These photos, taken before and after a grassed-waterway conservation practice was installed, show a change in the water clarity of agricultural runoff at an edge-of-field surface monitoring site in Wisconsin.
Edge-of-field monitoring: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI)
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By Upper Midwest Water Science Center
March 22, 2019
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which threaten the health of the Great Lakes. The USGS supports these efforts by utilizing edge-of-field monitoring to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate conservation practices that aim to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
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Efforts to reduce nutrients in the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes contain over 20% of the world's surface fresh water providing drinking water to over 40 million people, numerous recreational opportunities, and billions of dollars in economic benefits across the region. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was implemented in 2009 to help protect, restore, and maintain the Great Lakes ecosystem now and for future generations. Now in its second phase, the GLRI Action Plan II (2015-2019) identifies strategic, priority actions to help to achieve the vision of a restored, protected, and sustainable Great Lakes ecosystem. The USGS has a long history of conducting scientific research in the Great Lakes Basin and we work closely with our Tribal, Federal, State, and local partners and stakeholders. Our GLRI science is structured to meet the goals and objectives of the five GLRI Focus Areas, and results from our research, monitoring, and other on-the-ground actions provide the scientific information needed to help guide Great Lakes restoration efforts and demonstrate the importance of science for restoration success.
One major objective of the GLRI Action Plan II is to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural watersheds by implementing conservation or other nutrient-reduction practices. These efforts focus on reducing phosphorus, an essential element for plant growth that is commonly applied to maintain profitable crop production. Excess phosphorus that is not taken up by plants can be washed into rivers and streams, eventually flowing into the Great Lakes. Increased nutrient inputs can threaten the health of the Great Lakes ecosystems by contributing to harmful algal blooms and other algal growth that can affect human and wildlife health, impair drinking water, and result in loss of recreational opportunities.
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
GLRI Priority Watersheds
GLRI efforts to reduce nutrient loads are focused on four targeted Priority Watersheds. These watersheds were selected because of high density of agricultural land use and their ecosystem impairments. All Priority Watersheds are associated with designated Areas of Concern, which are waters of significant environmental degradation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides funding and support to Priority Watersheds producers (farmers) to implement conservation practices to reduce the amount of nutrients that run off their agricultural fields and eventually enter the Great Lakes.
The USGS supports these efforts by monitoring the quality of runoff at the edge of agricultural fields; this study design helps us evaluate the effectiveness of specific conservation practices. Our expertise in study design, monitoring site and streamgage installation and maintenance, data collection and analysis, and water-quality modeling provides a rigorous scientific backbone for this project.
The GLRI Edge-of-Field Monitoring Project
The GLRI Edge-of-Field (EOF) monitoring project has two primary objectives:
1) Reducing nutrients, primarily phosphorus, in agricultural runoff from the four GLRI Priority Watersheds.
2) Monitoring and modeling the phosphorus-reduction effectiveness of agricultural conservation practices.
USGS scientists work closely with NRCS staff to identify the sources of phosphorus and other nutrients, and to quantify runoff water quality before and after conservation practices are installed. The data collected is also used to predict potential phosphorus reductions on a broader watershed scale. Rapid sharing of project results with local watershed stakeholders informs adaptive implementation of conservation practices and encourages producer communication.
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
How EOF Monitoring is being applied in the Great Lakes
EOF monitoring for the GLRI Priority Watershed effort began in 2012. A typical EOF monitoring project lasts 5 to 10 years, including 2-3 years of monitoring prior to the implementation of planned conservation measures. As of May 2016, there are 22 active GLRI EOF sites (14 surface and eight subsurface tile) in six subbasins in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and New York. The EOF monitoring and modeling directly address the measures of progress listed in the GLRI Action Plan II and provides beneficial data and products that help other partnering agencies accomplish their activities, allowing a more adaptive approach to both the monitoring and the conservation goals of GLRI.
Evaluating conservation practices
A conservation practice is an activity that protects or improves natural resources, such as reducing soil erosion or nutrient loss, improving water quality, or restoring wildlife habitat. The primary goal of the Priority Watershed effort is to evaluate the impact of the accelerated implementation of NRCS conservation practices, and EOF monitoring helps quantify conservation practice effectiveness through direct water-quality monitoring and watershed impact modeling. Although the USGS collects water data in streams and at field-site EOF stations, we partner with the NRCS to collect and manage on-farm agronomic data. On-farm data includes a description of any farm activity that occurs on monitored fields (what, how much, and when each activity occurred). This data is crucial for interpreting changes in runoff quantity and quality due to the implementation of conservation practices.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
Modeling
EOF data collection characterizes current conditions and allows us to detect on-the-ground changes over time. However, to predict future conditions, or to assess the cost-benefit of potential changes resulting from the implementation of numerous conservation practices, modeling is needed.
