2017 SWCS Annual Conference July 30-August 2, 2017 Monona Terrace Convention Center

1. Phosphorus Export from
Artificially Drained Fields across
the Eastern Corn Belt
Lindsay Pease1, Kevin King1, Emily Duncan1, Mark Williams2, and Norm Fausey2
USDA Agricultural Research Service
1. Soil Drainage Research Unit, Columbus, Ohio
2. National Soil Erosion Lab, West Lafayette, Indiana
72nd SWCS International Annual Conference
Madison, Wisconsin
July 31, 2017

2. SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

3. Photo credit: Nicholas A. Tonelli (2011)
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

4. Credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (2009)
Photo credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (2009)
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

5. Photo credit: NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab (2009)
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

6. “400,000 in Ohio without drinking water”
-Chicago Tribune, 8/3/14
Credit: Joshua Lott/Reuters (2014)
Volunteers unload bottled water
from a truck outside Waite High
School in Toledo, Ohio
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

7. SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

8. SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

9. EDGE-OF-FIELD RESEARCH
20 Paired Field Sites Surface Runoff Subsurface Drainage
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

10. Columbus
Cleveland
Toledo
Percent of county with
subsurface drainage
0-5
5-15
15-30
30-50
50-80
Lake Erie
Major city
USDA-ARS edge-of-field site
Cincinnati
Dayton
Williams et al. 2016. J. Soil Water Conserv. 71:9-12
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
EDGE-OF-FIELD RESEARCH

11. Baseline Phase: 2011 to 2016
Treatment Phase: Starting in 2017
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
EDGE-OF-FIELD RESEARCH

12. Baseline: Characterize surface and subsurface losses
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

13. Baseline: Characterize surface and subsurface losses
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
Are fields meeting recommended loading targets?

14. SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
DRP Concentration: Surface > SubsurfaceDRPConcentration(mgL-1
)
0.001
0.01
0.1
1
10
A
B
TPConcentration(mgL-1
)
0.01
0.1
1
D
0.001
0.01
March to July Annual
B
2.0
2.5
3.0
Subsurface
Surface
Target Load
ad(kgha-1
)
A
Target Conc.
0.05 0.05
0.09 0.21 0.08
0.27

15. DRPConcentration(mgL-1
)
0.001
0.01
0.1
1
10
A
B
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
TPConcentration(mgL-1
)
0.01
0.1
1
0.001
March to July Annual
B
TP Concentration: Surface > Subsurface
2.0
2.5
1.5
3.0
Subsurface
Surface
Target Load
oad(kgha-1
)
A
Target Conc.
0.23 0.23
0.20
0.46
0.19
0.56

16. SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
0.5
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.5
4.0
0.0
1.5
3.0
0.5
0.0
March to July Annual
TPLoad(kgha-1
)
B
DRP Load: Surface < Subsurface
4.0
0.5
1.0
2.0
2.5
0.0
1.5
3.0
Subsurface
Surface
Target Load
DRPLoad(kgha-1
)
A
B
0.11
0.29
0.13
0.03
0.22
0.06

17. TP Load: Surface < Subsurface
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
0.5
1.0
2.0
2.5
3.5
4.0
0.0
1.5
3.0
0.5
0.0
March to July Annual
TPLoad(kgha-1
)
B
4.0
0.5
1.0
2.0
2.5
0.0
1.5
3.0
Subsurface
Surface
Target Load
DRPLoad(kgha-1
)
A
B
3.5
4.0
0.5
1.0
2.0
2.5
0.0
1.5
3.0
Subsurface
Surface
Target Load
DRPLoad(kgha-1
)
A
B
0.50
1.24
0.090.30
0.56 0.13

18. DRPloading(kg/ha/yr)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5 Annex 4 threshold
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
3.0
3.5
WY 2013
WY 2014
WY 2015
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5 Mean annualkg/ha/yr)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Subsurface
Surface
Annex 4 threshold
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
WY 2012
WY 2013
43% of Site-Years Meet Annual DRP Loading Target
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
28%: March to July DRP Load

19. 2017 Growing Season: Beginning the Treatment Phase
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

20. Treatment Practices
 Gypsum as a surface amendment
 Fall vs spring application
 Organic vs inorganic P source
 Rate (full vs half rate)
 DWM
 Multiple vs single application
 Drawdown – alfalfa
 Conventional vs no-till/reduced till
 Organic vs inorganic
 Banding vs broadcast
 Cover crop vs no cover crops
 Bioreactors and steel slag filters
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

21. Conclusions
Subsurface drainage: Low P concentrations → Risk from Steady Discharge
Surface runoff: High P concentrations → Risk from Intense Rainfall
Fewer than half of field sites currently meet pledged targets
Legacy P means balancing P budget isn’t enough to meet targets
To meet targets, need both surface and subsurface load reduction strategies
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

22. Funding Partners
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service
• CEAP - Conservation Effects Assessment Project
• MRBI: Mississippi River Basin Initiative
• 201/202 EOF activities
USDA-Agriculture Research Service
4R Research Fund (IPNI and Fertilizer Industry)
The Nature Conservancy
Becks Hybrids/Ohio State University
Ohio Agri-Businesses
Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers
CIG: 69-3A75-12-231 (OSU)
CIG: 69-3A75-13-216 (Heidelberg University)
Ohio Soybean Association
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: DW-12-92342501-0
Edge-of-Field Team
Kevin King, PhD – Research Leader
Emily Duncan, PhD
Jed Stinner, PhD
Katie Rumora, MS
Phil Levison, MS
Sara Henderson, MS
Eric Fischer, MS
Marie Pollock, MS
Elizabeth Callow
Taylor Porter
Mark Day
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

23. Phosphorus Export from
Artificially Drained Fields across
the Eastern Corn Belt
Lindsay Pease, Kevin King, Emily Duncan, Mark Williams, and Norm Fausey
USDA Agricultural Research Service
Lindsay.Pease@ars.usda.gov
72nd SWCS International Annual Conference
Madison, Wisconsin
July 31, 2017

24. DRPloading(kg/ha/yr)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5 Annex 4 threshold
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
3.0
3.5
WY 2013
WY 2014
WY 2015
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5 Mean annualkg/ha/yr)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
Subsurface
Surface
Annex 4 threshold
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
3.0
3.5
WY 2012
WY 2013
43% of site-years met Annual DRP Load Recommendations
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
28%: March to July DRP Load
65%: Annual TP Load
40%: March to July TP Load

25. Eastern Corn Belt
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

26. Eastern Corn Belt
Lake Erie
SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT

27. SOIL DRAINAGE RESEARCH UNIT
40% Reduction in TP and DRP by 2025
Goal: reduce bloom size to 2012 levels in 9 out of 10 years
Annually and from March 1 through July 31
Pledged by Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario
For this study:
Field-scale equivalents for pledged load reduction
Annual Load: 0.29 kg/ha DRP and 1.24 kg/ha TP
March 1 - July 31 Load: 0.11 kg/ha DRP and 0.50 kg/ha TP