Assessing the Impact of a Strategic Approach to Implementation of Conservation Practices

Non-Technical Summary: Agricultural conservation practices are designed to reduce sediment and nutrient losses, thereby protecting water resources and improving water quality. Many government assistance programs rely on land-owners who volunteer to implement conservation practices, which may or may not be in land areas of greatest need. The purpose of this research project is to determine the water quality benefits and socio-economic impacts resulting from a strategic approach to conservation practice implementation in the Cheney Lake Watershed in South-central Kansas. Water quality monitoring data will be analyzed to determine effects of current conservation practices. These results will then be compared with water quality improvements predicted by computer models simulating strategic conservation practice implementation. Effects of conservation practice implementation on net farm income will assist in determining appropriate financial incentives for encouraging conservation practices. Because social factors often affect the likelihood of conservation practice implementation and maintenance, farmers will be interviewed to determine their concerns and preferences. Results from this study will be effectively transmitted to local and regional agencies to help them evaluate water quality benefits resulting from past conservation practice implementation, identify the optimal conservation practice suite and placement for additional water quality improvement, and operate within the correct social and economic framework to encourage targeted conservation practice implementation. <P> Approach: We will meet our project objectives through a combination of several methodologies. Existing water quality data will be compiled and statistically analyzed for decreasing trends in sediment and nutrient concentrations using multivariate time-series analysis and non-parametric Kendal test as recommended for water quality trend analysis. Additional water quality monitoring sites will be re-established for 2 sub-watersheds to strengthen the data set and analysis by providing a water quality record spanning >10 years. These new data will be analyzed in conjunction with historical data and related to conservation practice implementation within the sub-watersheds. Observed water quality data will be further compared to predicted water quality in the absence of conservation practices using computer simulation models (i.e., SWAT and AnnAGNPS). Precision conservation techniques using geospatial data and simulation models will be used to identify the optimal placement and suite of conservation practices based on elements such as slope, soil erodibility, cropping systems, and predicted sediment and nutrient losses. Computer simulation models will be used to determine the expected water quality resulting from implementation of the optimal suite of conservation practices. Water quality benefits resulting from temporal and spatial strategic conservation practice placement will be determined by comparing predicted sediment and nutrient stream loads to observed data. In-depth farmer interviews will be used to gain insight into how agricultural practices have changed in the watershed over the last 15 years; why farmers have adopted past conservation measures and whether they believe the measures have been effective in reducing water pollution; how the information environment and social networks affect implementation of conservation practices; and how and why farmers may have modified conservation practices over time. The interview data will be analyzed to determine if there are particular social, economic or biophysical challenges faced by different types of farmers or in specific areas of the watershed. Cost/return budgets will be used to examine the impact of implementing specific conservation practices on net return per acre. The difference in net return per acre between each conservation practice scenario (which may involve the implementation of one or several conservation practices) and a base case which does not involve the adoption of conservation practices will be computed. For a second economic analysis, modified versions of the Target MOTAD model will be used to examine the tradeoffs in net return per acre, variability in net return per acre, and water quality across conservation practice scenarios. Results will be effectively transmitted to local and regional agencies through annual meetings with the Cheney Lake Watershed, Inc. committee and stakeholder workshops. These meetings and workshops will also be used to get feedback on proposed conservation practices and implementation strategies.