The Potential of Prairie Pothole Wetlands as an Agricultural Conservation Practice: A Synthesis of Empirical Data

Ross, Caryn D.; McKenna, Owen P.

doi:10.1007/s13157-022-01638-3

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Our results suggest that the hydrologic impact of conservation practices that increase perennialization in the U.S. Midwest are highly variable. The increased perennialization of croplands in the U.S. Midwest has been proposed as an effective strategy to promote native species, reduce stream pollution, and increase soil water holding capacity, reducing runoff and soil erosion (Ross & McKenna, 2023; Schulte et al., 2017). The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) promotes planting native, warm‐season grasses as its conservation practice 2.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Resistance Controls Differences in Evapotranspiration Between Croplands and Prairies in U.S. Corn Belt Sites

Schreiner‐McGraw,

Baker,

Wood

et al. 2024

Water Resources Research

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Water returned to the atmosphere as evapotranspiration (ET) is approximately 1.6x global river discharge and has wide‐reaching impacts on groundwater and streamflow. In the U.S. Midwest, widespread land conversion from prairie to pasture to cropland has altered spatiotemporal patterns of ET, yet there is not consensus on the direction of change or the mechanisms controlling changes. We measured ET at three locations within the Long‐Term Agroecosystem Research network along a latitudinal gradient with paired rainfed cropland and prairie sites at each location. At the northern locations, the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) and Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), the cropland has annual ET that is 84 and 29 mm/year (22% and 5%) higher, respectively, caused primarily by higher ET during springtime when fields are fallow. At the southern location, the Central Mississippi River Basin (CMRB), the prairie has 69 mm/year (11%) higher ET, primarily due to a longer growing season. Differences in climate and that the CMRB prairie is remnant native prairie, while the UMRB and KBS prairies are restored, make it challenging to attribute differences to specific mechanisms. To accomplish this, we examine the energy balance using the Two‐Resistance Method (TRM). Results from the TRM demonstrate that higher surface conductance in croplands is the primary factor leading to higher springtime ET from croplands, relative to prairies. Results from this study provide insight into impacts of warm season grasses on the hydrology of the U.S. Corn Belt by providing a mechanistic understanding of how land use change affects the water budget.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface Resistance Controls Differences in Evapotranspiration Between Croplands and Prairies in U.S. Corn Belt Sites

Schreiner‐McGraw,

Baker,

Wood

et al. 2024

Water Resources Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The increased perennialization of croplands in the U.S. Midwest has been proposed as an effective strategy to promote native species, reduce stream pollution, and increase soil water holding capacity, reducing runoff and soil erosion (Ross & McKenna, 2023;Schulte et al, 2017). Of particular interest are strips of native prairie vegetation inserted into cropland that allow farming operations to continue.…”

Section: Implications For Agricultural Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface resistance controls differences in evapotranspiration between croplands and prairies in U.S. Corn Belt sites

Schreiner-McGraw

Baker

Wood

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Water returned to the atmosphere as evapotranspiration (ET) is approximately 1.6x greater than global river discharge and has wide-reaching impacts on groundwater and streamflow. In the U.S. Midwest, widespread land conversion from prairie to cropland has altered spatiotemporal patterns of ET, yet there is no consensus on the direction of change in ET or the mechanisms controlling changes. We aimed to harmonize findings about how land use change affects ET in the Midwest. We measured ET at three locations within the Long-Term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network along a latitudinal gradient with paired rainfed cropland and prairie sites at each location. At the northern locations, the Upper Mississippi River Basin (UMRB) and Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), the cropland has annual ET that is 84 and 29 mm/year higher, respectively, caused primarily by higher ET, likely from soil evaporation during springtime when agricultural fields are fallow. At the southern location, the Central Mississippi River Basin (CMRB), the prairie has 69 mm/year higher ET, primarily due to a longer growing season. To attribute differences in springtime ET to specific mechanisms, we examine the energy balance using the Two-Resistance Method (TRM). Results from the TRM demonstrate that higher surface conductance in croplands is the primary factor leading to higher springtime ET from croplands, relative to prairies. Results from this study provide critical insight into the impact of land use change on the hydrology of the U.S. Corn Belt by providing a mechanistic understanding of how land use change affects the water budget.

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“…Farmed potholes also accumulate more nutrients due to the runoff of applied manure and fertilizer from upland fields (Cambardella et al, 1999). Although nutrient loading to potholes increases potholes' nutrient removal efficiencies (Ross and McKenna, 2022), farmed prairie potholes have greater cropping season nutrient concentrations than non-farmed (Martin et al, 2019b). Additionally, the presence of subsurface drainage and surface inlets, which are typical within these depressional areas, is suspected to increase nitrate-nitrogen (NO 3 -N) export to surface water (Schilling and Helmers, 2008), contributing nitrogen discharge to the Gulf of Mexico (Baker et al, 1975;Singh et al, 2007;Skaggs et al, 1994).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of AnnAGNPS Wetland Nitrogen Removal Component on Farmed Prairie Potholes

Tirtalistyani,

Kaleita

2024

Journal of Natural Resources and Agricultural Ecosystems

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Highlights AnnAGNPS offers a wetland module (AgWET) to simulate farmed prairie potholes soluble nitrogen dynamics. Three key parameters of the AgWET nitrogen removal components show high and very high Relative Sensitivity (Sr ). AnnAGNPS tends to underestimate the soluble nitrogen concentration at the beginning of the cropping season. Abstract. Farmed prairie potholes are common in northern Iowa and have been considered an impediment to agricultural development. Potholes have distinctive wetland characteristics where they might contain a high concentration of soluble nitrogen coming from agricultural upland runoff. With sub-surface drainage underneath them, providing short circuit nutrient transport downstream, Iowa poses a significant threat to nitrogen export to the Gulf of Mexico. Watershed models, such as AnnAGNPS, developed a wetland module allowing users to find the possible BMPs to accomplish nutrient reduction targets. Previous research indicates that AnnAGNPS may be used to mimic inundation depth fluctuations in potholes with moderate success. However, there has been little research on the wetland nitrogen removal components of the model. This study aims to evaluate the AnnAGNPS wetland module's performance in simulating the soluble nitrogen concentration in three farmed prairie potholes by comparing the simulation output with the observed data. The sensitivity analysis of the three key parameters of the model shows high and very high levels of sensitivity, with the temperature coefficient's relative sensitivity ranging from -6.7 to 8.6. Attempts in parameterization on the three targeted parameters indicated that the model poorly simulated the soluble nitrogen concentration. The comparison between observed and simulated data shows that the model fails to predict the high concentration of soluble nitrogen in the early cropping season. This conclusion is consistent with earlier research indicating that AnnAGNPS tends to underestimate the nitrogen concentration during the cropping season. Keywords: AnnAGNPS wetland module, Farmed prairie pothole, Soluble nitrogen concentration.

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The Potential of Prairie Pothole Wetlands as an Agricultural Conservation Practice: A Synthesis of Empirical Data

Cited by 5 publications

References 68 publications

Surface Resistance Controls Differences in Evapotranspiration Between Croplands and Prairies in U.S. Corn Belt Sites

Surface Resistance Controls Differences in Evapotranspiration Between Croplands and Prairies in U.S. Corn Belt Sites

Surface resistance controls differences in evapotranspiration between croplands and prairies in U.S. Corn Belt sites

Evaluation of AnnAGNPS Wetland Nitrogen Removal Component on Farmed Prairie Potholes

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