Environmental and cost benefits of multi‐purpose buffers in an agricultural watershed for biomass production

Ha, Miae; Wu, May

doi:10.1002/bbb.2311

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 54 publications

(106 reference statements)

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“…Our results show miscanthus integration resulted in a reduction of N leaching and DIN export by 4% under the Baseline climate (i.e., Scenario 1 vs. Baseline; Table S2). The reduction in N leaching shown under our Baseline conditions was similar to that of Ha et al (2020) and Ha and Wu (2022) when switchgrass was incorporated into the landscape within the RRB. Under the future climate scenarios, N leaching was reduced by 19%-24% when miscanthus was integrated into the landscape and DIN export was reduced between 21% and 26% (i.e., Scenario 3 vs.…”

Section: Incorporation Of Miscanthus In Cropping Systems Can Reduce N...supporting

confidence: 89%

Field‐scale analysis of miscanthus production indicates climate change may increase the opportunity for water quality improvement in a key Iowa watershed

et al. 2023

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The Raccoon River Basin is the primary source for drinking water in Iowa's largest city and plays a major role in the Mississippi River Basin's high nutrient exports. Future climate change may have major impacts on the biological, physiological, and agronomic processes imposing a threat to ecosystem services. Efforts to reduce nitrogen (N) loads within this basin have included local litigation and the implementation of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which suggest incorporating bioenergy crops (i.e., miscanthus) within the current corn–soybean landscape to reach a 41% reduction in nitrate loads. This study focuses on simulating N export for historical and future land use scenarios by using an agroecosystem model (Agro‐IBIS) and a hydrology model (THMB) at the 500‐m resolution, similar to the scale of agricultural fields. Model simulations are driven by CMIP5 climate data for historical, mid‐century, and late‐century under the RCP 4.5 and 8.5 warming projections. Using recent crop profit analyses for the state of Iowa, profitability maps were generated and nitrogen leaching thresholds were used to determine where miscanthus should replace corn–soybean area to maximize reductions in N pollution. Our results show that miscanthus inclusion on low profit and high N leaching areas can result in a 4% reduction of N loss under current climate conditions and may reduce N loss by 21%–26% under future climate conditions, implying that water quality has the potential continue to improve under future climate conditions when strategically implemented conservation practices are included in future farm management plans.

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Section: Incorporation Of Miscanthus In Cropping Systems Can Reduce N...supporting

confidence: 89%

Field‐scale analysis of miscanthus production indicates climate change may increase the opportunity for water quality improvement in a key Iowa watershed

et al. 2023

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“…Previous analyses of riparian buffer costs and benefits 43 considered costs and benefits to the farming community such as buffer installation and maintenance, use of nutrients trapped in the buffer, and biomass harvesting. In this study, we assessed the impact of reduced nitrate concentrations in Table 5 provides a snapshot of various factors, including the nitrate removal operation, potential carbon credits, buffer installation and maintenance, and cultivation of biomass for fuel if we treat the O&M cost reductions as a benefit.…”

Section: Benefits From Water Treatment Plant Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…51 When the biomass harvested from the buffer is sold at a farm gate price of $60 per dry ton (dt), it can generate $2.56 million in revenue for farmers. 43 With drinking water production and a carbon market price of $100/t, the benefits to the entire watershed community could be $2.63 million (Table 5).…”

Section: Benefits From Water Treatment Plant Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the range of carbon market price, we estimate a carbon benefit of $22-511 per year. c Riparian buffer cost estimate values are from Ha and Wu,43 figs. 6 and 7 and table 3.d Nutrients stored in the riparian zone are used to replace maintenance fertilizers to offset fertilizer cost.eBiomass market price at $60 dry ton − 1 of biofuel feedstock with a scenario that considers fertilizing buffer and forgone income (Ha and Wu,43 table 3).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Measuring environmental and cost benefits of riparian buffers for drinking water production in a Midwest watershed

