soil and Topographic Risk Maps Soils with a high leaching potential

  18. Soil and Topographic Risk Maps

  19. Soil and Topographic Risk Maps Slope restrictions

  20. Soil and Topographic Risk Maps

  21. Planning Software County Soil Type Soil Type Soil Test P and Organic Matter Field Slope Nutrient application rate calculator Contour and filter practices Field Slope Length Tillage P Index calculator Phosphorus Index Rotation crops and yields Manure Applications RUSLE2 P Fertilizer Applications Downfield Slope to Surface Water Distance to Surface Water SnapPlus Plan that meets guidelines for: Nitrogen loss risk (rate, location, timing) Sediment loss risk (RUSLE2) Phosphorus loss (P Index)

  22. P Index Estimates Average Annual P Delivery County Soil Type Soil Type Soil Test P and Organic Matter Field Slope Contour and filter practices Field Slope Length Tillage Rotation crops and yields Field Manure Applications Stream P Fertilizer Applications Downfield Slope to Surface Water Distance to Surface Water County Phosphorus Index

  23. P Index Runoff Phosphorus Pathways Form Source Transport Soil Erosion Particulate Manure Dissolved Winter runoff Fertilizer Rainfall runoff

  24. Testing P Index with Monitoring Data WI P Index compared to total annual P loads, 86 field years Not Predictive for Individual Weather Years!

  25. Testing P Index with Monitoring Data Revised WI P Index compared to measured runoff losses for 86 site years using measured sediment and runoff volume in the equations P Index is working relatively well to rank fields by total P loss if the methods used to estimate average annual runoff and sediment loss are accurate. Good, L.W., P.Vadas, J.C. Panuska, C.A. Bonilla, W.E. Jokela, 2012. Testing the Wisconsin Phosphorus Index with Year-Round Field-Scale Runoff Monitoring. Journal of Environmental Quality 41:1730-1740.

  26. Field-to-stream P Delivery Factor Field Downfield Slope to Surface Water Distance to Surface Water Assumes grassed waterway or channelized flow Does not take into account gully erosion Stream

  27. Wisconsin P Index • NM planning tool biased towards conservation: • Assumes homogeneous field • Dominant critical slope Field Stream

  28. Wisconsin P Index Standard: Rotational average no greater than 6 Field Stream

  29. P Index Varies with Management: Driftless Area Example Rotation: 3 years corn silage and 3 years alfalfa 9% slope, silt loam Soil test P = 70 ppm Fall chisel inc 10,000 gal/acre dairy manure 5 T/a/yr erosion No till, fall apply 10,000 gal/acre dairy manure 2 T/a/yr erosion No till, winter apply 7,000 gal/acre dairy manure 2 T/a/yr erosion

  30. P Index Varies with Management: Eastern Wisconsin Example Rotation: 3 years corn silage and 3 years alfalfa Soil test P = 70 ppm Flat silty clay loam soil Fall chisel inc 10,000 gal/acre dairy manure 1.3 T/a/yr erosion No till, winter apply 7,000 gal/acre dairy manure 0.5 T/a/yr erosion No till, fall apply 10,000 gal/acre dairy manure 0.5 T/a/yr erosion

  31. P Index with reductions in transport and P additions Continuous corn silage, soil test P = 100 ppm, silt loam 4% slope No P additions for 20 years 8 7 Chisel plow 6 5 WI P Index Strip till 4 3 2 1 0 1 6 11 16 Years

  32. What does a target of 6 mean to water quality? P Index: Estimate of annual storm flow delivery potential to nearest surface water P loads measured

  33. P Index Assessments for Water Quality Projects Smith Conley Change practices in high runoff phosphorus loss areas Pleasant Valley

  34. P Index Assessments for Water Quality Projects Initial distribution All fields managed to PI of 6, Results in 26% load reduction

  35. P Index Assessments for Water Quality Projects • Issues: • Tracking changes, • Dynamic land use • Accounting for phosphorus contributions from banks, barnyards, cows in stream Multi-disciplinary team studying channel processes and sediment movement to understand lag time If no change, want to understand why.

  36. P Index Assessments for Water Quality Projects Adaptive Management Pilot Project Lead by Madison Sewage District Pilot goal: Find if 50% reduction in inputs to lake obtainable Using P Index to quantify reduction potential

  37. Summary Wisconsin P Index Basics • Estimates average annual runoff P delivery • Reasonable field ranking tool • Varies with soil and amendment P and transport potential • Is being tested as a targeting tool

  38. Testing “Source” Components of P Index Equations Revised WI P Index compared to measured runoff losses for 86 site years using measured sediment and runoff volume in the equations Good et al. 2012

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