Doctoral Explorations:
Evaluating water quality benefits of manureshed management in the Susquehanna River Basin
Worked in collaboration with USDA-LTAR and ARS scientists to upgrade the Manureshed concept using source-sink proximity based spatial analysis and nutrient availability. The ‘Manureshed’ concept was first developed by our team – Computational Eco-hydrology Lab, at Penn State. I have expanded the concept from a county scale to a HUC-12 scale with newer considerations. For this work, I had also collaborated with soil scientist, Dr. Patrick Drohan (Penn State) and developed a new soil database considering soil taxonomy. Our new soil data reduces computational complexity associated with calibration of continental scale watershed models using detailed SSURGO data while showing hydrological properties comparable to it.
Some details and comparisons from our taxonomy based soil database development paper (below). The paper is currently in preparation.
Manureshed management guides the sustainable use of manure resources by matching areas of crop demand (nutrient sinks) with areas generating livestock manure (nutrient sources). A better understanding of the impacts of manureshed management on water quality within sensitive watersheds is needed. We quantified the potential water quality benefits of manureshed-oriented management through scenario-based analyses in the Susquehanna River Basin (SRB) using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). This paper is first work evaluating the impact of Manureshed on water quality. Read the paper here –https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20429
Water Quality Benefits of Weather-Based Manure Application Timing and Manure Placement Strategies.
The timing of manure application and placement of manure significantly affects manure nutrient use efficiency and the amount of nutrient lost from a field. Application of manure prior to a minimal precipitation period, and manure application through incorporation, reduces risks associated with nutrient loss through surface runoff. The current study aims to explore potential water quality impacts related to manure application strategies on the timing of application and approach (surface broadcasting or incorporation). The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to represent manure application scenarios and quantify potential water quality impacts. Read the paper here – https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117386
Water Quality Impacts of Recycling Nutrients Using Organic Fertilizers in Circular Agricultural Scenarios
This is an exploratory work in collaboration with Dr. Caitlin Grady, George Washington University, focusing on circular economy for sustaniable food-water nexus.
Most of the nutrients in food supply chains are lost as waste and pollution at great environmental and economic cost. A more circular agricultural system can be developed through recycling of organic waste streams such as manure and food waste into organic fertilizers. This study evaluated circular agriculture scenarios of manure management and food-waste compost application in the Susquehanna River Basin (SRB) using the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). Accepted in Agricultural Systems, read the preprint here – https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4214469
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