Hypoxia, Water Quality, and LandUse in the Mississippi River Watershed

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Green Lands, Blue Waters A Vision and Roadmap for
the Next Generation of Agricultural Systems
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Hansen, MN Exp Sta
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Farris et al, Iowa DNR
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Farris et al, Iowa DNR
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DNR
Farris et al, Iowa DNR
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Sum of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Wisconsin,
Minnesota, and Missouri
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Corn and Soybean acreage11 County South Central
Minnesota
Gyles Randall,2003
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Areas of annual Row cropping
April 5 - 18
Areas of perennial vegetation
May 3 - 16
2002 Growing Season
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May 31 June 13
June 28 July 11
2002 Growing Season
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July 26 August 8
October 4 - 17
2002 Growing Season
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Cottonwood River WatershedPrecipitation and
Runoff
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Annual Tile Drainage Lossin Corn-Soybean
Rotation Waseca, 1987-2001
Gyles Randall, 2003
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Corn and Soybean Nitrate-N Loss Concentrations

• Tile drainage system
• U of MN - Lamberton

Gyles Randall, 2003
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(from Dinnes et al., 2002)
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Mississippi River Sedimentation
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Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico
Rabalais et al. 2000
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GOAL By the year 2015, subject to the
availability of additional resources, reduce the
5-year running

• average areal extent of the Gulf of Mexico
  hypoxic zone to less than 5,000 square kilometers

-25,000
-20,000
Square Kilometers
-15,000
-10,000
-5,000
-0
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Data source Nancy N. Rabalais, Louisiana
Universities Marine Consortium (nd is no data)
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Multifunctional Agricultural In the United States

Chippewa River
Wells Creek
George Boody et al., Bioscience January 2005
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80 in cultivation and includes a portion of
Montevideo
Cultivated Land
Grassland
Deciduous Forest
Urban
Catchment size 17,994 ha
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Four Scenarios
A Extension of current trends Increased
field size, focus on annual crop production B
Adoption of best management practices
Shift to conservation tillage, use recommended
nutrient application rates,30 m riparian
buffers C Expand diversity Five year crop
rotation, more grazing Wetland restoration
D Managed year-round vegetative cover Cover
crops, increased managed grazing, prairie
restoration, 90 m buffers
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Surface Runoff
Wells
Chippewa
Creek
River
Change from Baseline ()
Scenario A
Scenario C
Scenario B
Scenario D
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Habitat and Bird Species Richness
From Best, L, et al. American Midland Naturalist,
Vol 134, No 1, July 95 (1-29
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Green Lands, Blue Waters
A Vision and Roadmap for the Next Generation of
Agricultural Systems
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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Vision

• Improve water quality in the Mississippi River
  Basin
• Increase economic options and profitability for
  farmers
• Improve wildlife habitat
• Reduce flooding potential
• Strengthen vitality and quality of life of rural
  communities
• Enhance human health

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Mission

• Support development of and transition to a new
  generation of agricultural systems in the
  Mississippi River Basin
• - Integrate more perennial plants and other
  continuous living cover into the agricultural
  landscape

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Objective Develop and promote profitable
enterprises

• Build Capacity of stakeholders
• Significantly expand the knowledge base
  regarding continuous living cover systems and
  their impacts and potential
• Coordinate and build on related existing and new
  activities
• Heighten visibility and increase financial
  support of continuous living cover
  systems
• Identify and promote supporting policy changes

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Potential Ecological Services Provided by
Continuous Living Cover Systems
Nutrient Cycling, Flood Management, Natural
Pest Management, Soil Health, Wildlife
Diversity, Water Quality, Erosion Control,
Carbon Management, Climate Mediation
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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Grazing Systems
Graziers earned an average of 90 higher per cow
net income than confinement farmers over 3 years.
Tom Kriegl et al, 2002, 2003, 2004
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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Biomass Energy

• Switchgrass - Cellulosic ethanol derived from
  crops on about 115 million acres could replace
  gasoline used by Americans by 2050

• Miscanthus
• Alfalfa
• Willows and other woody crops
• Perennial Sunflower, Flax

National Resources Defense Council, 2004
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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Trees and Shrubs

• Hardwoods and Conifers saw timber fiber
• Willows
• Decorative and energy
• Hybrid popular
• Energy and fiber
• Hazelnuts Oil, confectionary, and energy

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Perennial Native Legumes

• 50 species
• preliminary evaluation
• 10 species more detailed studies
• Production and selection
• Feeding trialsswine
• Antioxidants
• Antimicrobial

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Oil Seed Crops

• Healthy Oils
• Perennial flax, Linum sp.
• Perennial sunflower, Helianthus sp.

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Wetland Restoration

• Willow
• Native Wetland Species
• --Nutrient harvesting,
• --Flood reduction --Unique industrial
  chemicals,
• --wildlife habitat- hunting

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Cover Crops

• Red clover
• Winter rye
• Brassica sp.
• Alfalfa,
• Birdsfoot trefoil
• Native legumes

April 30, 1999
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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Advantages to Production Agriculture

• Improve environmental performance
• Improve economic diversity/profitability
• Keep working lands working
• Adopt a non-regulatory, long term strategy

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Strategies Involve diverse stakeholders
Audubon Society, Upper Mississippi Basin
Initiative Illinois Stewardship Alliance
Institute for Agriculture and
Trade Policy The Land Institute
Land
Stewardship Project
Mississippi River Basin Alliance
Minnesota/Iowa Farmers Union
Nature Conservancy, Upper Mississippi Project
Trout Unlimited / Practical Farmers of Iowa
Rural Advantage / Agricultural Watershed Institute
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Green Lands, Blue Waters

StrategiesEngage land-grant institutions

• The University of Illinois
• Iowa State University, including the
• Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
• Louisiana State University
• North Dakota State University
• University of Minnesota
• University of Wisconsin
• indicates intent to sign
• letter of participation

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

StrategiesOrganize at the Watershed, State
Basin Levels

• Watershed Learning Groups (Various sources)
• Initially focus on two watersheds/state
• State Coordinating Committees (Federal Leopold)
• Representatives of learning groups and
  consortium
• State planning, implementing and monitoring
• Multi-state consortium (Charter Partners
  McKnight)
• Land-grants, NGOs, government agencies
• Overall planning, monitoring and budget

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

• Strategies
• Precision Conservation
• Profitable Enterprises through development of
  supporting infrasturcture
• Market Technical Financial
• Social Human - Policy

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Current Activities

• Developing state committees
• Inventory of related research and activities
• Great Lakes Research Team to develop research
  priorities

• Working with McKnight Foundation to improve
  national visibility of Mississippi River
• AAAS Symposium in February of 2006
• Federal earmark request

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Ten-Year Outcomes

• Development of new crops, products, and
  associated markets for products
• Increased continuous living cover on the
  agricultural landscape in the Mississippi Basin
• Reduced N loading from agricultural production at
  the watershed level by 30
• Reduced number of impaired waters in the
  watersheds
• Increased migratory waterfowl and neo-tropical
  songbird populations at the watershed level by
  30 or more.
• Shrinkage of hypoxic zone from its 2002 level

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Green Lands, Blue Waters

Anticipated Budget
On the scale of 105 million over ten years -
research, development and demonstration-
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www.greenlandsbluewaters.org
Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS