Date post: | 11-Jan-2017 |
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Environment |
Upload: | soil-and-water-conservation-society |
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UNDERSTANDING THE TOOLS FOR QUANTIFYING CONSERVATION PERFORMANCE
Ryan AndersonEcological Economist
SWCS International Annual Conference 2014
OUR APPROACH
1. Identify project area suitability
2. Develop infrastructure for water quality monitoring
3. Build a watershed model
4. Prioritize farmer outreach
5. Estimate field- and farm-scale conservation performance
6. Pay participating farmers for reductions from field baselines
IDENTIFY PROJECT AREA SUITABILITY
SPARROW (USGS) PRESTO (Wisconsin DNR)
DEVELOP MONITORING INFRASTRUCTURE
Key considerations:
• Location in watershed
• Instream vs. field-edge
• Fixed-interval vs. event-based
• Minimum WQ parameters
− Base flow
− Sediment (TSS & TDS)
− Total & dissolved reactive P
− Total N & compounds
• Startup/ongoing support
• Frequency of analysis
BUILD A WATERSHED MODEL
• Digital Elevation Model
• Land use
• Soils
• Weather
• Management practices (e.g. crop, fertilizer, tillage)
• Reservoirs and outlet(s)
• Point source loads
• Monitoring station data
Where are agricultural P losses concentrated?
Are watershed or farmer-led groups active there?
Which reduction activities would be cost-effective?
PRIORITIZE FARMER OUTREACH
ESTIMATE FIELD/FARM-SCALE PERFORMANCE
Process-based watershed simulation model that can:• Route water, sediment, nutrients, and pesticides at any user-defined scale• Assess environmental effects of implementing a broad range of
agronomic and structural practices• Integrate with SWAT and the Farm Economic Model• Be used as a web interface (NTT) in ~13 states
ESTIMATE FIELD/FARM-SCALE PERFORMANCE
Helps Wisconsin farmers develop agency-compliant nutrient management plans and calculate:• N-P-K recommendations by crop/field• RUSLE2-based soil loss assessment of which fields meet tolerable soil loss• Annual and rotational PI value for all fields• Rotational P balance based on soil tests• Lbs of P loss reduction for trading (in development)
SnapPlus
What about other states?
PAY FARMERS FOR REDUCTIONS
HOW DO WE DESIGN TOOLS FOR FARMERS?
Source: Ali Saleh, Tarleton State University
FIELD TO MARKET’S FIELDPRINT CALCULATOR
Source: Ali Saleh, Tarleton State University
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER• Use watershed-scale models to set the context and prioritize efforts
• Use field-scale tools/models for decision making and incentive payments
• Calibrate models to recent conditions and validate with monitoring data
• New technologies can help streamline field-to-watershed scale conservation programs
BUT
• How long will it take to see change?
• What about social/economic/ecological outcomes?