HOW FARMING DECISIONS INFLUENCE SOIL EROSION IN MARGINAL, AGRICULTURAL FLOODPLAIN AGROECOSYSTEMS

The overall goal of this proposal is to understand soil erosion in channels on low-sloped agricultural floodplains. We hypothesize that the heavily channelized nature of the corn and soybean East Fork White River floodplain in Indiana is a result of focused soil erosion in locations without crop cover that allow channels to form. To test our hypothesis and achieve our overall goal, we will complete the following objectives:Objective 1: Measure water flow and soil erosion on floodplains with novel measurement technologies, such as drone-based lidar.Objective 2: Simulate how different vegetation affects soil erosion/deposition on floodplains using a 2-D hydrodynamic-vegetation-sediment transport model.Objective 3: Use state-wide lidar, collected in Indiana from 1/1/201711-2013, to assess the extent of erosion on agricultural floodplains and the role of floodplain channels.