Best Management Practices for cedar creek reservoir watershed

Funding source:
Texas Board of Soil and Water Resources

Objectives:
Evaluate the effectiveness of best management practices (BMP) to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff from agricultural cultivated and grassland areas.

Methodology:
A series of 50 x 75 ft runoff plots were constructed on Austin silty clay soil at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas.  Twelve plots were constructed to evaluate cultivated BMP practices and six plots for grassland BMP practices.  Plots were instrumented with H-flumes to measure runoff rate and quantity.  Isco samplers are being used to collect runoff samples for measuring reductions in sediment and nutrient loads due to the adoption of BMPs.  Cultivated BMPs being evaluated include 1) buffer strips, 2) residue management, and 3) conversion to grassland.  Grassland BMPs include 1) nutrient management and 2) range seeding.