UNDERSTANDING THE TOOLS FOR QUANTIFYING CONSERVATION PERFORMANCE

Ryan AndersonEcological Economist

SWCS International Annual Conference 2014

OUR APPROACH

1. Identify project area suitability

2. Develop infrastructure for water quality monitoring

3. Build a watershed model

4. Prioritize farmer outreach

5. Estimate field- and farm-scale conservation performance

6. Pay participating farmers for reductions from field baselines

IDENTIFY PROJECT AREA SUITABILITY

SPARROW (USGS) PRESTO (Wisconsin DNR)

DEVELOP MONITORING INFRASTRUCTURE

Key considerations:

• Location in watershed

• Instream vs. field-edge

• Fixed-interval vs. event-based

• Minimum WQ parameters

− Base flow

− Sediment (TSS & TDS)

− Total & dissolved reactive P

− Total N & compounds

• Startup/ongoing support

• Frequency of analysis

BUILD A WATERSHED MODEL

• Digital Elevation Model

• Land use

• Soils

• Weather

• Management practices (e.g. crop, fertilizer, tillage)

• Reservoirs and outlet(s)

• Point source loads

• Monitoring station data

Where are agricultural P losses concentrated?

Are watershed or farmer-led groups active there?

Which reduction activities would be cost-effective?

PRIORITIZE FARMER OUTREACH

ESTIMATE FIELD/FARM-SCALE PERFORMANCE

Process-based watershed simulation model that can:• Route water, sediment, nutrients, and pesticides at any user-defined scale• Assess environmental effects of implementing a broad range of

agronomic and structural practices• Integrate with SWAT and the Farm Economic Model• Be used as a web interface (NTT) in ~13 states

ESTIMATE FIELD/FARM-SCALE PERFORMANCE

Helps Wisconsin farmers develop agency-compliant nutrient management plans and calculate:• N-P-K recommendations by crop/field• RUSLE2-based soil loss assessment of which fields meet tolerable soil loss• Annual and rotational PI value for all fields• Rotational P balance based on soil tests• Lbs of P loss reduction for trading (in development)

SnapPlus

What about other states?

PAY FARMERS FOR REDUCTIONS

HOW DO WE DESIGN TOOLS FOR FARMERS?

Source: Ali Saleh, Tarleton State University

FIELD TO MARKET’S FIELDPRINT CALCULATOR

Source: Ali Saleh, Tarleton State University

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER• Use watershed-scale models to set the context and prioritize efforts

• Use field-scale tools/models for decision making and incentive payments

• Calibrate models to recent conditions and validate with monitoring data

• New technologies can help streamline field-to-watershed scale conservation programs

BUT

• How long will it take to see change?

• What about social/economic/ecological outcomes?