NU Water-Related Research in Dawson County

It is important to learn how to grow crops with limited amounts of water and to determine crop water use with SDI. In 2007 a field study with corn was initiated that will be continued in 2008 and 2009. The treatments are:

• Rainfed (no irrigation)
• 0.50 ET (meet 50% of evapotranspiration requirements) throughout the season
• 0.75 ET throughout the season
• 1.00 ET throughout the season
• no irrigation at first, 1.00 ET during 2 weeks around tasseling, then no more irrigation after that
• 0.50 ET at first, 1.00 ET during 2 weeks around tasseling, then 0.50 ET after that
• 0.50 ET at first, 1.00 ET during 3 weeks around tasseling, then 0.50 ET after that
• 0.50 ET at first, 1.00 ET during 4 weeks around tasseling, then 0.50 ET after that
• 0.75 ET at first, 1.00 ET during 4 weeks around tasseling, then 0.75 ET after that

Using SDI may not only increase water use efficiency, but also nutrient use efficiency when applying nutrients through the SDI system. This study was conducted at WCREC to assess the effect of different in-season nitrogen (N) application (via SDI) timings on corn production and residual soil nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N). We evaluated the effect of three N application timing methods at two N application rates (UNL recommended rate and the UNL rate minus 20%) on corn grain, biomass yield, and end-of-study distribution of residual soil NO3-N.

In 2006, there were no significant differences in corn grain yields between the two N application rates. In 2007, the grain yield under the UNL recommended N rate was significantly higher (3.0 bu/ac) than under the UNL-minus-20% N rate. In both years, grain yield and biomass production for the N application timing treatments were not significantly different. The lack of response to different N application timing treatments indicates that there is flexibility in N application timing for corn production under SDI. This two-year field study was published in Soil Science.

Impact: This study helps us better understand the most appropriate times to apply N with SDI (underground fertigation). If applied at inappropriate times, nitrates are not used by the crop and may leach into groundwater. If N use is minimized, the producer's cost can be minimized.

The University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center is a research and extension facility of the University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR). It serves as the site for field-based research and extension involving faculty and graduate students in eight IANR departments. West Central consists of approximately 1,800 acres of which 1,100 acres are in pasture with the remaining in dryland and irrigated cropping systems. West Central delivers research-based education and information to citizens throughout the state. Extension specialists and educators are committed to excellence, conducting educational programs customized to meet the needs of Nebraskans. These educational programs, delivered via a variety of methods, are offered through federal, state and county partnership arrangements and provide research-based information and other educational resources to the 20-county West Central district and beyond.

The Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory (GSL), a 13,000 acre working ranch in the Nebraska Sandhills, is also part of West Central. GSL is situated over a relatively small portion of the High Plains Aquifer where saturated thickness exceeds 1000 feet. GSL also features a valley with a live stream, a drained valley with wet meadows, an adjacent lake, dry valleys, and many dune types so that literally all the surface and groundwater locales in the Sandhills are represented and available for research. In 2004 a U.S. Climate Reference Network station was established at GSL to provide future long-term observations of temperature and precipitation accurate enough to detect present and future climate change.

The hydrologic properties of channel sediments have an important role in controlling hydrologic process in streams. This study focused on the water exchange between a stream and an aquifer induced by groundwater withdrawal, with the purpose of investigating the interbedded feature of channel sediments and to evaluate its effects on the calculation of streamflow depletion. Field work was conducted at nine study sites between Kearney and Columbus during the summers of 2005 and 2006. Direct-push techniques were used to produce electrical conductivity logs and to collect sediment cores. Permeameter tests were conducted on the sediment cores. Stream-aquifer simulation models were used to evaluate streamflow depletion for various types of channel sediments.

Sediment core samples were categorized into four groups:

• sand and gravel,
• sand and gravel with interbedded silt and clay layers,
• fine sand with silt or clay layers, and
• silt and clay with some sand and gravel.

In general coarse sediments occur in the western part of the study area, and the amount of fine sand, silt and clay increases eastward along the river. However, the sediments in the top two meters are about the same for all the sites, consisting mainly of sand and gravel.

Project Support

Past disposal of industrial solvents into unregulated landfills is a significant source of groundwater contamination. In 2009, we began investigating a former unregulated landfill with known trichloroethene (TCE) contamination. Our objective was to pinpoint the location of the plume and treat the TCE using in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO).

While the characteristics of the low permeable aquifer at the Cozad site dictates that additional field monitoring will be needed for several years to fully determine the efficacy of the slow release candles, initial field results and the supporting laboratory results presented indicate that slow-release permanganate candles may be an effective means of treating chlorinated solvents in low permeable zones. Potential advantages to the candle technology are that they negate the need for specialized equipment (mixing trailer, pumps, hoses, etc.), curtail health and safety issues associated with handling liquid oxidants, and when used in a barrier design, could potentially provide a long-term solution for controlling contaminant migration.

