64A journal of soil and water conservation

j o u r n a l o f s o i l a n d w at e r

conservationJuly | August 2007

Editor’s dEsk

Embracing short-term practical goals and longer term research advancesMark anderson-wilk, editor

Your LEttErs

Readers’ forum

HomE Front

Assessing technical assistance programscraig a. cox, executive director of the soil and water conservation society

ViEwPoint

Public-private sector technical assistance should be nurtureddennis Pate, validus services, llc

in tHE nEws

Conservation news you can use

FEaturE

Improving conservation planning for extreme eventscraig cox

ConsErVation in aCtion

Manure digesters—a sound solution?joseph Hart

sPECiaL sECtion introduCtion

Managing drainage ditches for water qualityPeter j.a. Kleinman

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80AOn the Coverdrainage ditches. Photos from the special research section, courtesy of Peter j.a. Kleinman, Brian a. needelman, and lou s. saporito.

VOlumE 62, NumbEr 4

Central Vermont Public service “Cow Power” project manager and Vermont farmer discuss generator operations at the Blue spruce Farm in Bridport, Vermont. Photo courtesy of Central Vermont Public service.

insidE

a growing body of work sheds light on fundamental hydro-logic and biogeochemical processes in drainage ditches. understanding these processes is essential to the develop-ment of management practices and strategies that protect downstream water quality.

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65Ajuly | aug 2007 volume 62, number 4

sPECiaL sECtion: drainagE ditCHEsImproved management of agricultural drainage ditches for water quality protection: An overviewB.a. needelman, P.j.a. Kleinman, j.s. strock, and a.l. allen

Hydrology and groundwater nutrient concentrations in a ditch-drained agroecosystemP.a. vadas, M.s. srinivasan, P.j.a. Kleinman, j.P. schmidt, and a.l. allen

Managing natural processes in drainage ditches for nonpoint source nitrogen controlj.s. strock, c.j. dell, and j.P. schmidt

Managing natural processes in drainage ditches for nonpoint source phosphorus controla.n. sharpley, t. Krogstad, P.j.a. Kleinman, B. Haggard, f. shigaki, and l.s. saporito

The role of ditch soil formation and redox biogeochemistry in mitigating nutrient and pollutant losses from agricultureB.a. needelman, d.e. ruppert, and r.e. vaughan

Ditch plant response to variable flooding: A case study of Leersia oryzoides (rice cutgrass)s.c. Pierce, s.r. Pezeshki, and M.t. Moore

Dynamics of phosphorus transfers from heavily manured Coastal Plain soils to drainage ditchesP.j.a. Kleinman, a.l. allen, B.a. needelman, a.n. sharpley, P.a. vadas, l.s. saporito, G.j. folmar, and r.B. Bryant

Nitrogen export from Coastal Plain field ditchesj.P. schmidt, c.j. dell, P.a. vadas, and a.l. allen

Phosphorus in agricultural ditch soil and potential implications for water qualitye.j. dunne, K.a. McKee, M.w. clark, s. Grunwald, and K.r. reddy

Effect of ditch dredging on the fate of nutrients in deep drainage ditches of the Midwestern United Statesd.r. smith and e.a. Pappas

Effects of dredging an agricultural drainage ditch on water column herbicide concentration, as predicted by fluvarium techniquese.a. Pappas and d.r. smith

Removing dissolved phosphorus from drainage ditch water with phosphorus sorbing materialsc.j. Penn, r.B. Bryant, P.j.a. Kleinman, and a.l. allen

Two-stage channel systems: Part 1, a practical approach for sizing agricultural ditchesG.e. Powell, a.d. ward, d.e. Mecklenburg, and a.d. jayakaran

Two-stage channel systems: Part 2, case studiesG.e. Powell, a.d. ward, d.e. Mecklenburg, j. draper, and w. word

Geometry of inset channels and the sediment composition of fluvial benches in agricultural drainage systems in Ohioa.d. jayakaran and a.d. ward

Management alternatives to enhance water quality and ecological function of channelized streams and drainage canalsr.o. evans, K.l. Bass, M.r. Burchell, r.d. Hinson, r. johnson, and M. doxey

