Long-Term Observations of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Export in Paired-Agricultural Watersheds under Controlled and Conventional Tile Drainage.

Controlled tile drainage (CTD) regulates water and nutrient export from tile drainage systems. Observations of the effects of CTD imposed en masse at watershed scales are needed to determine the effect on downstream receptors. A paired-watershed approach was used to evaluate the effect of field-to-field CTD at the watershed scale on fluxes and flow-weighted mean concentrations (FWMCs) of N and P during multiple growing seasons. One watershed (467-ha catchment area) was under CTD management (treatment [CTD] watershed); the other (250-ha catchment area) had freely draining or uncontrolled tile drainage (UCTD) (reference [UCTD] watershed). The paired agricultural watersheds are located in eastern Ontario, Canada. Analysis of covariance and paired tests were used to assess daily fluxes and FWMCs during a calibration period when CTD intervention on the treatment watershed was minimal (2005-2006, when only 4-10% of the tile-drained area was under CTD) and a treatment period when the treatment (CTD) watershed had prolific CTD intervention (2007-2011 when 82% of tile drained fields were controlled, occupying >70% of catchment area). Significant linear regression slope changes assessed using ANCOVA ( ≤ 0.1) for daily fluxes from upstream and downstream monitoring sites pooled by calibration and treatment period were -0.06 and -0.20 (stream water) (negative values represent flux declines in CTD watershed), -0.59 and -0.77 (NH-N), -0.14 and -0.15 (NO-N), -1.77 and -2.10 (dissolved reactive P), and -0.28 and 0.45 (total P). Total P results for one site comparison contrasted with other findings likely due to unknown in-stream processes affecting total P loading, not efficacy of CTD. The FWMC results were mixed and inconclusive but suggest physical abatement by CTD is the means by which nutrient fluxes are predominantly reduced at these scales. Overall, our study results indicate that CTD is an effective practice for reducing watershed scale fluxes of stream water, N, and P during the growing season.

[1]  D. Macalady,et al.  The importance of the riparian zone and in-stream processes in nitrate attenuation in undisturbed and agricultural watersheds - a review of the scientific literature. , 2010 .

[2]  G. Sands,et al.  Controlled Drainage to Improve Edge-of-Field Water Quality in Southwest Minnesota, USA , 2010 .

[3]  R. Wayne Skaggs,et al.  Drainage water management , 2012, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[4]  C. Madramootoo,et al.  Water table management impacts on phosphorus loads in tile drainage , 2007 .

[5]  B. Haggard,et al.  Sediment phosphorus dynamics for three tile fed drainage ditches in Northeast Indiana , 2005 .

[6]  J. Frankenberger,et al.  Development and application of a distributed modeling approach to assess the watershed-scale impact of drainage water management , 2012 .

[7]  David W. Schindler,et al.  The rapid eutrophication of Lake Winnipeg: Greening under global change , 2012 .

[8]  D. Jaynes,et al.  Reconnecting tile drainage to riparian buffer hydrology for enhanced nitrate removal. , 2014, Journal of environmental quality.

[9]  M. Helmers,et al.  Drainage Water Management for the Midwest , 2004 .

[10]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater : supplement to the sixteenth edition , 1988 .

[11]  Zachary M Easton,et al.  Combined monitoring and modeling indicate the most effective agricultural best management practices. , 2008, Journal of environmental quality.

[12]  D. Lapen,et al.  Combined impacts of future climate and land use changes on discharge, nitrogen and phosphorus loads for a Canadian river basin. , 2015, Journal of environmental management.

[13]  I. Wesström,et al.  Application of an integrated framework for estimating nitrate loads from a coastal watershed in south-east Sweden , 2013 .

[14]  Surface-water quality changes after 5 years of nutrient management in the Little Conestoga Creek headwaters, Pennsylvania, 1989-91 , 1997 .

[15]  B. B. Coelho,et al.  Sediment and Nutrient Contributions from Subsurface Drains and Point Sources to an Agricultural Watershed , 2010 .