The terms of the Cooperative Agreement for the Platte Basin and the Supreme Court settlement decision for the Republican Basin both require that Nebraska reduce its consumptive use of irrigation water. This analysis evaluated the economic and the budgetary costs of meeting these requirements. Both the on-farm and off-farm costs were evaluated for both land retirement and water allocation programs, implemented in several different ways, over three alternative time periods, 10, 25 and 50 years.

The on-farm economic costs were defined as the change in net farm income associated with less irrigation. Off-farm economic costs were defined as the statewide change in household income resulting from changes in irrigation, as the effects ripple through the Nebraska economy. Budgetary costs were defined as the cost to the state budget (taxpayers) of policies which compensate irrigators for reducing consumptive use are implemented. Statewide economic costs were found to be lower for land retirement than for allocation programs, assuming the same total change in consumptive use. Total budgetary costs depended primarily on: where the irrigation reductions occurred (proximity to river); on how long the program was continued (number of years), and on whether irrigation was reduced voluntarily with incentives, or by regulation, or by some combination of regulation and incentives. It was found that policy makers could minimize the cost of reducing consumptive use from irrigation and augmenting stream flow by purchasing rather than leasing irrigation rights, by using a regulatory rather than a willing seller incentive approach, and by reducing irrigation at locations close to the river.

Hedonic (mass appraisal) land valuation models were estimated in the Republican and Platte watersheds of Central and Western Nebraska. These models are based on assumption that the buyers and sellers of agricultural land are able to accurately assess the value of irrigation when negotiating sale contract prices, and that irrigation equipment can be distinguished from land and irrigation values. Alternative models were estimated using various combinations of explanatory variables (all measured at the parcel level of analysis). These include: soil productivity measures, topography precipitation, parcel size, cropping patterns, topography, aquifer thickness, well pumping capacity, distances to elevators and towns, and irrigation systems.

The location of all agricultural land sales statewide (2000-2007) and estimated irrigation values in the Platte and Republican Watersheds were identified. Preliminary mass appraisal model results were summarized in tables and the locations of retired irrigation parcels in the Republican Watershed (as part of a 2006 NE DNR and USDA Pilot Program) were identified. The value of irrigated cropland is on average $615/acre (this is the value of irrigated cropland only and does not include the value dryland corners within pivot systems). As well, there are numerous areas and site-specific parcels within the watershed with both lower and higher irrigation values. In fact, we have calculated irrigation values for all of the natural resource districts in the Republican watershed: they range from $488/acre to $948/acre. These estimates are still considered 'preliminary' and may be subject to revision. These irrigation values also do not account for premiums above and beyond marginal market values that farmers and landowners will likely require to willingly participate in future irrigation retirement programs.

Nebraska’s native prairies are a valued resource and under constant anthropogenic demand and degradation. By engaging land owners in voluntary programs, the Platte River Habitat Partnership aims to restore and enhance this important natural resource. In this project, the Public Policy Center conducted a survey to assess land owners’ perceptions of the Platte River Habitat Partnership to help direct the Partnership’s second phase. Specifically, land owners who live in the region covered by the Partnership but did not participate, and those that did participate in the Partnership were surveyed in order to answer four key questions: 1. How knowledgeable are these land owners about the Partnership? 2. What is the nature of these land owners’ interactions with the Partnership? 3. How is the Partnership itself generally perceived by these land owners? 4. What would encourage land owners who had not participated in the Partnership to participate?

This paper evaluated spatial patterns of nitrate-nitrogen contamination of groundwater in the High Plains Aquifer in the area of Dawson, Buffalo and Hall counties in the South-Central Platte River Valley of Nebraska. Geostatistical approaches including ordinary kriging, indicator kriging and cokriging, were used to analyze 1514 samples drawn from 465 irrigation wells over a 30-year period. The spatial trends of the nitrate-N concentration suggested that about one third of the aquifer in the area had been contaminated by nitrate-N above a level of 5 ppm.

The small areas along with the South-Central Platte River Valley were classified as high risk with the nitrate-N level above 10 ppm. The probabilistic maps exceeding thresholds (10 and 5 ppm) for the nitrate-N concentrations of the groundwater were created to assess vulnerability. The areas with the nitrate-N levels exceeding 10 ppm at an extremely high risk (>75%) were delineated for the future nitrate priority areas of management. Temporal trends of the nitrate-N contamination at 465 sampling locations were analyzed for a period of 30 years. Thirty-seven (37) sampling wells, accounting for 8.0% of the total sampling wells, were identified with an increasing trend, in which the maximum increase was estimated at 4.20 ppm per five-year. Twenty-nine (29) wells were identified with a decreasing trend, in which the average decrease was 0.48 ppm per five-year. It was concluded that the groundwater nitrate-N contamination in some areas, such as the middle area of Buffalo County, was improving, but was worsening in other areas, such as the middle portion of Hall County and the south-eastern corner of Buffalo County. It was found that groundwater irrigation level (or well density) has a positive correlation with high concentration of nitrate-N.