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67Ajuly | aug 2007 volume 62, number 4

Published bySoil and Water ConServation SoCiety945 SW ankeny roadankeny, ia 50023 USaphone 515-289-2331fax 515-289-1227www.swcs.org

exeCUtive direCtorCraig a. Cox

editorMark anderson-Wilk

editorial aSSiStantJacqueline Smith

reSearCh editorJorge delgado, USda agricultural research Service

aSSoCiate editorS Mahdi al-Kaisi, iowa State UniversityFrancisco arriaga, USda agricultural research ServiceJames ascough ii, USda agricultural research ServiceGrant Cardon, Utah State Universityadrian Chappell, University of Salford, Manchester, UKZhibao dong, Chinese academy of SciencesMichael dosskey, USda national agroforestry CenterMoustafa elrashidi, USda natural resources

Conservation Serviceali Fares, University of hawaiiBradley King, USda agricultural research ServicePeter Kleinman, USda agricultural research ServiceKokoasse Kpomblekou-a, tuskegee Universitydavid lobb, University of ManitobaBirl Lowery, University of Wisconsin–Madisonloretta lynch, University of MarylandMaurice Mausbach, USda natural resources

Conservation Servicelaura M.J. McCann, University of MissouriGuy Mehuys, McGill UniversityKenneth Potter, USda agricultural research ServiceMary Stromberger, Colorado State UniversityJohn White, louisiana State UniversityJohn Williams, USda agricultural research ServiceWanhong yang, University of Guelphted Zobeck, USda agricultural research Service

editorial adviSorS lynn Betts, USda natural resources Conservation

ServiceWarren Busscher, USda agricultural research ServiceMary rayburn, USda natural resources Conservation

Service

Board oF direCtorStheo dillaha, President & Southeastern directorPeggie James, vice-President & West north Central

directordeborah Cavanaugh-Grant, Secretary & at large

directorBecky Fletcher, treasurer & east north Central directorrobert abercrombie, Southwestern region directorJoseph arbour, Canada directorron Follett, northern Plains directorJerry Hatfield, At Large DirectorJames hotaling, northeastern directorira linville, South Central directorJean Steiner, at large directordon Wysocki, Western directorShannon Brown, Student director

the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (iSSn 0022-4561) is published bimonthly by the Soil and Water Conservation Society. © 2007 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society. all rights reserved. Please ad-dress requests for reprints and permissions to pubs@swcs.org.

For subscriptions or membership, please visit www.swcs.org or call 515-289-2331. PoStMaSter: Send address changes to Journal of Soil and Water Con-servation, 945 SW ankeny road, ankeny, ia 50023. Periodicals postage paid at ankeny, ia, and additional mailing offices.

Submit queries and contributions to the editor at pubs@swcs.org. articles appearing in the research section have undergone peer review. the Soil and Water Conservation Society assumes no responsibility for statements and opinions expressed by contributors.

JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATER

CONSERVATION

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67Ajuly | aug 2007 volume 62, number 4

YOur lEttErS

Readers’ forum

sAvE ThE lAkEsThe Great Lakes region faces many envi-ronmental challenges, including untreated sewage and invasive species. The Great Lakes also support over 35 million people with drinking water, food, recreation, and transportation.

During my research, I found that the Soil and Water Conservation Society has a project to engage the clean water commu-nity in an effort to improve water quality in the Great Lakes region. There can be more done. Only 1% of water in lakes is renewed each year, and I feel SWCS members can do something improve this. More can be done by getting the commu-nity involved, putting out information tha teaches people how bad this issue really is, and convincing states such as Michigan to enforce current laws.

Joe FrucianoMacomb, Michigan

rAiSE YOur VOiCEReaders are invited to respond to pub-lished articles and express their views, experiences, and ideas related to soil and water conservation. Please send your let-ters to the editor (mark.anderson-wilk@swcs.org). Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

“the truth is that no one has ever advanced a

scientific reason for plowing.”

Edward H. Faulkner, Plowman’s Folly, 1943