Occupying the Wet Prairie: The Role of Artificial Drainage in Story County, Iowa

Hewes, Leslie; Frandson, Phillip E.

doi:10.1080/00045605209352084

Cited by 40 publications

(27 citation statements)

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“…These clay loam soils were formed on nearly level lacustrine sediments, range from very poorly to somewhat poorly drained, and have surface soil organic carbon contents ranging from 14.1 to 51.6 g kg −1 (Bakhsh et al, 2000). Intensive row crop agricultural production on these soils was possible only after installation of subsurface drainage systems (Hewes and Frandson, 1952).…”

Section: Field Experimental Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrate loss in subsurface drainage and corn yield as affected by timing of sidedress nitrogen

Jaynes

2013

Agricultural Water Management

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Section: Field Experimental Layoutmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrate loss in subsurface drainage and corn yield as affected by timing of sidedress nitrogen

Jaynes

2013

Agricultural Water Management

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“…These clay loam soils were formed on nearly level lacustrine sediments, range from very poorly to somewhat poorly drained, and have surface soil organic carbon contents ranging from 14.1 to 51.6 g kg -1 (7 to 25.8 lb tn -1 ) or 1.41% to 5.16% (Bakhsh et al 2000). Large-scale row crop agriculture on these soils was possible only after installation of subsurface drainage systems to lower the water table in spring and early summer (Hewes and Frandson 1952).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in yield and nitrate losses from using drainage water management in central Iowa, United States

Jaynes¹

2012

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

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Excess nitrate (NO 3 ) in the MississippiRiver is the leading cause of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico (Rabalais et al. 1996; Turner et al. 2006; USEPA-SAB 2007), and excess NO 3 has been identified as a leading contributor to hypoxia zones at over 300 locations in US estuaries and coastal waters (CENR 2010). In the Mississippi River basin, much of the NO 3 comes from row crop production where large amounts of nitrogen (N) fertilizer are used to optimize production of annual crops that essentially grow only four months of the year. The upper Midwest in particular is the dominant source of NO 3 to the Mississippi River (Robertson et al. 2009), and it has been shown that most of the NO 3 enters surface waters through an extensive network of subsurface drain pipes (Jaynes et al. 1999; Goolsby et al. 2001; Royer et al. 2006; David et al. 2010). These drainage pipes, often Dan B. Jaynes is a soil scientist with the National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment, Abstract: Drainage water management (DWM) is a potentially valuable management practice for reducing NO 3 losses to surface waters in areas of artificial drainage. But the practice is essentially untested in Midwest United States conditions and its water quality and crop yield benefits uncertain. This paper reports results from applying DWM to a 22 ha (54 ac) production field in central Iowa as part of a five-state Conservation Innovative Grant effort to document the impact of DWM across the Midwest. Three of nine plots in an existing tile drainage research site were retrofitted with control structures so that the drainage level could be controlled. Water flow from the tile in each plot, NO 3 concentration in the drainage, and crop yield were measured over a four year period from 2006 to 2009. The field was in a two year corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) rotation with nitrogen (N) fertilizer applied before the corn crop only. During four years of monitoring tile flow, there was a significant (p = 0.05) 21% decrease in tile flow, no significant decrease in NO 3 concentration, and a significant 29% reduction in NO 3 load leaching from the DWM treatment compared to conventional drainage. No yield benefits from DWM were observed for the two year average for corn (2006 and 2008), but a significant yield increase of 8% was observed for the two year average for soybean (2007 and 2009). For the four years monitored in this study, it is unclear if the yield increase for soybean versus no increase for corn was due to weather patterns or because corn and soybean responded differently to the raised water table caused by DWM.

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“…The Bear Creek region was once part of the tallgrass prairie ecosystem containing wet prairie marshes and pothole wetlands in low areas and forests along higher‐order streams. Historically, the watershed consisted of flat till plains of extensive poor drainage and undulating to gently rolling land marked by numerous small, poorly drained depressions (Hewes and Frandson, 1952). Early settler accounts reported difficulties traveling around the numerous wetlands and sloughs scattered in the county (Anderson, 1999).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tile Drainage Density Reduces Groundwater Travel Times and Compromises Riparian Buffer Effectiveness

et al. 2015

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Strategies to reduce nitrate-nitrogen (nitrate) pollution delivered to streams often seek to increase groundwater residence time to achieve measureable results, yet the effects of tile drainage on residence time have not been well documented. In this study, we used a geographic information system groundwater travel time model to quantify the effects of artificial subsurface drainage on groundwater travel times in the 7443-ha Bear Creek watershed in north-central Iowa. Our objectives were to evaluate how mean groundwater travel times changed with increasing drainage intensity and to assess how tile drainage density reduces groundwater contributions to riparian buffers. Results indicate that mean groundwater travel times are reduced with increasing degrees of tile drainage. Mean groundwater travel times decreased from 5.6 to 1.1 yr, with drainage densities ranging from 0.005 m (7.6 mi) to 0.04 m (62 mi), respectively. Model simulations indicate that mean travel times with tile drainage are more than 150 times faster than those that existed before settlement. With intensive drainage, less than 2% of the groundwater in the basin appears to flow through a perennial stream buffer, thereby reducing the effectiveness of this practice to reduce stream nitrate loads. Hence, strategies, such as reconnecting tile drainage to buffers, are promising because they increase groundwater residence times in tile-drained watersheds.

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Occupying the Wet Prairie: The Role of Artificial Drainage in Story County, Iowa

Cited by 40 publications

References 0 publications

Nitrate loss in subsurface drainage and corn yield as affected by timing of sidedress nitrogen

Nitrate loss in subsurface drainage and corn yield as affected by timing of sidedress nitrogen

Changes in yield and nitrate losses from using drainage water management in central Iowa, United States

Tile Drainage Density Reduces Groundwater Travel Times and Compromises Riparian Buffer Effectiveness

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