Project Number: 6408-13660-006-08
Project Type: Trust

Start Date: Apr 01, 2003
End Date: Mar 31, 2008

Objective:
The objective of this funding is to conduct evaluations and demonstrations at or near the Delta Conservation Demonstration Center (DCDC) in conjunction with and in support of water quality research being conducted in other Delta locations. It is also to increase the knowledge of design and evaluate economical, environmentally sound Best Management Practices (BMPs) as components of farming systems. This work relates to linking Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and experimental Best Management Practices (BMPs) to effects on water quality and ecology under Mississippi Delta conditions.

Approach:
Conservation tillage and edge-of-field practices will be evaluated in various combinations in small watershed, field, and plot studies to provide information needed to meet water quality goals and standards and improve watershed ecology in the Mississippi Delta. Surface and shallow groundwater will be studied for sediment, carbon, nutrients, and pesticides. Samples will be collected from critical points to evaluate the effect of such practices as conservation tillage, grade control pipes, vegetative buffers, subsurface drains, constructed wetlands, and vegetated ditches on productivity, water use efficiency, and water quality. Efforts will be focused Conservation tillage and edge-of-field practices will be evaluated in various combinations in small watershed, field, and plot studies to provide information needed to meet water quality goals and standards and improve watershed ecology in the Mississippi Delta. Surface and shallow groundwater will be studied for sediment, carbon, nutrients, and pesticides. Samples will be collected from critical points to evaluate the effect of such practices as conservation tillage, grade control pipes, vegetative buffers, subsurface drains, constructed wetlands, and vegetated ditches on productivity, water use efficiency, and water quality. Efforts will be focused on the model farm at the Delta Demonstration Conservation Center in the Coldwater and Beasley or nearby watersheds, and on replicated plots at the Stoneville Experiment Station or the National Sedimentation Laboratory.