Project Number: 3602-12220-009-00
Project Type: Appropriated

Start Date: Jun 21, 2007
End Date: Jun 20, 2012

Objective:
1. Processes of sediment production and control: Develop methodologies to control erosion through a better understanding of the basic processes leading to sediment production. 1.1 Quantify transient soil hydraulic gradient and freeze-thaw effects on soil erodibility. 1.2 Identify and quantify landscape attributes and hydrologic conditions that can be used to assess hillslope seepage and ephemeral gully erosion. 1.3 Develop innovative BMPs for critical areas on landscapes using soil amendments for controlling erosion. 2. Processes affecting chemical transport: Determine the erosion processes responsible for the off-site transport of nutrients and pesticides to better develop mitigation strategies. 2.1 Examine the interactions between fertilizers and soil physio-chemical properties on the fate and transport of nutrients. 2.2 Quantify the processes governing contaminant transport in managed surface waters, and characterize properties that can be manipulated to reduce contaminant transport in these systems. 2.3 Quantify the relative potentials for glyphosate and atrazine to exceed MCL in runoff water before and after converting long-term no-till to rotational tillage. 2.4 Evaluate the potential of foundry sands to reduce atrazine loading to field runoff and drainage water. 3. Watershed hydrology and management: Develop better methodologies for managing landscapes and watersheds through increased understanding of the interrelationships among land-use and soils to further develop the knowledge through use of remote sensing and improved landscape models. 3.1 Quantify the mechanisms of impervious surface / pervious surface interactions that govern surface hydrology and erosion processes on mixed landuse slopes. 3.2 Develop a technique for using pedotransfer functions and remotely sensed soil moisture to estimate soil hydraulic properties at the watershed scale.

Approach:
Conduct laboratory and field studies to quantify transient soil hydraulic gradient and freeze-thaw effects on soil erodibility; Examine the interactions between fertilizers and soil physio-chemical properties on the fate and transport of nutrients; Quantify the mechanisms of impervious and pervious surface interactions that govern surface hydrology and erosion processes on mixed land use slopes.