- USDA Reports Research Progress in WQ
A recent sampling of ARS progress under the President’s Water Quality Initiative to keep pesticides and fertilizers out of ground and surface waters includes:
Tifton, GA—USDA’s premier groundwater model for pesticides is being expanded to include fertilizers.
Beltsville, MD—The problem is being attacked on two fronts: a computer database helps farmers choose pesticides and a machine degrages what’s leftover. Also, a tiny bait minnow is being tested as an environmental sentinel for East Coast estuaries.
University Park, PA—By comparing oxygen atoms in rainwater, scientists might be able to advise farmers which fields are losing chemicals.
Tucson, AZ—A computer program evaluates environmental/economic consequences of farming practices.
Fort Collins, CO—A computer model is being developed to show how much nitrogen fertilizer is headed toward groundwater.
Ames, IA—Well samples are helping scientists learn how chemicals move.
Morris, MN—Researches study ways frost affects chemical movement, and search for better detection methods.
Contact Don Comis, ARS, USDA 301-344-2773 for additional information.
- Soil Productivity—The Key to Healthy Forests
Soil condition is a good indicator of overall land productivity. Loss of soil productivity indicates a problem with the ecosystem as a whole. Soil changes are measurable and can be used to infer changes in biomass and hydrology in the rest of the ecosystem.
Because of this, the Forest Service recently established a nationwide soil monitoring system based on soil quality standards. These standards serve as threshold values and as early warning signals of deteriorating soil conditions. The agency has set a 15 percent reduction in inherent soil productivity potential as the basis for establishing the threshold values.
To develop information and assist the monitory endeavor, the Forest Service has also initiated a nationwide research program on soil productivity. The major focus of this program is to quantify the effects of soil disturbances from management activities; validate soil quality standards; and understand the fundamental relationship between soil properties, long-term soil productivity, and forest management practices.
The first-phase plan of the program is to establish studies in major forest ecosystems throughout the Unites States: Kistachie National Forest, Louisiana; Plumas National Forest, California; and Chippewa National Forest in Minnesota. Contact Pamela Finney, Forest Service, 202-447-3584 for additional information.
Harry C. Mussman
Chairman, USDA Working
Group on Water Quality
Published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Water Quality Information Committee
