Changes in groundwater quality and agriculture in forty years on the Twin Falls irrigation tract in southern Idaho

Lentz, R.D.; Carter, D.L.; Haye, S.V.

doi:10.2489/jswc.73.2.107

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…This has been addressed by excavating large (1.3 × 2.3 m) drainage tunnels into the basalt layer underlying the soil profile. Excavation continued until a water carrying fracture through the basalt was intercepted, which effectively lowered these perched water tables by draining them into the Upper Snake Rock (Carter et al 1971;Bjorneberg et al 2008;Lentz et al 2018). Irrigation is also present at other sites (e.g., Beasley), but not as heavily as in Upper Snake Rock, and it can be ignored.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, the leaching vulnerability without artificial drainage seemed to be the most representative of the region. On the other hand, the large tunnels that drain the perched water table caused by years of furrow irrigation do contribute to the transport of nutrients and agricultural chemical inputs to the stream (Lentz et al 2018). Overall, the SVI was not very useful in this watershed because of the numerous modifications and complexity of the water conveyance system.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 95%

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Evaluation of the Soil Vulnerability Index for artificially drained cropland across eight Conservation Effects Assessment Project watersheds

Baffaut¹,

Lohani

Thompson

et al. 2019

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has proposed the Soil Vulnerability Index (SVI) as a standard tool to classify inherent soil vulnerability of cropland to loss of sediment and nutrients by runoff and leaching. The tool uses soil properties and topography, and does not consider crop management, except for the presence of artificial surface or subsurface drainage. For artificially drained cropland, SVI vulnerability to runoff remains unchanged but vulnerability to leaching is raised by two classes out of four to reflect the increased risk of nitrate (NO 3) transport. The SVI was reviewed within different contexts, but there is a need for SVI evaluation when artificial drainage is present. Thus, the objectives of this evaluation were to (1) evaluate SVI vulnerability to runoff and leaching for artificially drained cropland, and (2) propose changes to the SVI ruleset based on the findings of Objective 1. The SVI was evaluated for eight sites with artificial drainage located in regions ranging from Idaho to Maryland. Seven sites were watersheds ranging in size from 600 to 113,600 ha, with 44% to 84% cropland consisting of row crops or small grains. The eighth site consisted of six fields ranging from 7 to 30 ha in size. Consistency between SVI vulnerability, hydrologic processes that take place on the landscape, and outcomes such as crops grown were examined, using the accumulated experience and knowledge of the coauthors of this paper. Overall, SVI vulnerability to runoff and leaching was consistent with earlier research for sites with artificial subsurface drainage unless rainfall intensities were greater than they are in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio-Tennessee River basins. SVI vulnerability to leaching was greater than expected in case of surface drainage. In addition, complex soil map units can cause incorrect vulnerability classification at field scale. At the watershed or regional scale, the leaching component should be considered both with and without artificial drainage so that the causes of the vulnerability (permeable soils or artificial drainage) can be distinguished.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 95%

Evaluation of the Soil Vulnerability Index for artificially drained cropland across eight Conservation Effects Assessment Project watersheds

Baffaut¹,

Lohani

Thompson

et al. 2019

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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“…This area is within the Twin Falls Canal Company Irrigation Tract. The tract includes a system of tunnels and relief well and tile networks installed to alleviate localized high water tables caused by irrigation (Lentz et al, 2018). Portneuf is a deep soil formed in silt loam and very fine sandy loam sediments.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increasing fertilizer costs and the rapid growth of a regional dairy industry have resulted in increased dairy manure applications to farmlands in south‐central Idaho (Lentz et al, 2018). Furrow irrigation can produce greater runoff, erosion, deep percolation, and associated nutrient losses compared with sprinklers (Flury et al, 1994; Ren et al, 1996; Wang et al, 1997; Al‐Jamal et al, 2001; Spalding et al, 2001; Mack et al, 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furrow irrigation can produce greater runoff, erosion, deep percolation, and associated nutrient losses compared with sprinklers (Flury et al, 1994; Ren et al, 1996; Wang et al, 1997; Al‐Jamal et al, 2001; Spalding et al, 2001; Mack et al, 2005). Although furrow irrigation is increasingly being replaced by sprinkler irrigation there, nitrate concentrations in shallow groundwater in the region continue to increase (Lentz et al, 2018). Annual nitrate leaching losses from corn ( Zea mays L.) crops in nonirrigated fields in Pennsylvania averaged 65 kg ha −1 yr −1 (Toth et al, 2006), whereas those in furrow‐irrigated corn in southern Idaho were reported to be 120 kg ha −1 yr −1 (Lentz et al, 2001a).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mineral Fertilizer and Manure Effects on Leached Inorganic Nitrogen, Nitrate Isotopic Composition, Phosphorus, and Dissolved Organic Carbon under Furrow Irrigation

Lentz

Lehrsch

2018

J of Env Quality

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A better understanding of nutrient leaching in furrow irrigated agriculture is needed to optimize fertilizer use and avoid contamination of water supplies. In this field study (2003-2006), we measured deep percolation fluxes at 1.2-m depth and associated nutrient concentrations and mass losses from dairy manure nitrogen (N) or mineral N (urea, sodium nitrate [NaNO])-amended soils (372 kg available N ha in 4 yr) and nonamended controls and determined the δN-NO and δO-NO isotope ratios in the leached nitrate. Flow-weighted concentration means for individual irrigations varied widely, from near zero to as much as 250 mg L for NO-N, 480 μg L for dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP), 43 mg L for dissolved organic C (DOC), and 390 mg L for chloride (Cl). Relative to other treatments, mineral fertilizer increased NO-N concentrations 2.6- to 3-fold and Cl concentrations 2.6- to 3.6-fold in deep leachate, particularly when NaNO was applied in 2004 and 2006, and produced maximum mean season-long NO-N and Cl losses. Manure and control treatments produced similar leachate nutrient mass losses, and for some irrigation periods, mineral fertilizer produced 85 and 97% lesser DRP losses and two times greater Cl losses compared with manure and control treatments. Four-year cumulative losses among treatments differed only for Cl. Isotopic composition of deep-leached nitrate indicates that both transformation and biologic cycling of mineral and manure N are rapid in these soils, which, with percolation volume, influence the amounts of NO-N and DOC leached. In light of the potential negative effects associated with either fertilizer type, and because even nonamended soils produced substantial amounts of leached NO-N (69.5 kg ha yr), management must minimize percolation water losses to limit nutrient losses from these fertilized, furrow-irrigated soils.

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A New Conductivity Sensor for Monitoring the Fertigation in Smart Irrigation Systems

Rocher

Basterrechea

Parra

et al. 2019

Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing

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Changes in groundwater quality and agriculture in forty years on the Twin Falls irrigation tract in southern Idaho

Cited by 7 publications

References 26 publications

Evaluation of the Soil Vulnerability Index for artificially drained cropland across eight Conservation Effects Assessment Project watersheds

Evaluation of the Soil Vulnerability Index for artificially drained cropland across eight Conservation Effects Assessment Project watersheds

Mineral Fertilizer and Manure Effects on Leached Inorganic Nitrogen, Nitrate Isotopic Composition, Phosphorus, and Dissolved Organic Carbon under Furrow Irrigation

A New Conductivity Sensor for Monitoring the Fertigation in Smart Irrigation Systems

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