[16]  Robert W. Malone,et al.  SIMULATING THE LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE OF DRAINAGE WATER MANAGEMENT ACROSS THE MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES , 2008 .

[17]  W. Wiseman,et al.  Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia, A.K.A. “The Dead Zone” , 2002 .

[18]  Thomas B. Bridgeman,et al.  A novel method for tracking western Lake Erie Microcystis blooms, 2002–2011 , 2013 .

[19]  Jason P. Brown,et al.  The Impact of Drainage Water Management Technology on Corn Yields , 2012 .

[20]  James C. Ascough,et al.  RZWQM simulated effects of crop rotation, tillage, and controlled drainage on crop yield and nitrate-N loss in drain flow , 2007 .

[21]  K. Schilling,et al.  Chemical transport from paired agricultural and restored prairie watersheds. , 2002, Journal of environmental quality.

[22]  H. E. Garrett,et al.  Agroforestry practices, runoff, and nutrient loss: a paired watershed comparison. , 2002, Journal of environmental quality.

[23]  C. Drury,et al.  Measuring and modeling the effects of drainage water management on soil greenhouse gas fluxes from corn and soybean fields. , 2013, Journal of environmental management.

[24]  R. Bilby.  Role of Organic Debris Dams in Regulating the Export of Dissolved and Particulate Matter from a Forested Watershed , 1981 .

[25]  L. M. Svendsen,et al.  Retention of nitrogen and phosphorus in a Danish lowland river system: implications for the export from the watershed , 1993, Hydrobiologia.

[26]  A. Butturini,et al.  The role of vegetation and litter in the nitrogen dynamics of riparian buffer zones in Europe , 2005 .

[27]  P. Porter,et al.  Cover cropping to reduce nitrate loss through subsurface drainage in the northern U.S. corn belt. , 2004, Journal of environmental quality.

[28]  E Topp,et al.  Comprehensive nitrogen budgets for controlled tile drainage fields in eastern ontario, Canada. , 2014, Journal of environmental quality.

[29]  S. Schiff,et al.  Capturing temporal variability for estimates of annual hydrochemical export from a first‐order agricultural catchment in southern Ontario, Canada , 2007 .

[30]  K. Thorp,et al.  POTENTIAL WATER QUALITY IMPACT OF DRAINAGE WATER MANAGEMENT IN THE MIDWEST USA , 2010 .

[31]  R. W. Skaggs,et al.  Drainage Control to Diminish Nitrate Loss from Agricultural Fields 1 , 1979 .

[32]  Craig F. Drury,et al.  Influence of controlled drainage-subirrigation on surface and tile drainage nitrate loss , 1996 .

[33]  Larry C. Brown,et al.  Drainage and Water Quality in Great Lakes and Cornbelt States , 1995 .

[34]  E. Topp,et al.  Bacteria, viruses, and parasites in an intermittent stream protected from and exposed to pasturing cattle: Prevalence, densities, and quantitative microbial risk assessment , 2013, Water Research.

[35]  J. E. Parsons,et al.  Water table management on a watershed scale , 1992 .

[36]  Dwayne R. Edwards,et al.  Relating Extractable Soil Phosphorus to Phosphorus Losses in Runoff , 1996 .

[37]  A. Edwards,et al.  The effect of reducing conditions on the solubility of phosphorus in a diverse range of European agricultural soils , 2002 .

[38]  Douglas R Smith,et al.  Phosphorus fate, management, and modeling in artificially drained systems. , 2015, Journal of environmental quality.

[39]  Q. ZHANGt,et al.  Surface runoff and sub-surface drainage phosphorus losses under regular free drainage and controlled drainage with sub-irrigation systems in southern Ontario , 2011 .

[40]  D. Mulla,et al.  Evaluating the effectiveness of agricultural management practices at reducing nutrient losses to surface waters , 2006 .

