Little SAC River Watershed: Bacterial Source Tracking Analysis

Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Little Sac River Watershed: Fecal Coliform Total Maximum Daily Load

This report describes the water quality data and the model that were used to develop the bacteria total maximum daily load of the Little Sac River in Greene and Polk counties. It is the final TMDL report sent to EPA by the Missouri Department of Resources and approved by EPA on August 9, 2006.The Environmental Protection Agency Region 7 through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has provided partial funding for this project under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act through a grant entitled “Integrated analysis of the Little Sac Watershed”. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Upper Shoal Creek Watershed: Water Quality Analysis

FAPRI, with significant input from the local community, has developed this analysis defining how current agricultural practices in the upper Shoal Creek Watershed affect water quality.This material is based upon work supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, region VII through a grant entitled “Watershed Water Quality Initiative at the University of Missouri

Little SAC River Watershed: Bacterial Source Tracking Analysis

Data collected from November 2003 to October 2004 at two sites on the Little Sac River show that the whole body contact water quality criteria was not met during this period. The year was divided in four periods: winter, spring, summer, and fall. Averages and geometric means were above the 200 colonies/100 ml for any of the winter, summer, and fall periods at both sites.This material is based upon work supported by the Environmental Protection Agency, region VII through a grant entitled “DNA Source Tracking of Fecal E. Coli in the Little Sac River, Missouri,” (grant X7-98740401-0). Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

APEX simulation : environmental benefits of agroforestry buffers on corn-soybean watersheds

Paper presented at the 13th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held June 19-21, 2013 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.In Poppy, L., Kort, J., Schroeder, B., Pollock, T., and Soolanayakanahally, R., eds. Agroforestry: Innovations in Agriculture. Proceedings, 13th North American Agroforestry Conference, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada, June 19-21, 2013.The Agricultural Policy Environmental Extender (APEX) model has the ability to simulate the effects of vegetative filter strips on runoff and pollutant loadings from agricultural watersheds. The objectives of this study were to calibrate and validate the APEX model for three adjacent watersheds and determine optimum buffer dimensions and placement locations. ArcAPEX and APEX0604 versions were used for the simulations. The simulated corn and soybean yields were within 13% and 27% of the measured yields, respectively. The agroforestry, grass buffer, and control watershed models were calibrated (1998 to 2001) and validated (2002 to 2008) for eventbased runoff with r2 and Nash-Sutcliffe Coefficients (NSC) values of 0.7-0.8 and 0.4-0.8, respectively. The models could not be calibrated for sediment losses. The simulated grass and agroforestry buffers reduced average annual runoff by 5.2% and 4.3%, respectively. Increase of buffer widths to 5.5 m and 7.5 m were not effective. The buffers located on the backslopes were the most effective for the agroforestry watershed but this trend was not seen in the grass buffer watershed. The study provides guidance on how to parameterize APEX to simulate grass and agroforestry buffers. It contributes to the validation of APEX and will be useful to scientists in need of parameterizing the model for watersheds that include upland buffers.Anomaa Senaviratne (1, 2), Ranjith P. Udawatta (1, 2), Claire Baffaut (3), Stephen H. Anderson (1) and Shibu Jose (2) ; 1. 302 ABNR Bldg., Dept. of Soil, Environ. and Atmos. Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. 2. 203 ABNR Bldg., The Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211. 3. USDA-ARS Cropping Systems and Water Quality Research Unit, 241 Ag. Eng. Bldg., University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211.Includes bibliographical references

Upper White River Watershed Integrated Economic and Environmental Management Project

This report outlines enhanced existing local cooperative water quality efforts, sumarizes economic and physical data, and discusses how that information was used to develop analytical models.This project was partially funded by the US EPA Region 7, through the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (subgrant #G05-NPS-09), under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act

Environmental Implications of Increased Bioenergy Production on Midwest Soil Landscapes [abstract]

