USDA-ARS-Grazinglands Research Laboratory Research Watersheds: Three
scales for multi-objective agroecosystem investigations
Abstract
The USDA-ARS Grazinglands Research Laboratory (GRL) operates four
research watersheds at three spatial scales representing a gamut of
topographic, physiographic, vegetative, or agricultural conditions
characteristic of the Southern Great Plains (SGP). The mission of GRL is
to address “agricultural sustainability, climate change, ecosystem
services, and conservation of natural resources at the watershed or
landscape scale”— a primary objective of the USDA-ARS Conservation
Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) and the Long-Term Agro-Ecosystem
Research (LTAR) network. Assessment of the impacts of conservation
practices in agricultural watersheds requires long-term research sites
of varying size due to differences in scales required to codify and
evaluate the collection of water and soil data. The two larger
(> 600 km2) watersheds provide primarily observational data
collected for use in hydrologic modeling and large-scale investigations.
Modeling is used to quantify benefits of conservation and best
management practices to meet selected environmental endpoints. The
Little Washita River (LWREW) and Fort Cobb Reservoir (FCREW)
experimental watersheds are located in southwestern Oklahoma, USA, and
have been part of the GRL research catchment portfolio since 1961 and
2004, respectively. The two smaller catchment areas are located on the
grounds of the GRL in Central Oklahoma and are a collection of eight
plot-scale watersheds, The Water Research and Erosion Units (WRE) and
ten farm-scale watersheds the Grazinglands Research agroEcosystems and
the ENvironment (GREEN) Farm that allow replicated manipulative and/or
process-based investigations. The WRE, established in 1976, consists of
eight contiguous 1.6 ha sized plots. The GREEN Farm comprises 162 ha.
Both catchments contain alternative agricultural systems that are
evaluated for intensification, sustainability, resiliency, minimization
of environmental impact, and profitability in anticipation of climate
shifts and extremes. Measurements collected across the four watersheds
includes but are not limited to components of water balance, soil
erosion, runoff, water quality, nutrient and water use efficiency and
soil health.