Water-quality models are built using land use, soils, elevation, climate, and land-management practice data tailored to each EOF site's farm field basin (also called a Hydrologic Response Unit, or HRU). With additional on-farm information provided by NRCS, these models quantify the potential changes that result from conservation practices and help assess the cumulative effect of multi-farm changes on the water quality of the larger watershed. Since these models represent common Great Lakes agricultural practices, basin-level results are often transferable to other agricultural areas across the Great Lakes basin. For this GLRI EOF project, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was selected to characterize the impact of the conservation practices at the stream subbasin scale.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Edge-of-field monitoring
Edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which can threaten the health of streams, rivers, and lakes. Edge-of-field monitoring assesses the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluates the effectiveness of conservation practices that aim to reduce nutrient loss.
Edge-of-field monitoring: Discovery Farms
The USGS is cooperating with Discovery Farms to understand agriculture’s impact on the environment and help producers find ways to minimize their impact while remaining economically viable. Edge-of-field or subsurface tile monitoring stations measure runoff-event volume, including snowmelt, and collect samples which are analyzed for suspended sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen, and chloride.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Edge-of-field: runoff before and after conservation practice install
These photos, taken before and after a grassed-waterway conservation practice was installed, show a change in the water clarity of agricultural runoff at an edge-of-field surface monitoring site in Wisconsin.
Edge-of-field: sites and installations
These photos show various edge-of-field monitoring surface and subsurface monitoring sites, installation efforts, and runoff events across the Great Lakes basin.
These photos show various edge-of-field monitoring surface and subsurface monitoring sites, installation efforts, and runoff events across the Great Lakes basin.
Edge-of-Field Monitoring Using Depth-Integrated Sample Arm (DISA)
During edge-of-field monitoring of an agricultural field runoff event, a depth-integrated sample arm (DISA) is used to take a water sample at the same time a traditional water sample is taken from an intake located at the bottom of the H-flume exit, where the water is assumed to be completely mixed.
During edge-of-field monitoring of an agricultural field runoff event, a depth-integrated sample arm (DISA) is used to take a water sample at the same time a traditional water sample is taken from an intake located at the bottom of the H-flume exit, where the water is assumed to be completely mixed.
Time-Lapse of Edge-of-Field Event Near Fort Wayne, IN
Time-lapse photo of a rainfall-induced runoff event at an edge-of-field surface site near Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 10-11, 2016. Edge-of-field monitoring is used to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices that aim to reduce nutrient loss.
Time-lapse photo of a rainfall-induced runoff event at an edge-of-field surface site near Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 10-11, 2016. Edge-of-field monitoring is used to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices that aim to reduce nutrient loss.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiative edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which threaten the health of the Great Lakes. The USGS supports these efforts by utilizing edge-of-field monitoring to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate conservation practices that aim to reduce sediment and nutrient loss.
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
Efforts to reduce nutrients in the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes contain over 20% of the world's surface fresh water providing drinking water to over 40 million people, numerous recreational opportunities, and billions of dollars in economic benefits across the region. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) was implemented in 2009 to help protect, restore, and maintain the Great Lakes ecosystem now and for future generations. Now in its second phase, the GLRI Action Plan II (2015-2019) identifies strategic, priority actions to help to achieve the vision of a restored, protected, and sustainable Great Lakes ecosystem. The USGS has a long history of conducting scientific research in the Great Lakes Basin and we work closely with our Tribal, Federal, State, and local partners and stakeholders. Our GLRI science is structured to meet the goals and objectives of the five GLRI Focus Areas, and results from our research, monitoring, and other on-the-ground actions provide the scientific information needed to help guide Great Lakes restoration efforts and demonstrate the importance of science for restoration success.
One major objective of the GLRI Action Plan II is to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural watersheds by implementing conservation or other nutrient-reduction practices. These efforts focus on reducing phosphorus, an essential element for plant growth that is commonly applied to maintain profitable crop production. Excess phosphorus that is not taken up by plants can be washed into rivers and streams, eventually flowing into the Great Lakes. Increased nutrient inputs can threaten the health of the Great Lakes ecosystems by contributing to harmful algal blooms and other algal growth that can affect human and wildlife health, impair drinking water, and result in loss of recreational opportunities.
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
GLRI Priority Watersheds
GLRI efforts to reduce nutrient loads are focused on four targeted Priority Watersheds. These watersheds were selected because of high density of agricultural land use and their ecosystem impairments. All Priority Watersheds are associated with designated Areas of Concern, which are waters of significant environmental degradation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides funding and support to Priority Watersheds producers (farmers) to implement conservation practices to reduce the amount of nutrients that run off their agricultural fields and eventually enter the Great Lakes.
The USGS supports these efforts by monitoring the quality of runoff at the edge of agricultural fields; this study design helps us evaluate the effectiveness of specific conservation practices. Our expertise in study design, monitoring site and streamgage installation and maintenance, data collection and analysis, and water-quality modeling provides a rigorous scientific backbone for this project.
The GLRI Edge-of-Field Monitoring Project
The GLRI Edge-of-Field (EOF) monitoring project has two primary objectives:
1) Reducing nutrients, primarily phosphorus, in agricultural runoff from the four GLRI Priority Watersheds.
