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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 (https://transformingdrainage.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.

    P-TRAP Phosphorus Transport Reduction App

      The P-TRAP software allows a user to design different types of phosphorus removal structures based on site conditions, phosphorus absorbing material characteristics and structure parameters. The P-TRAP software allows users to explore different designs to meet performance goals for P removal amounts and material lifetime. A database of P absorbing material characteristics is included based on previous laboratory experiments.

      Conservation Practice Effectiveness (CoPE) Database

        This database presents a compilation of data on the effectiveness of innovative practices developed to treat contaminants in surface runoff and tile drainage water from agricultural landscapes. Traditional conservation practices such as no-tillage and conservation crop rotation are included in the database, as well as novel practices such as drainage water management, blind inlets, and denitrification bioreactors.

        RZWQM2

          Root Zone Water Quality Model 2 (RZWQM2) is a whole-system model for studying crop production and environmental quality under current and changing climate conditions. It emphasizes the effects of agricultural management practices on physical, chemical and biological processes. RZWQM2 is a one-dimensional model with a pseudo 2-dimensional drainage flow. Crop simulation options include the generic plant growth model, DSSAT-CSM 4.0 and HERMES SUCROS models. It also can simulate surface energy balance with components from the SHAW model and water erosion from the GLEAMS model. An automated parameter estimation algorithm (PEST) was added to RZWQM2 for objective model calibration and uncertainty analysis.

          Data from: Agro-environmental consequences of shifting from nitrogen- to phosphorus-based manure management of corn.

            This experiment was designed to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and related agronomic characteristics of a long-term corn-alfalfa rotational cropping system fertilized with manure (liquid versus semi-composted separated solids) from dairy animals. Different manure-application treatments were sized to fulfill two conditions: (1) an application rate to meet the agronomic soil nitrogen requirement of corn (“N-based” without manure incorporation, more manure), and (2) an application rate to match or to replace the phosphorus removal by silage corn from soils (“P-based” with incorporation, less manure). In addition, treatments tested the effects of liquid vs. composted-solid manure, and the effects of chemical nitrogen fertilizer. The controls consisted of non-manured inorganic N treatments (sidedress applications). These activities were performed during the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons as part of the Dairy Coordinated Agricultural Project, or Dairy CAP, as described below. The data from this experiment give insight into the factors controlling GHG emissions from similar cropping systems, and may be used for model calibration and validation after careful evaluation of the flagged data.

            Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) Toolbox

              The Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) Toolbox software includes tools to process the LiDAR-based digital elevation models for hydrologic analysis, which then allows a series of prioritization, riparian classification, and conservation-practice placement tools to be used. These toolsets identify agricultural fields most prone to deliver runoff directly to streams, map and classify riparian zones to inform whole-watershed riparian corridor management, and estimate the extent of tile drainage in the watershed. The software maps out suites of locations appropriate to install each of several types of conservation practices. These practice-placement opportunities are mapped for practices including controlled drainage, grassed waterways, water and sediment control basins, and nutrient removal wetlands. Rather than making any recommendations, ACPF provides an inventory of watershed assessment data and conservation placement opportunities across a watershed, in order to inform local watershed planning.