Only abstract of poster available.Track III: Energy InfrastructurePrairie soil landscapes encompass over 16 million acres in Missouri and surrounding states. Much of this area has been degraded by erosion but is still used for grain production. Erosion has caused variable topsoil depth within fields which in turn has resulted in greater within-field variability of crop yield, magnified the drought-prone nature of these soils, and lowered the overall soil productivity and ecosystem function. In recent years, pressure on these sensitive soils has risen due to higher demand for grain production, in part for ethanol and biodiesel. In some areas, highly erodible fields which were historically managed as CRP and pasture are being turned into grain crop acres. Thus as new and fluctuating feed and bioenergy markets develop, land management practices will also shift, resulting in changes in soil and water quality of watersheds. This presentation will explore the likely environmental implications of different types of bioenergy production on the soil resource. Further, the positive benefits of potential changes in land use will be in explored. For example, one alternative for sensitive soils is production of perennial grass as a feedstock for coal co-burning plants and for potential future use in cellulosic ethanol production. Perennial grass yields are likely to be less variable than grain yields, both year-to-year and within fields, primarily because of greater resistance to drought. Grass production systems also provide environmental services not obtained from annual grain crops. We will also discuss our work on developing ways to target the most appropriate places in the landscape for grain or perennial production so as to enhance ecosystem services and improve soil and water quality

Calibration of the APEX Model to Simulate Management Practice Effects on Runoff, Sediment, and Phosphorus Loss

Process-based computer models have been proposed as a tool to generate data for Phosphorus (P) Index assessment and development. Although models are commonly used to simulate P loss from agriculture using managements that are different from the calibration data, this use of models has not been fully tested. The objective of this study is to determine if the Agricultural Policy Environmental eXtender (APEX) model can accurately simulate runoff, sediment, total P, and dissolved P loss from 0.4 to 1.5 ha of agricultural fields with managements that are different from the calibration data. The APEX model was calibrated with field-scale data from eight different managements at two locations (management-specific models). The calibrated models were then validated, either with the same management used for calibration or with different managements. Location models were also developed by calibrating APEX with data from all managements. The management-specific models resulted in satisfactory performance when used to simulate runoff, total P, and dissolved P within their respective systems, with r2 \u3e 0.50, Nash– Sutcliffe efficiency \u3e 0.30, and percent bias within ±35% for runoff and ±70% for total and dissolved P. When applied outside the calibration management, the management-specific models only met the minimum performance criteria in one-third of the tests. The location models had better model performance when applied across all managements compared with management-specific models. Our results suggest that models only be applied within the managements used for calibration and that data be included from multiple management systems for calibration when using models to assess management effects on P loss or evaluate P Indices

FAPRI Environmental Projects 2000

Since 1995, the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri (FAPRI) has been providing analytical support in several areas around the state as communities try to come to grips with various water quality issues thought to derive from production agriculture's two underlying facts of life. This report provides a summary of the lessons learned as the unit has looked at and worked with these communities. It also discusses the specific projects underway in the unit, again focusing on issues directly related to the interface problem.This project is a cooperative effort of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The work is supported by EPA grant X997396-01, Region VII U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under section 104 (b) (3). The Missouri Department of Agriculture appropriated funds to support the work in this report

Positive Approaches to Phosphorus Balancing in Southwest Missouri: Animal Manure Phosphorus Recycling Initiative

Document presented on July 12, 2001 at Crowder College, Neosho, MO and on November 6 & 7 at Water Quality Research in the White River Basin Conference in Springfield, MO.Opportunities exist to create value added animal waste fertilizer products that can be used in crop production, reducing import demands for phosphorus, and relocating phosphorus from areas of excess supply to areas of need for crop production. This paper focuses on opportunities to recycle poultry litter in southwest Missouri.This project is a cooperative effort of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri and the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The work is supported by EPA grant X997396-01, Region VII U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under section 104 (b)(3). The Missouri Department of Agriculture appropriated funds to support the work in this report