Wu,

Khalid,

Mitchell

et al. 2023

Biofuels Bioprod Bioref

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This study focuses on the economic value and carbon benefits of riparian buffers in urban drinking water production. The impact of riparian buffers on the waterworks operation in the Raccoon River watershed was quantified using the following metrics: nitrate concentration, days of nitrate removal operation, material and energy cost (based on 17 years of historical records with a watershed model), regression, and cost analysis. The findings indicate that the presence of riparian buffers in agricultural land can substantially decrease nitrate concentration in the water intake of the waterworks during the crop‐growing season: 19% in April, 9% in May, and 11% in June. These reductions mean less nitrate treatment of the plant intake flow: 23% in April, 12% in May, and 3% in June. These changes lead to significant resource savings: 425 metric tons of sodium chloride (NaCl), 147 810 kWh of electricity, 253 metric tons of powdered activated carbon, and 20.8 million liters of fresh water. The buffers would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 86.9 metric tons (CO2 equivalent) in 17 years. The total cost saving was estimated at $327 326, with the highest potential savings in May ($215 100), followed by April ($65 465), and June ($46 761). When factoring in buffer installation, cropland loss, nitrate removal, and cost associated with buffer harvest for biofuel in an established biomass market, the benefit to the entire watershed community would be $2.63 million annually. The results underscore the significant cost benefits and environmental benefits associated with cropland riparian buffers in a watershed community. The approach employed in this study holds promise for assessing riparian buffer benefits in other watersheds, contributes to an understanding of sustainable water management practices, and provides a basis for decision making in a wide range of agricultural regions.

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“…Perennials can maintain ecosystem services while contributing to existing and emerging markets such as bioenergy, outdoor recreation (e.g., agritourism), hunting, and nutrient and carbon crediting (Meehan et al, 2013;Zilverberg et al, 2014;John and McIsaac, 2017;Powell et al, 2018;Ha and Wu, 2022;Zimmerman et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring changes in financial and ecosystems service outcomes with simulated grassland restoration in a Corn Belt watershed

Audia¹,

Schulte²,

Tyndall³

2022

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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While provisioning ecosystem services generated through agricultural production are high, this often comes at the expense of other ecosystem services. Approaches that support both farm income and a balanced array of ecosystem services are needed. We employed a landscape modeling approach to demonstrate the financial and ecosystem service outcomes of strategically restoring grassland cover within a Corn Belt agricultural watershed. We assessed potential changes associated with a “Baseline” land use scenario and two alternative scenarios for the Grand River Basin (Iowa and Missouri, USA). In a “Buffered” scenario we simulated the impacts of replacing cropland within 20 m of streams with restored native grassland cover. In a “Productivity-based” scenario we simulated the replacement of annual row crops on poorly performing croplands with native grassland cover. Grasslands comprised 0.4% of the Baseline scenario. Grassland was expanded to 0.8% of the watershed in the Buffered scenario, reducing annual nutrient and sediment loss by 1.44%, increasing soil carbon sequestration by 0.12% over 10 years, and increasing pollinator abundance by 0.01%. The estimated annual value of these enhancements was $1.7 million for nitrogen reduction, $0.1 million for phosphorus reduction, $0.5 million for sediment reduction, and $1.3 million for soil carbon sequestration. Grassland comprised 4.9% of the watershed in the Productivity-based scenario, reduced annual nutrient and sediment loss by 11.50%, increased soil carbon sequestration by 1.13% over 10 years, and increased pollinator abundance by 0.42%. The estimated annual value of enhancements was $18 million for nitrogen reduction, $1.4 million for phosphorus reduction, $2.5 million for sediment reduction, and $14 million for soil carbon sequestration. We also calculated the value of grassland biomass for a potential energy market. The benefit of producing and selling grassland biomass ranged -$445 to $1,291 ha−1 yr−1. Scaled to the watershed, annual revenues ranged -$7.3 million to $21.1 million for the Buffered scenario and -$44.2 million to $128.8 million for the Productivity-based scenario. This study was the first to quantify changes in revenue and the value of ecosystem services associated with grassland restoration in the Grand River Basin and can help inform discussion among watershed stakeholders.

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Environmental and cost benefits of multi‐purpose buffers in an agricultural watershed for biomass production

Cited by 9 publications

References 54 publications

Field‐scale analysis of miscanthus production indicates climate change may increase the opportunity for water quality improvement in a key Iowa watershed

Field‐scale analysis of miscanthus production indicates climate change may increase the opportunity for water quality improvement in a key Iowa watershed

Measuring environmental and cost benefits of riparian buffers for drinking water production in a Midwest watershed

Measuring changes in financial and ecosystems service outcomes with simulated grassland restoration in a Corn Belt watershed

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