Transforming Drainage Research Data (USDA-NIFA Award No. 2015-68007-23193)

This dataset contains research data compiled by the “Managing Water for Increased Resiliency of Drained Agricultural Landscapes” project a.k.a. Transforming Drainage. This project was funded from 2015-2021 by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA, Award No. 2015-68007-23193). Data are also available from a separate web-accessible application (drainagedata.org). At drainagedata.org, users can visualize the data with customized tools, query based on specific sites and measurements of interest, and access site photographs, maps, summaries, and publications. Additional data or edits made following the publication of this data here at USDA NAL Ag Data Commons will be posted under the Versions tab on drainagedata.org.

These data began in 1996 and include plot- and field-level measurements for 39 experiments across the Midwest and North Carolina. Practices studied include controlled drainage, drainage water recycling, and saturated buffers. In total, 219 variables are reported and span 207 site-years for tile drainage, 154 for nitrate-N load, 181 for water quality, 92 for water table, and 201 for crop yield.

The Transforming Drainage Project worked to advance the process of designing and implementing agricultural drainage systems for storing water in the landscape to improve the resiliency and productivity of agricultural systems. At each site, a control plot was paired with a plot with one of the following three practices to assess impacts.

1. Controlled Drainage (CD) is the practice of using a water control structure to raise the depth of the drainage outlet, holding water in the field during periods when drainage is not needed.

2. Drainage Water Recycling (DWR) diverts subsurface drainage water into on-farm ponds or reservoirs, where it is stored until it can be used by the crop later in the season through supplemental irrigation.

3. Saturated Buffers (SB) remove nitrate from subsurface drainage water by diverting it into the buffer where it can be taken up by growing vegetation or removed by denitrification.

   
   Resources in this dataset:
   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management - tillage.

     File Name: mngt_tillage_data.csv

     Resource Description: Information about tillage operations performed in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management – notes.

     File Name: mngt_notes_data.csv

     Resource Description: General information about field conditions during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management – residue.

     File Name: mngt_residue_data.csv

     Resource Description: Information about residue management in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management – fertilizing.

     File Name: mngt_fertilizing_data.csv

     Resource Description: Information about fertilizer application and soil amendments performed in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management – harvesting.

     File Name: mngt_harvesting_data.csv

     Resource Description: Information about harvesting operations performed in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management – planting.

     File Name: mngt_planting_data.csv

     Resource Description: Information about planting operations performed in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management – irrigation.

     File Name: mngt_irrigation_data.csv

     Resource Description: Information about irrigation operations performed in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Field management – drainage water management.

     File Name: mngt_dwm_data.csv

     Resource Description: Information about drainage water management in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Weather data.

     File Name: weather_data.csv

     Resource Description: On-site weather data collected in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Soil physicochemical properties data.

     File Name: soil_properties_data.csv

     Resource Description: Soil physicochemical measurements collected in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Soil moisture data.

     File Name: soil_moisture_data.csv

     Resource Description: Soil moisture, temperature and bulk EC measurements collected in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Irrigation data.

     File Name: irrigation_data.csv

     Resource Description: Amount of irrigation water applied to the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Stage data.

     File Name: water_stage_data.csv

     Resource Description: Stage measurements in the wetlands during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Water table data.

     File Name: water_table_data.csv

     Resource Description: Water table measurements collected in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Water quality data.

     File Name: water_quality_data.csv

     Resource Description: Water quality measurements collected from the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Methodology.

     File Name: meta_methods.csv

     Resource Description: Description of the drainage system set up, sampling procedures, and other protocols used at each research site during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Plot treatment.

     File Name: meta_treatment_identifier.csv

     Resource Description: List of treatments used across the research sites during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Plot description.

     File Name: meta_plot_characteristics.csv

     Resource Description: Description of plots and corresponding drainage systems for each research site

   
   

   • Resource Title: Agronomic data.

     File Name: agronomic_data.csv

     Resource Description: Agronomic measurements collected in the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Site description.

     File Name: meta_site_characteristics.csv

     Resource Description: Description of the research sites

   
   

   • Resource Title: Drainage data.

     File Name: drain_flow_and_N_loads_data.csv

     Resource Description: Drain flow and nitrate load measurements collected from the research fields during the study period

   
   

   • Resource Title: Data dictionary.

     File Name: data_dictionary.csv