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Watershed Science Institute, Stefanie Aschmann
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- Robert Weatherspoon, Project Leader – Soil Scientist, Live Oak, Florida
Watershed Science Institute, Stefanie AschmannDescribed below are two Watershed Science Institute products under development. Watershed Condition Indicators The watershed indicator selection tool, a prototype of which can be accessed through the WSSI web site (http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/watershed), is being developed in response to a national request for training on watershed health indicators. Many site-specific indicators of environmental health exist, but these are not always easily aggregated to a watershed scale., The Institute staff determined that new indicators were needed to meet NRCS requirements. It also became clear that the usefulness of any particular indicator depended largely on the questions to be answered, so for the prototype tool, we provided indicators that will help prioritize watersheds based on resource issues of concern. The tool is designed to help the planner identify appropriate screening indicators for specific resource issues. The prototype currently contains descriptions and examples of indicators for two resource concerns: 1) soil pollutants and contaminants 2) sustainable food and fiber production. The indicators include:
Comments on the tool and/or individual indicators are welcomed. We anticipate that new indicators will be continually added as they are developed, and modified as we learn more about how they function at scales larger than the field scale. Watershed Phosphorus Modeling Watershed Nutrient Ecosystem Dynamics-Phosphorus (WEND-P) is a modeling process designed to help land use planners and policy makers make better informed decisions about the long-term potential for phosphorus export from individual watersheds and ways to minimize this export. WEND-P is based on the concept of mass balance, that is, the phosphorus that enters the watershed minus the phosphorus that leaves the watershed is equal to the phosphorus stored in the watershed. WEND-P examines the input and output of phosphorus from all major land uses within the watershed and from the watershed itself. How the watershed is defined and how land uses are defined will impact the model construction. WEND-P is constructed using a commercial modeling software program called STELLA (High Performance Systems). With STELLA the user diagrams the relationships to be modeled and inputs the algorithms to describe these relationships. The software then transparently writes the code that creates the model. WEND can be used to estimate maximum carrying capacities relative to an established target or threshold P loading goal, assess the effects of changing permitting programs and nutrient management regulations on P export, and assist in the formulation of TMDL's. It differs from the P index in a number of respects. First, WEND-P is designed to look at long-term (20-40 year) trends in P export while the P index looks at off-site P movement potential at a given point in time. The P index is a qualitative, site-specific index, i.e., it evaluates the general potential for P loss from a single field. In contrast, WEND is process based, but not geographically based. It does not predict P movement from any location within the watershed, but from the watershed as a whole. WEND-P inputs are general averages. Results are general predictions and should not be interpreted as actual P loss values. Both WEND-P and the P index consider the importance of management on P export potential, but WEND-P evaluates the impact of management strategies (such as erosion reduction strategies) rather than individual practices (such as terraces) on P movement potential. The P index can help a landowner determine where to most safely land apply P today. WEND-P can help the regional planner determine how much P can be safely land applied in a watershed over an extended time frame. The soils information needed for WEND includes an assessment of the dominant or modal soils for each of the land uses in the watershed and a description of their characteristics. If no one soil dominates the land use, it may be necessary to estimate the properties of an average soil that may not actually correspond to any soil in the watershed. WEND models will also benefit from development of P adsorption isotherms for the dominant soils (particularly the agricultural soils) in the watershed, and a reliable conversion of soil test phosphorus levels to total phosphorus for the dominant soils. QUESTION RESPONSE: Question: How can resource soil scientists be better informed about the watershed health tools and technology transfer from the Watershed Science Institute? Answer: The best place to go for information about the Watershed Science Institute technology is the WSSI web site: http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/watershed. Most of the products that the Institute has published can be accessed through the web site. The Watershed Health Indicators tool, which is a work in progress, can be accessed through the web site under PRODUCTS. The web site also houses the Institute's Business Plan, which contains our ongoing and proposed projects. A plan is underway to revise the web site to make it more readable and accessible. We hope to soon have a direct link to pending products. Robert Weatherspoon, Project Leader – Soil Scientist, Live Oak, FloridaMiddle Suwannee River Area Watershed Size and Location The Middle Suwannee River Area Watershed is divided into four parts: North East (MSRA), South East (MSRA), North West and South West (MSRA). This MSRA watershed is located in north central Florida approximately halfway between the cities of Jacksonville and Tallahassee. The watershed is a tributary to the Suwannee River which originates in the Okefenokee swamp in Georgia and flows through the Florida peninsula for 245 miles before it empties into the Gulf of Mexico. The Watershed is approximately 52 miles long and 32 miles wide and contains approximately 500,000 acres. Topography in the area ranges from nearly level to gently rolling. Elevations range from about 40 feet to about 200 feet above mean sea level. Geology The hydrogeology of the area is karstic with closed basins, stream to sink drainage, numerous springs, and an unconfined aquifer with a high degree of recharge potential overlain by sandy, predominantly well-drained soils. There are few defined streams and numerous small sinkholes in the area. Surface runoff is minimal with most of the flow of the Suwannee River coming from the ground water. Soils The uplands in the watershed are mostly well drained to excessively drained soils on broad ridges. They have rapidly permeable sandy layers to depths of more than 80 inches or they have loamy subsoils below a depth of about 40 inches. Therefore, they have severe limitations for most cultivated crops due to doughtiness and the rapid leaching of plant nutrients. They have a medium to high potential for pesticide leaching to ground water and a low potential pesticide runoff to surface water. They also have a medium to high or high potential for nitrogen leaching to ground water and a low potential for phosphorus runoff to surface water. Middle Suwannee River Area Watershed problems and concerns Ground water quality In localized areas nitrate have been found in drinking water that exceeds safe drinking water standards. All major sources of nitrate nitrogen leaching to the aquifer in the watershed have been evaluated and was determined that livestock and poultry operations are the only significant, uncontrolled sources of contamination. Technical Assistance One soil scientist and a soil scientist ground penetrating radar specialist have been assigned to the Middle Suwannee River Watershed project. The major responsibility is to assist the engineers and planners with soil information that will aid in the planning of a new or the expansion an existing dairy or poultry operation. The soil information that is needed for the planning is soil texture, depth to the seasonal high water table, depth to bedrock and the coating of the sand grains. The USDA-NRCS engineers and planners use this data to design an economical waste management system and a nutrient management plan.. Currently there are seven dairies in the project where soils information is being used to design a waste management system. In addition to water table data and bedrock information, a detailed map of coated vs. uncoated Quartzipsamments is important in the MRSA watershed. These determinations are made in the field using soil color, the feel of the sand, and the experience of the soil scientist, compared to laboratory data from similar soils. If the soil in the planned area has uncoated sand grains (<5% silt plus clay) the amount of waste applied will be based on phosphorous use and the removal by planned cropping system. If the soil analysis is determined to be coated sand grains the waste application will be based on the nitrogen use of the planned cropping system. Soil information can assist planners and engineers in designing waste management systems and plans that can assist in maintaining a clean environment. 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