2) Monitoring and modeling the phosphorus-reduction effectiveness of agricultural conservation practices.
USGS scientists work closely with NRCS staff to identify the sources of phosphorus and other nutrients, and to quantify runoff water quality before and after conservation practices are installed. The data collected is also used to predict potential phosphorus reductions on a broader watershed scale. Rapid sharing of project results with local watershed stakeholders informs adaptive implementation of conservation practices and encourages producer communication.
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
How EOF Monitoring is being applied in the Great Lakes
EOF monitoring for the GLRI Priority Watershed effort began in 2012. A typical EOF monitoring project lasts 5 to 10 years, including 2-3 years of monitoring prior to the implementation of planned conservation measures. As of May 2016, there are 22 active GLRI EOF sites (14 surface and eight subsurface tile) in six subbasins in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, and New York. The EOF monitoring and modeling directly address the measures of progress listed in the GLRI Action Plan II and provides beneficial data and products that help other partnering agencies accomplish their activities, allowing a more adaptive approach to both the monitoring and the conservation goals of GLRI.
Evaluating conservation practices
A conservation practice is an activity that protects or improves natural resources, such as reducing soil erosion or nutrient loss, improving water quality, or restoring wildlife habitat. The primary goal of the Priority Watershed effort is to evaluate the impact of the accelerated implementation of NRCS conservation practices, and EOF monitoring helps quantify conservation practice effectiveness through direct water-quality monitoring and watershed impact modeling. Although the USGS collects water data in streams and at field-site EOF stations, we partner with the NRCS to collect and manage on-farm agronomic data. On-farm data includes a description of any farm activity that occurs on monitored fields (what, how much, and when each activity occurred). This data is crucial for interpreting changes in runoff quantity and quality due to the implementation of conservation practices.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Sources/Usage: Some content may have restrictions. View Media Details
Modeling
EOF data collection characterizes current conditions and allows us to detect on-the-ground changes over time. However, to predict future conditions, or to assess the cost-benefit of potential changes resulting from the implementation of numerous conservation practices, modeling is needed.
Water-quality models are built using land use, soils, elevation, climate, and land-management practice data tailored to each EOF site's farm field basin (also called a Hydrologic Response Unit, or HRU). With additional on-farm information provided by NRCS, these models quantify the potential changes that result from conservation practices and help assess the cumulative effect of multi-farm changes on the water quality of the larger watershed. Since these models represent common Great Lakes agricultural practices, basin-level results are often transferable to other agricultural areas across the Great Lakes basin. For this GLRI EOF project, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model was selected to characterize the impact of the conservation practices at the stream subbasin scale.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Edge-of-field monitoring
Edge-of-field monitoring focuses on identifying and reducing agricultural sources of excess nutrients which can threaten the health of streams, rivers, and lakes. Edge-of-field monitoring assesses the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluates the effectiveness of conservation practices that aim to reduce nutrient loss.
Edge-of-field monitoring: Discovery Farms
The USGS is cooperating with Discovery Farms to understand agriculture’s impact on the environment and help producers find ways to minimize their impact while remaining economically viable. Edge-of-field or subsurface tile monitoring stations measure runoff-event volume, including snowmelt, and collect samples which are analyzed for suspended sediment, phosphorus, nitrogen, and chloride.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Edge-of-field: runoff before and after conservation practice install
These photos, taken before and after a grassed-waterway conservation practice was installed, show a change in the water clarity of agricultural runoff at an edge-of-field surface monitoring site in Wisconsin.
These photos, taken before and after a grassed-waterway conservation practice was installed, show a change in the water clarity of agricultural runoff at an edge-of-field surface monitoring site in Wisconsin.
Edge-of-field: sites and installations
These photos show various edge-of-field monitoring surface and subsurface monitoring sites, installation efforts, and runoff events across the Great Lakes basin.
These photos show various edge-of-field monitoring surface and subsurface monitoring sites, installation efforts, and runoff events across the Great Lakes basin.
Edge-of-Field Monitoring Using Depth-Integrated Sample Arm (DISA)
During edge-of-field monitoring of an agricultural field runoff event, a depth-integrated sample arm (DISA) is used to take a water sample at the same time a traditional water sample is taken from an intake located at the bottom of the H-flume exit, where the water is assumed to be completely mixed.
During edge-of-field monitoring of an agricultural field runoff event, a depth-integrated sample arm (DISA) is used to take a water sample at the same time a traditional water sample is taken from an intake located at the bottom of the H-flume exit, where the water is assumed to be completely mixed.
Time-Lapse of Edge-of-Field Event Near Fort Wayne, IN
Time-lapse photo of a rainfall-induced runoff event at an edge-of-field surface site near Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 10-11, 2016. Edge-of-field monitoring is used to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices that aim to reduce nutrient loss.
Time-lapse photo of a rainfall-induced runoff event at an edge-of-field surface site near Fort Wayne, Indiana, on May 10-11, 2016. Edge-of-field monitoring is used to assess the quantity and quality of agricultural runoff and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation practices that aim to reduce nutrient loss.