The extent of exogenous hormone use in beef cattle production, in addition to endogenous hormones, increases the risk of hormone residues entering the environment when manure is applied to soil. This research will provide key information on the environmental fate of hormones commonly found in feedlot cattle manure. This information is critical in developing management practices for concentrated animal feeding operations and farms that will reduce environmental risks associated with land application of manure.

This research will be conducted using the specialized percolation lysimeters research site at the West Central Research and Extension Center during 2008 and 2009. The site contains fourteen percolation lysimeters installed at the center of each of fourteen field plots. Each plot is 40 ft m by 40 ft. Each lysimeter contains an undisturbed soil core with a diameter of 3 ft and a depth of 8 ft and has porous extractors at the bottom, which allows the extraction of leachate from unsaturated soil using a vacuum pump. These lysimeters have been used successfully for several nitrate-leaching experiments. Water samples, which represent the water that is leached from the crop root zone, can be collected at the bottom of these lysimeters and will be used to determine the amounts and types of hormones leaching below the crop root zone. Treatments will consist of treated stockpiled manure, treated compost manure, and a check (no manure application). The manures will be applied to the lysimeters and field areas adjacent to the lysimeters in the spring of 2008 at application rates to satisfy the nitrogen needs of corn based on University of Nebraska recommendations. The check plots will receive commercial nitrogen fertilizer to match the manure N availability. Three treatments and three replications (nine lysimeters in nine plots) will be used for this study.

Wheat will be planted in the lysimeters and adjacent plots during both years. Soil moisture from each plot will be measured weekly at 1 ft depth increments to a depth of 7 ft, using the neutron probe method. Water samples will be collected every three weeks from the lysimeters from April to November in both years. Soil samples will be collected at six depth increments down to a depth of 8 ft, four times between application and October in 2008, and three times from April to August in 2009. To reduce sampling errors created by spatial variability within each plot, five sub-samples will be taken from each depth. The sub-samples will then be mixed to create one composite sample. Background soil profile samples will be taken before the manure is applied. Sampling depths will be increased as needed, based on the confirmed movement of hormones of interest through the soil profile. Soil and leachate samples will only be taken during the periods when the ground is not frozen (April to November), when movement of water is expected.

Adaptive management has been and continues to be implemented around the country and world, yet few examples exist of programs successfully implementing all six steps (Assess, Design, Implement, Monitor, Evaluate, and Adjust) of adaptive management. A key break point in this process seems to be synthesizing collected data and using that synthesis to tell a story about what data say in regard to key questions and hypotheses in a way that is useful to decision-makers and results in positive changes in management or policy.

Chad Smith continues his research into the gap between science and decision-making in adaptive management programs and tools to successfully bridge that gap.

GOALS:

1. Explore the science and policy interface in a comparative study of several adaptive management programs
2. Provide specific background on this issue as it relates to the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program
3. Showcase decision analysis and other tools that can be used as decision support in the Platte River and other adaptive management programs
4. Discuss opportunities for and challenges to bridging the science/policy gap

Smith is applying learning from his research in the real world, serving as Adaptive Management Plan implementation coordinator for the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program. He is also co-lead of a small team writing an Adaptive Management Plan for the Middle Rio Grande Endangered Species Collaborative Program.

Catfish angling is popular throughout the United States and catfish are the most sought after fish species in the Platte River. However, catfish management in the Platte River is minimal as little is known about current populations. The objective of this study was to determine the current status of channel catfish and flathead catfish populations in the central and lower Platte River. Specifically, the study evaluated population characteristics including relative abundance, size structure, condition, age, growth and mortality.

Channel catfish are much more abundant than flathead catfish in the Platte River. The current Platte River channel catfish population appears to be average, comparable to many Nebraska and Midwestern rivers. Population characteristics displayed considerable variation along the Platte River and some longitudinal patterns were evident. Channel catfish in the central Platte River had lower relative abundances, higher condition, greater size structure, faster growth and lower mortality compared to lower Platte River channel catfish. Key factors likely influencing differences in channel catfish population characteristics are prey availability, flow modifications, habitat characteristics, tributary inflows and angler exploitation. Water manipulations from the Loup River Power Canal were also identified as a possible negative influence on lower Platte River channel catfish populations because hydropeaking is likely creating a stressful environment. However, channel catfish in the central Platte River appear to have benefited from recent high flows that likely increased productivity and food availability in the central Platte River.

Tony Barada's Master's Thesis on Catfish Population Dynamics in the Platte River

Lindsay Vivian's Master's Thesis on Platte River Caddisfly