2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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6/08/2017 | 9:00 AM - 9:15 AM | QUANTIFYING WATER QUALITY BENEFITS OF FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION IN AGRICULTURAL STREAMS AT BOTH THE REACH- AND WATERSHED-SCALE. | 302A

QUANTIFYING WATER QUALITY BENEFITS OF FLOODPLAIN RESTORATION IN AGRICULTURAL STREAMS AT BOTH THE REACH- AND WATERSHED-SCALE.

Excess fertilizer nutrients entering Midwestern streams degrade both local and downstream water quality, while the restoration of inset floodplains in formerly channelized systems can reduce nutrient runoff from agricultural watersheds. At the reach-scale, we found that floodplain restoration using the two-stage ditch increased reach-scale nitrate-N removal via denitrification and reduced sediment export and associated phosphorus. Nevertheless, changes in stream nutrient concentrations were negligible due to very high loading and relatively short floodplain reaches (~ 600m). As a next step, we compiled empirical relationships for nutrient reductions using data collected from two-stage ditches across the Midwest, and applied them to the River Raisin Watershed (RRW) in the Western Lake Erie Basin. We modeled two-stage implementation in 25, 50, and 100% of headwater reaches in the RRW, and found that floodplains could reduce annual nitrate-N export by 2, 5 and 10%, respectively. The two-stage was even more effective at reducing total phosphorus (TP) export, which decreased by 10, 20 and 30%, respectively. Watershed-scale modeling suggested that longer two-stage implementations can result in policy-relevant reductions in nutrient and sediment export showing promise for improved water quality in agricultural landscapes at larger spatial scales.

C10 Biogeochemistry
C27 Landuse and Non-Point source Impacts
C16 Restoration Ecology

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Presenters/Authors

Jennifer L. Tank (), University of Notre Dame, tank.1@nd.edu;