Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region
Measuring organic carbon (OC) losses from soils presents a challenge because of the intricate interplay of human-induced and biophysical processes. This study employs SWAT-C to simulate particulate OC (POC) and dissolved OC (DOC) losses from the Upper Maurice Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Si...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/20/3534 |
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| author | Sadiya Baba Tijjani Junyu Qi Subhasis Giri Richard Lathrop |
| author_facet | Sadiya Baba Tijjani Junyu Qi Subhasis Giri Richard Lathrop |
| author_sort | Sadiya Baba Tijjani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Measuring organic carbon (OC) losses from soils presents a challenge because of the intricate interplay of human-induced and biophysical processes. This study employs SWAT-C to simulate particulate OC (POC) and dissolved OC (DOC) losses from the Upper Maurice Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Simulation outcomes reveal that surface runoff was the primary contributor to the total DOC load (65%), followed by lateral flow (30%), and then groundwater (5%). Meanwhile, POC load was linked to erosion processes induced by surface runoff. Our findings indicate that agricultural land-use types exhibited the highest annual average DOC and POC loads. Forests and grasslands displayed intermediate loads, while barren land had the lowest load. Concerning seasonal fluctuations, agricultural land-use types exhibited distinct DOC and POC load patterns when compared to forest and grassland types, indicating the dominant role of management practices in determining soil OC (SOC) losses. Additional modeling of management practices’ impact on SOC budgets indicates maximal SOC sequestration with full irrigation, no-till (NT), and full fertilization. In contrast, the largest SOC depletion arises from combining conservation tillage (CT) and no fertilization, irrespective of irrigation. This study shows that SWAT-C can be used to simulate land use and management impacts on SOC dynamics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:48:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4e61e0a052a442e18729a5fa3a541c04 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:48:44Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-4e61e0a052a442e18729a5fa3a541c042023-11-19T18:29:01ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412023-10-011520353410.3390/w15203534Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic RegionSadiya Baba Tijjani0Junyu Qi1Subhasis Giri2Richard Lathrop3Department of Geography, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Lucy Stone Hall, 54 Joyce Kilmer Avenue, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USAEarth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, 5825 University Research Ct, College Park, MD 20740, USADepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USADepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USAMeasuring organic carbon (OC) losses from soils presents a challenge because of the intricate interplay of human-induced and biophysical processes. This study employs SWAT-C to simulate particulate OC (POC) and dissolved OC (DOC) losses from the Upper Maurice Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Simulation outcomes reveal that surface runoff was the primary contributor to the total DOC load (65%), followed by lateral flow (30%), and then groundwater (5%). Meanwhile, POC load was linked to erosion processes induced by surface runoff. Our findings indicate that agricultural land-use types exhibited the highest annual average DOC and POC loads. Forests and grasslands displayed intermediate loads, while barren land had the lowest load. Concerning seasonal fluctuations, agricultural land-use types exhibited distinct DOC and POC load patterns when compared to forest and grassland types, indicating the dominant role of management practices in determining soil OC (SOC) losses. Additional modeling of management practices’ impact on SOC budgets indicates maximal SOC sequestration with full irrigation, no-till (NT), and full fertilization. In contrast, the largest SOC depletion arises from combining conservation tillage (CT) and no fertilization, irrespective of irrigation. This study shows that SWAT-C can be used to simulate land use and management impacts on SOC dynamics.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/20/3534particulate organic carbondissolved organic carbonlateral carbon fluxesSWAT modelcarbon budget |
| spellingShingle | Sadiya Baba Tijjani Junyu Qi Subhasis Giri Richard Lathrop Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region Water particulate organic carbon dissolved organic carbon lateral carbon fluxes SWAT model carbon budget |
| title | Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region |
| title_full | Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region |
| title_fullStr | Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region |
| title_short | Modeling Land Use and Management Practices Impacts on Soil Organic Carbon Loss in an Agricultural Watershed in the Mid-Atlantic Region |
| title_sort | modeling land use and management practices impacts on soil organic carbon loss in an agricultural watershed in the mid atlantic region |
| topic | particulate organic carbon dissolved organic carbon lateral carbon fluxes SWAT model carbon budget |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/20/3534 |
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