Nitrate on a Slow Decline: Watershed Water Quality Response during Two Decades of Tallgrass Prairie Ecosystem Reconstruction in Iowa.

The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge was established as a tallgrass prairie ecosystem reconstruction in the Walnut Creek watershed (5238 ha), Jasper County, Iowa, with >1200 ha of prairie plantings initiated between 1993 and 2006. This study updates the documented decreases in watershed NO-N losses that accompanied this change in land cover to a 20-yr record. Annual flow-weighted NO-N concentrations declined by 0.15 mg NO-N L yr, which was not significantly different from the rate of 0.07 mg NO-N L yr reported after the first decade of monitoring. There was also evidence ( < 0.1) that prairie reconstruction led to a declining trend in annual watershed water yield, which would have contributed to the trend of decreasing NO-N loads. However, variability in climate, including 2 yr with significant flooding events followed by a major drought during the second decade of monitoring, challenged any notion that a watershed water quality record will stabilize even >10 yr after a substantial change in land cover, in this naturally drained watershed underlain by fine grained glacial deposits that exhibit multidecadal groundwater transport times. Efforts to document progress toward water quality goals will need to consider dominant flow paths and associated travel times, uncertainty in the effectiveness of management changes, and a changeable climate.

Changes in lateral floodplain connectivity accompanying stream channel evolution: Implications for sediment and nutrient budgets.

Floodplain storage commonly represents one of the largest sediment fluxes within sediment budgets. In watersheds responding to large scale disturbance, floodplain-channel lateral connectivity may change over time with progression of channel evolution and associated changes in channel geometry. In this study we investigated the effects of channel geometry change on floodplain inundation frequency and flux of suspended sediment (SS) and total phosphorus (TP) to floodplain storage within the 52.2 km2 Walnut Creek watershed (Iowa, USA) through a combination of 25 in-field channel cross section transects, hydraulic modeling (HEC-RAS), and stream gauging station-derived water quality and quantity data. Cross sectional area of the 25 in-field channel cross sections increased by a mean of 17% over the 16 year study period (1998-2014), and field data indicate a general trend of degradation and widening to be present along Walnut Creek's main stem. Estimated stream discharge required to generate lateral overbank flow increased 15%, and floodplain inundation volume decreased by 37% over study duration. Estimated annual fluxes of SS and TP to floodplain storage decreased by 61 and 62% over study duration, respectively. The estimated reductions in flux to floodplain storage have potential to increase watershed export of SS and TP by 9 and 18%, respectively. Increased contributions to SS and TP export may continue as channel evolution progresses and floodplain storage opportunities continue to decline. In addition to loss of storage, higher discharges confined to the channel may have greater stream power, resulting in further enhancement of SS and TP export through accelerated bed and bank erosion. These increased contributions to watershed loads may mask SS and TP reductions achieved through edge of field practices, thus making it critical that stage and progression of channel evolution be taken into consideration when addressing sediment and phosphorus loading at the watershed scale.

Soil nutrient variability and groundwater nitrate-N in agricultural fields.

Landscape may result in uneven nutrient loads within a field. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of landscape on soil carbon and nutrient levels, and on levels of nitrate-N in groundwater. Soil samples were collected in three fields, two transects each, 30 sites in each field. The soil morphology was characterized for the profile, and soil organic carbon and nutrient levels were determined for 0-0.15 and 0.15-0.3 m depths. Each field had wells installed at three of the sites. One field showed a wide range of landscape variability, and significant effects of curvature on soil carbon and nutrient levels. Another field showed no significant effect of slope or curvature on soil carbon and nutrient levels because the nutrient levels were quite variable, including high spikes. The third field had less variable landscape trends but still showed a few significant effects on soil carbon and nutrient levels. Nitrate-N levels remained high in two of the nine wells (20 to 50 mg L-1), suggesting that additions of nitrate-N at the concave or converging sites replaced any losses. Median nitrate-N levels at the other seven well sites were lower, ranging from 8 to 17 mg L-1. Influence of landscape on soil carbon and nutrients was more detectable when the landscape factors were highly variable without excessive variability in soil nutrient properties.

Distribution and mass of groundwater orthophosphorus in an agricultural watershed.

Orthophosphorus (OP) is the form of dissolved inorganic P that is commonly measured in groundwater studies, but the spatial distribution of groundwater OP across a watershed has rarely been assessed. In this study, we characterized spatial patterns of groundwater OP concentrations and loading rates within the 5218ha Walnut Creek watershed (Iowa) over a two-year period. Using a network of 24 shallow (<6m) monitoring wells established across watershed, OP concentrations ranged from <0.01 to 0.58mg/l in all samples (n=147) and averaged 0.084±0.107mg/l. Groundwater OP concentrations were higher in floodplains and OP mass loading rates were approximately three times higher than in uplands. We estimated that approximately 1231kg of OP is present in floodplain groundwater and 2869kg is present in upland groundwater within the shallow groundwater zone (0-5m depth). Assuming no new inputs of OP to shallow groundwater, we estimated it would take approximately eight years to flush out existing OP mass present in the system. Results suggest that conservation practices focused on reducing OP loading rates in floodplain areas may have a disproportionately large water quality benefit compared to upland areas.