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Metamodeling Potential Nitrate Water Pollution in the Central United States
Author(s) -
Wu JunJie,
Babcock Bruce A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq1999.00472425002800060031x
Subject(s) - surface runoff , environmental science , leaching (pedology) , hydrology (agriculture) , irrigation , tillage , crop rotation , pollution , surface water , environmental engineering , soil water , crop , soil science , agronomy , geography , engineering , forestry , ecology , geotechnical engineering , biology
This article presents a modeling system for identifying the spatial patterns of potential water pollution from N fertilizer use in the central USA. The model uses a geographic information system (GIS) and a statistical technique to integrate an environmental process simulation model with spatially referenced databases on crop management and resource characteristics. The potential for NO 3 ‐N runoff and leaching was estimated for a total of 128 591 sites using information on soil, climate, crop, rotation, tillage, irrigation, and conservation practices at each site. For the entire study region, the average annual NO 3 ‐N runoff and leaching, respectively, were estimated to be 5 and 3 kg ha −1 , which accounted for about 7 and 4% of total N applied. The potential for NO 3 ‐N runoff was relatively high in much of the Corn Belt, Kansas, and the Nebraska Platte River Basin, and the potential for NO 3 ‐N leaching was relatively high in Ohio, Indiana, and southern Illinois and Missouri. Because much of the area with high leaching potential was tile drained, a large portion of the leached NO 3 ‐N will be discharged to surface water, rather than continue downward to ground water. Finally, the model was applied to estimate the effects of a 25% reduction in N application rates and adoption of crop rotations on potential NO 3 ‐N runoff and leaching.