Biomass Production with Conservation Practices for Two Iowa Watersheds

Ha, Miae mha@anl.gov; Wu, May; Tomer, Mark D.; Gassman, Philip W.; Isenhart, Thomas M.; Arnold, Jeffrey G.; White, Michael J.; Parish, Esther S.; Comer, Kevin S.; Belden, William W.

doi:10.1111/1752-1688.12880

Title: Biomass Production with Conservation Practices for Two Iowa Watersheds

Journal Article · Sun Sep 06 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of the American Water Resources Association

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/1752-1688.12880· OSTI ID:1665988

Ha, Miae mha@anl.gov ^[1]; Wu, May ^[1]; Tomer, Mark D. ^[2]; Gassman, Philip W. ^[3]; Isenhart, Thomas M. ^[3]; Arnold, Jeffrey G. ^[4]; White, Michael J. ^[4];

^[5]; Comer, Kevin S. ^[6]; Belden, William W. ^[6]

Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Lemont, IL (United States)
US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Ames, IA (United States). Agricultural Research Service
Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA (United States)
US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Temple, TX (United States). Agricultural Research Service
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Antares Inc., Harrisonburg, VA (United States)

Hydrologic modeling was used to estimate potential changes in nutrients, suspended sediment, and streamflow in various biomass production scenarios with conservation practices under different landscape designs. Two major corn and soybean croplands were selected for study: the South Fork of the Iowa River watershed and the headwater of the Raccoon River watershed. A physically based model, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, was used to simulate hydrology and water quality under different scenarios with conservation practices and biomass production. Scenarios are based on conservation practices and biomass production; riparian buffer (RB), saturated buffer, and grassed waterways; various stover harvest rates of 30%, 45%, and 70% with and without winter cover crops; and conversion of marginal land to switchgrass. Conservation practices and landscape design with different biomass feedstocks were shown to significantly improve water quality while supporting sustainable biomass production. Model results for nitrogen, phosphorus, and suspended sediments were analyzed temporally at spatial scales that varied from hydrologic response units to the entire watershed. With conservation practices, water quality could potentially improve by reducing nitrogen loads by up to 20%-30% (stover harvest with cover crop), phosphorus loads by 20%-40% (RB), and sediment loads by 30%-70% (stover harvest with cover crop and RB).

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Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Transportation Office. Bioenergy Technologies Office; National Science Foundation (NSF)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; AC02-06CH11357; 1761772; EE0007088

OSTI ID:: 1665988

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1757943; OSTI ID: 1836066

Report Number(s):: DOE-ANTARES-07088-6

Journal Information:: Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Vol. 56, Issue 6; ISSN 1093-474X

Publisher:: Wiley - American Water Resources AssociationCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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