Shallow Surface Ditches on Managing Agriculture Water and Nutrient

Session: 39. - Managing Agriculture Water and Nutrients - Science Solutions for Tomorrows BMPs

Xiaoqiang Liu, the Ohio State University, [email protected]
Margaret Kalcic, Ohio State University, [email protected]
Kayla Miller, The Ohio State University, [email protected]
Andy Ward, The Ohio State University, [email protected]

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HAB) in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) have been a challenging water quality issue in the Great Lakes Region for many years. Nutrients traveling in runoff from agricultural fields are considered an important contributor for this issue. This study focuses on sediment and nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) reduction of shallow surface ditches as an agricultural best management practice (BMP) to treat agricultural surface runoff. Shallow surface ditches are conveyors of surface water runoff in particularly flat regions such as the Maumee watershed. They are traditionally left non-vegetated, although sometimes crops are grown in the ditches. There is a dearth of literature related to shallow surface ditches on managing agricultural runoff and nutrient transport. This study addresses the question of whether a vegetated ditch provides greater reductions in sediment and nutrient transport off-site in comparison to non-vegetated surface ditches at the farm scale. To assess the practice effectiveness, we had been intensively monitoring surface runoff since 2016 from vegetated with non-vegetated surface field ditches and collected key water quality parameters including total suspended solid (TSS), ammonium nitrogen (NH₄-N), nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N), dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP). 

1. Keyword
nutrients

2. Keyword
water quality

3. Keyword
sediments