Rainfall and Water Quality in the Southern Plains

Sharpley, A. N.; Smith, S. Jerrod; Menzel, R. G.; Berg, W. A.; Jones, O. R.

doi:10.1080/07438148709354793

Cited by 15 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Mass failures are important because they rapidly move large volumes of colluvium to the bottom of a gully, where the colluvium becomes susceptible to erosion by fluvial action. The result can be unusually high sediment concentrations during runoff, with major impacts on siltation and nutrient loading in higher order streams (e.g., Piest et al, 1975;Sharpely et al, 1996;Simon et al, 1996). In 56 catchment studies reviewed by Poesen et al (2003), sediments derived from gully erosion accounted for 10-95 per cent of total sediment losses from the catchments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bank‐collapse processes in a valley‐bottom gully, western Iowa

Thomas

Iverson

Burkart

2008

Earth Surf Processes Landf

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Widening and bank-slope reduction of a valley-bottom gully in western Iowa was correlated to increasing subsurface flow over a 36-year period. To study bank collapse at this gully, we measured rainfall, air temperature, hydraulic head near the banks and bank movement nearly continuously over a 2-year period. Styles of movement ranged from imperceptible creep to rapid slab collapses preceded by the formation of tension cracks parallel to the gully walls. Bank movement was commonly correlated to rainfall or snowmelt and associated head increases in the banks. If the banks are modelled as a twodimensional slab with an adjacent tension crack partly filled with water, measured heads were sufficient to cause bank failures through reduction of frictional support at the base of the slab. During winter months, air temperature variations across 0°C were correlated with bank movement: during mildly subfreezing periods banks expanded, and most, but usually not all, of this movement was recovered during above-freezing periods. This motion is attributed to frost heave followed by thawing. Deformation of the banks by heaving and thawing during winter may weaken them and prime them for failure during spring rains and snowmelt, when the frequency of mass-wasting events is highest.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bank‐collapse processes in a valley‐bottom gully, western Iowa

Thomas

Iverson

Burkart

2008

Earth Surf Processes Landf

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several examples from the literature provided by [21] on retention systems in America and Europe have shown effectively reduced nutrient loading. A runoff detention pond in Oklahoma, USA reduced sediment discharge downstream by 82%, total nitrogen by 56%, and total phosphorus by 60% [22]. A reduction in total nitrogen of 38%, and 56% in total phosphorus loading from a constructed wetland (a detention basin formed by berms adjacent to a stream) in Illinois, USA was reported by [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

An Economic Assessment of Local Farm Multi-Purpose Surface Water Retention Systems under Future Climate Uncertainty

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:Regions dependent on agricultural production are concerned about the uncertainty associated with climate change. Extreme drought and flooding events are predicted to occur with greater frequency, requiring mitigation strategies to reduce their negative impacts. Multi-purpose local farm water retention systems can reduce water stress during drought periods by supporting irrigation. The retention systems' capture of excess spring runoff and extreme rainfall events also reduces flood potential downstream. Retention systems may also be used for biomass production and nutrient retention. A sub-watershed scale retention system was analysed using a dynamic simulation model to predict the economic advantages in the future. Irrigated crops using water from the downstream reservoir at Pelly's Lake, Manitoba, Canada, experienced a net decrease in gross margin in the future due to the associated irrigation and reservoir infrastructure costs. However, the multi-purpose benefits of the retention system at Pelly's Lake of avoided flood damages, nutrient retention, carbon sequestration, and biomass production provide an economic benefit of $25,507.00/hectare of retention system/year. Multi-purpose retention systems under future climate uncertainty provide economic and environmental gains when used to avoid flood damages, for nutrient retention and carbon sequestration, and biomass production. The revenue gained from these functions can support farmers willing to invest in irrigation while providing economic and environmental benefits to the region.

show abstract

“…Treatment of gullies by land shaping and vegetation establishment resulted in an 82% reduction in on-site annual sediment loss, a 61% reduction in annual total P loss, and a 56% reduction in annual total N loss relative to untreated gullies (Sharpley et al 1996).…”

Section: Journal Of Soil and Water Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project benchmark watersheds: Synthesis of preliminary findings

Richardson¹,

Bucks²,

Sadler³

2008

Journal of Soil and Water Conservation

100

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The USDA has provided technical assistance and cost sharing to farmers and ranchers for implementing conservation practices on privately owned working lands since the 1930s. The primary purpose of the assistance programs has been to "improve the productivity of US farms and ranches and to protect the 'natural resource base' that sustained the agricultural enterprise" (Cox 2006). Conservationists have recognized for many years that these conservation programs protect millions of acres of farm and ranch lands from degradation. Research over the past fifty Abstract: The Conservation Effects Assessment Project was established to quantify the environmental impacts of USDA conservation programs. The Conservation Effects Assessment Project involves multiple watershed assessment studies designed to provide a scientific basis for a national assessment. The USDA Agricultural Research Service established 14 research sites-benchmark watersheds-to measure regionally specific environmental quality effects of conservation practices and to improve and validate models used by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service for their national assessment. Within each watershed, data were collected and continue to be collected to provide insight into the effects of specific conservation practices implemented under programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Reserve Program. A data storage and management system, Sustaining the Earth's Watersheds-Agricultural Research Data System (STEWARDS), was developed to provide easy accessibility to these data for analysis. Models were validated using data from many of the watersheds and were shown to be valuable tools for extrapolating the results for a national assessment. The physical process models were also combined with economic models to optimize tradeoffs among environmental and economic objectives of conservation practices. The benchmark watershed studies have begun to identify the effects of selected conservation practices, although additional data are required to provide definitive results. A prototype of a new modular modeling system has been developed that will provide a more powerful tool for future analyses. The initial Conservation Effects Assessment Project findings and products demonstrate progress toward the overall goals of quantifying conservation practice effects and providing tools to transfer the knowledge to points where they are applied under future conservation policy.

show abstract

Rainfall and Water Quality in the Southern Plains

Cited by 15 publications

References 1 publication

Bank‐collapse processes in a valley‐bottom gully, western Iowa

Bank‐collapse processes in a valley‐bottom gully, western Iowa

An Economic Assessment of Local Farm Multi-Purpose Surface Water Retention Systems under Future Climate Uncertainty

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project benchmark watersheds: Synthesis of preliminary findings

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About