[41]  E. Topp,et al.  MEASURED EFFECT OF AGRICULTURAL DRAINAGE WATER MANAGEMENT ON HYDROLOGY, WATER QUALITY, AND CROP YIELD , 2010 .

[42]  S. Frey,et al.  Bromide and chloride tracer movement in macroporous tile-drained agricultural soil during an annual climatic cycle , 2012 .

[43]  G. McIsaac,et al.  Sources of nitrate yields in the Mississippi River Basin. , 2010, Journal of environmental quality.

[44]  John FitzGibbon,et al.  Incentives and disincentives identified by producers and drainage contractors/experts on the adoption of controlled tile drainage in eastern Ontario, Canada , 2016 .

[45]  M. B. David,et al.  Nitrogen cycling and tile drainage nitrate loss in a corn/soybean watershed , 1998 .

[46]  E. J. Monke,et al.  Pesticide and Nutrient Movement into Subsurface Tile Drains on a Silt Loam Soil in Indiana , 1991 .

[47]  Philippe Rochette,et al.  Winter damage to perennial forage crops in eastern Canada: Causes, mitigation, and prediction , 2006 .

[48]  C. Madramootoo,et al.  Effects of controlled drainage on nitrate concentrations in subsurface drain discharge , 1996 .

[49]  E. Topp,et al.  Using Campylobacter spp. and Escherichia coli data and Bayesian microbial risk assessment to examine public health risks in agricultural watersheds under tile drainage management. , 2013, Water research.

[50]  Ingmar Messing,et al.  Effects of controlled drainage on N and P losses and N dynamics in a loamy sand with spring crops , 2007 .

[51]  D. B. Jaynes,et al.  Changes in yield and nitrate losses from using drainage water management in central Iowa, United States , 2012, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[52]  Jerry L. Hatfield,et al.  Water Quality in Walnut Creek Watershed: Herbicides and Nitrate in Surface Waters , 1999 .

[53]  L. C. Brown,et al.  Crop yield evaluation under controlled drainage in Ohio, United States , 2012, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[54]  L. Gentry,et al.  Timing of riverine export of nitrate and phosphorus from agricultural watersheds in Illinois: implications for reducing nutrient loading to the Mississippi River. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[55]  Linda May,et al.  Phosphorus legacy: overcoming the effects of past management practices to mitigate future water quality impairment. , 2013, Journal of environmental quality.

[56]  S. Hamilton,et al.  Nitrate removal in stream ecosystems measured by 15N addition experiments: Denitrification , 2009 .

[57]  N. R. Fausey,et al.  Validation of paired watersheds for assessing conservation practices in the Upper Big Walnut Creek watershed, Ohio , 2008, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[58]  P. M. Gale,et al.  Phosphorus Retention in Streams and Wetlands: A Review , 1999 .

[59]  M. Vanni,et al.  Dissolved and particulate nutrient flux from three adjacent agricultural watersheds: A five-year study , 2001 .

[60]  Heather McNairn,et al.  Using vegetation indices from satellite remote sensing to assess corn and soybean response to controlled tile drainage , 2010 .

[61]  E. Topp,et al.  Associations among pathogenic bacteria, parasites, and environmental and land use factors in multiple mixed-use watersheds. , 2011, Water research.

[62]  R. R. Simard,et al.  Forms and Concentration of Phosphorus in Drainage Water of Twenty-Seven Tile-Drained Soils , 1998 .

[63]  D. Meals.  Water quality response to riparian restoration in an agricultural watershed in Vermont, USA. , 2001, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[64]  Gerrit Hoogenboom,et al.  Simulating water content, crop yield and nitrate-N loss under free and controlled tile drainage with subsurface irrigation using the DSSAT model , 2011 .

[65]  R. Foy,et al.  Approaches to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive: targeting mitigation measures at critical source areas of diffuse phosphorus in Irish catchments. , 2012, Journal of environmental management.

[66]  J. Spooner,et al.  Paired watershed study design , 1993 .

