Project Number: 6206-13610-006-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Feb 08, 2007
End Date: Feb 07, 2012

Objective:
The objectives of this study are to: 1) Compile environmental, water quality, and agronomic data from the Leon River and Riesel watersheds and deliver to the STEWARDS data system in a compatible format; 2) Measure and quantify hydrologic and water quality effects of conservation practices and management at the field, farm, and sub-watershed scale within the Leon River and Riesel watersheds; 3) Validate, quantify uncertainties in model output, and conduct land use and climate analyses with the SWAT and ALMANAC models at field, farm, and watershed scales; 4) Provide proper output and linkages from SWAT to economic models to ensure appropriate environmental and crop yield output at spatial scales compatible with selected economic models; and 5) Extract relevant components from the ALMANAC and SWAT models for integration into the Object Modeling System (OMS) and assist in the verification of the ALMANAC and SWAT models for major agricultural regions.

Approach:
For Objective 1 we will provide data to the STEWARDS data system from the Leon River and Riesel watersheds. Data will include environmental and agronomic data, measured water quality data, and SWAT output. Socio-economic data will not be collected. Our role in Objective 2 involves quantifying the effects of conservation practices (with emphasis on nutrient and manure management) in the Leon River and Riesel watersheds. It also involves quantifying nutrient and manure management of grasses and pastures for bio-fuels at three field sites in Texas. Although several models are considered in the overall CEAP Objective 3, our focus is solely on the SWAT and ALMANAC models. SWAT will be evaluated and uncertainty analysis will be performed on varying spatial scales in the Leon and Riesel watersheds. Model development will include: 1) river basin scale processes in SWAT, 2) plant growth and land management processes in ALMANAC, and 3) linkage with remotely sensed data. Our role in Objective 4 is to provide proper output and linkages from the SWAT model to economic models. We will ensure appropriate environmental and crop yield output from SWAT at spatial scales that are compatible with the selected economic models. For Objective 5, we will extract relevant components from SWAT and ALMANAC model for integration into the Object Modeling System (OMS).