Effects of Agricultural Drainage on Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review

Blann, Kristen; Anderson, James L.; Sands, Gary R.; Vondracek, Bruce

doi:10.1080/10643380801977966

Cited by 615 publications

(501 citation statements)

References 378 publications

(447 reference statements)

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“…In addition, subsurface tile drainage has been introduced, initially as ceramic pipes and more recently as plastic corrugated tubing buried various depths below the plow line, to increase runoff efficiency. The extent and density of drain tiles is not well documented, but artificial drainage appears to be nearly ubiquitous, with spacing between tiles as close as 15-20 m. The hydrologic effects of these drain tiles are generally understood, but quantitative models have struggled to accurately predict drain tile effects under the wide range of environmental conditions that exist [Blann et al, 2009]. In terms of sediment dynamics, it is expected that drain tiles have both positive and negative impacts.…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closing the Gap Between Watershed Modeling, Sediment Budgeting, and Stream Restoration

Smith¹,

Belmont²,

Wilcock³

2013

Stream Restoration in Dynamic Fluvial Systems

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(2011), Closing the gap between watershed modeling, sediment budgeting, and stream restoration, in Stream Restoration in Dynamic Fluvial Systems: Scientific Approaches, Analyses, and Tools, Geophys. Monogr. Ser., vol. 194 The connection between stream restoration and sediment budgeting runs both ways: stream restoration is proposed as a means to reduce sediment yields, but an accurate understanding of sediment supply is necessary to design an effective project. Recent advances in monitoring technology, geochemical techniques, high-resolution topography data, and numerical modeling provide new opportunities to estimate sediment erosion, transport, and deposition rates; upscale them in a geomorphically relevant fashion; and synthesize sediment dynamics at watershed scales. For practical application at large scale, watershed models used to predict yield often do not resolve lower-order channels, leaving an essential "blind spot" regarding sediment processes. We illustrate the challenges and emerging approaches for estimating sediment budgets using examples from two very different physiographic settings: the Mid-Atlantic Piedmont and the agricultural plains of southern Minnesota. We highlight common challenges and themes in defining an effective watershed sediment model. In both cases, reliable estimates of sediment yield depend essentially on the accurate identification of sediment sources and sinks and, hence, require careful delineation of landscape units and identification of dominant sediment sources and sinks. The primary elements needed to bridge the gap between sediment budgeting, watershed modeling, and stream restoration are (1) specificity regarding location, mechanism, and rates of erosion, (2) accurate accounting of sediment storage, (3) appropriate methods for upscaling local observations, (4) efficient means for incorporating multiple lines of evidence to constrain budget estimates, and (5) stream restoration methods that incorporate sediment supply in assessment and design procedures.

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Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Closing the Gap Between Watershed Modeling, Sediment Budgeting, and Stream Restoration

Smith¹,

Belmont²,

Wilcock³

2013

Stream Restoration in Dynamic Fluvial Systems

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“…The drainage network in the PPR is also increasingly modified with the expansion of ditch networks and tile drainage in association with agricultural activities (McCauley et al 2015). Ditches, pipes and field tiles can increase connectivity between waterbody features, however, both filling wetlands with soil and lowering the water table through increased water withdrawal can decrease expected surface-water connectivity (DeLaney 1995;Blann et al 2009;McCauley et al 2015). Our finding regarding the importance of predicted anthropogenic drainage may be related to the relation between land use and wetland connectivity and wetland loss (Miller et al 2009;Van Meter and Basu 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns and drivers for wetland connections in the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

Vanderhoof

Christensen

Alexander

2016

Wetlands Ecol Manage

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Ecosystem function in rivers, lakes and coastal waters depends on the functioning of upstream aquatic ecosystems, necessitating an improved understanding of watershed-scale interactions including variable surface-water flows between wetlands and streams. As surface water in the Prairie Pothole Region expands in wet years, surface-water connections occur between many depressional wetlands and streams. Minimal research has explored the spatial patterns and drivers for the abundance of these connections, despite their potential to inform resource management and regulatory programs including the U.S. Clean Water Act. In this study, wetlands were identified that did not intersect the stream network, but were shown with Landsat images to become merged with the stream network as surface water expanded. Wetlands were found to spill into or consolidate with other wetlands within both small (2-10 wetlands) and large ([100 wetlands) wetland clusters, eventually intersecting a stream channel, most often via a riparian wetland. These surface-water connections occurred over a wide range of wetland distances from streams (averaging 90-1400 m in different ecoregions). Differences in the spatial abundance of wetlands that show a variable surface-water connection to a stream were best explained by smaller wetland-to-wetland distances, greater wetland abundance, and maximum surface-water extent. This analysis demonstrated that wetland arrangement and surface water expansion are important mechanisms for depressional wetlands to connect to streams and provides a first step to understanding the frequency and abundance of these surface-water connections across the Prairie Pothole Region.

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“…Nutrient transport mechanisms are dominated by leaching and subsurface tile drainage of water, carrying nitrate-N (Jaynes et al 2001;Singer et al 2011) and dissolved phosphorus (Jacobson et al 2011), and surface runoff carrying sediment enriched with phosphorus (Kleinman et al 2011). The combined effect of artificial drainage, wetland loss, and agricultural nutrients on Midwest aquatic ecosystems was recently reviewed by Blann et al (2009). If climate change trends continue as projected, expected precipitation patterns will further increase agricultural runoff and its impacts on aquatic systems unless land management practices are adapted to improve soil functions and thereby mitigate these trends.…”

Section: Implications For Aquatic Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Convergence of agricultural intensification and climate change in the Midwestern United States: implications for soil and water conservation

Hatfield

Cruse

Tomer

2013

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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Abstract. Society faces substantial challenges to expand food production while adapting to climatic changes and ensuring ecosystem services are maintained. A convergence of these issues is occurring in the Midwestern United States, i.e. the 'cornbelt' region that provides substantial grain supplies to world markets but is also well known for its contribution to hypoxic conditions in the Gulf of Mexico due to agricultural nutrient losses. This review examines anticipated trends in climate and possible consequences for grain production and soil resource management in this region. The historic climate of this region has been ideal for large-scale agriculture, and its soils are among the world's most productive. Yet under current trends, degradation of the soil resource threatens our capacity to ensure a stable food supply and a clean environment in the face of a changing climate. A set of strategies and practices can be implemented to meet these challenges by maintaining and improving hydrologic and plant-growth functions of soil, which will improve outcomes for aquatic ecosystems and for the agricultural sector. Soil management ensures our long-term capacity to provide a reliable food supply, and mitigates pressures to expand agricultural practices into marginal croplands that would lead to further environmental degradation.

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Effects of Agricultural Drainage on Aquatic Ecosystems: A Review

Cited by 615 publications

References 378 publications

Closing the Gap Between Watershed Modeling, Sediment Budgeting, and Stream Restoration

Closing the Gap Between Watershed Modeling, Sediment Budgeting, and Stream Restoration

Patterns and drivers for wetland connections in the Prairie Pothole Region, United States

Convergence of agricultural intensification and climate change in the Midwestern United States: implications for soil and water conservation

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