[67]  D R Lapen,et al.  Using weather indices to predict survival of winter wheat in a cool temperate environment , 2003, International journal of biometeorology.

[68]  E. Topp,et al.  Phosphorus and sediment loading to surface waters from liquid swine manure application under different drainage and tillage practices , 2012 .

[69]  David R. Lapen,et al.  Long-Term Monitoring of Waterborne Pathogens and Microbial Source Tracking Markers in Paired Agricultural Watersheds under Controlled and Conventional Tile Drainage Management , 2014, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[70]  Andrew N. Sharpley,et al.  A conceptual approach for integrating phosphorus and nitrogen management at watershed scales. , 2000 .

[71]  J. Frankenberger,et al.  Nitrate leaching to subsurface drains as affected by drain spacing and changes in crop production system. , 2004, Journal of environmental quality.

[72]  R. Skaggs,et al.  Prediction of nitrogen and phosphorus losses as related to agricultural drainage system design , 1986 .

[73]  Erin D. Zoski,et al.  Tile Drainage Management Influences on Surface-Water and Groundwater Quality following Liquid Manure Application. , 2013, Journal of environmental quality.

[74]  J. D. Gaynor,et al.  Effect of controlled drainage and tillage on soil structure and tile drainage nitrate loss at the field scale , 1998 .

[75]  G. Neilsen,et al.  Nonpoint N Runoff from Agricultural Watersheds into the Great Lakes , 1980 .

[76]  J. A. Bloomfield,et al.  Multivariate analysis of paired watershed data to evaluate agricultural best management practice effects on stream water phosphorus. , 2005, Journal of environmental quality.

[77]  Richard A C Cooke,et al.  Performance of drainage water management systems in Illinois, United States , 2012, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[78]  J. C. Clausen,et al.  Paired Watershed Comparison of Tillage Effects on Runoff, Sediment, and Pesticide Losses , 1996 .

[79]  D. K. Walkowiak,et al.  Isco open channel flow measurement handbook , 2006 .

[80]  E Topp,et al.  Effect of liquid municipal biosolid application method on tile and ground water quality. , 2008, Journal of environmental quality.

[81]  L. M. Svendsen,et al.  Loss of dissolved and particulate phosphorus from arable catchments by subsurface drainage , 1996 .

[82]  R. W. Skaggs,et al.  Hydrologic and water quality impacts of agricultural drainage , 1994 .

[83]  S. Frey,et al.  Rainfall-induced runoff from exposed streambed sediments: an important source of water pollution. , 2015, Journal of environmental quality.

[84]  E. Topp,et al.  Impact of riparian zone protection from cattle on nutrient, bacteria, F-coliphage, and loading of an intermittent stream. , 2012, Journal of environmental quality.

[85]  Zachary M Easton,et al.  Modeling watershed-scale effectiveness of agricultural best management practices to reduce phosphorus loading. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[86]  R. W. Skaggs,et al.  Effect of Controlled Drainage on Water and Nitrogen Balances in Drained Lands , 2010 .

[87]  Saied Mostaghimi,et al.  EFFECTS OF FOREST HARVESTING BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON SURFACE WATER QUALITY IN THE VIRGINIA COASTAL PLAIN , 2000 .

[88]  Jane R. Frankenberger,et al.  Impacts of drainage water management on subsurface drain flow, nitrate concentration, and nitrate loads in Indiana , 2012, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[89]  R. Wayne Skaggs,et al.  Controlled versus Conventional Drainage Effects on Water Quality , 1995 .

[90]  C. Drury,et al.  Managing tile drainage, subirrigation, and nitrogen fertilization to enhance crop yields and reduce nitrate loss. , 2009, Journal of environmental quality.

[91]  B. Joern,et al.  Phosphorus loss in agricultural drainage: historical perspective and current research , 1998 .

[92]  M. B. David,et al.  Phosphorus transport pathways to streams in tile-drained agricultural watersheds. , 2007, Journal of environmental quality.