University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Watershed Scale Project in Oostanaula Creek

F. R. Walker, C. D. Clark, M. Essington, S. Hawkins, D.M. Lambert, A. Layton, J.

Schwartz and L-B Reynolds

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Oostanaula Watershed• Urbanizing agricultural watershed

(44,864 acres)• Ridge and Valley of East TN• Pasture grazing systems• Impaired for pathogens, nutrients,

siltation, loss of habitat• Non-point source; sediment & P TMDLs• USDA funding 2009 to present• TN Dept. of Ag. 319 funding

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Research Objectives• Objective A. Develop a watershed-scale

sediment budget that identifies dominant sources of fine sediment to Oostanaula

• Objective B. Conduct an economic cost-benefit analysis of sediment source-dependent BMPs specific to the Oostanaula Creek watershed

• Objective C. Assess the behavior response of farmer’s willingness to implement sediment BMPs

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Outreach and Education Objectives

• Objectives D & E. Conduct comprehensive watershed-wide education program to inform farmers, youth and adult residents and demonstrate that BMPs can simultaneously improve water quality and increase agricultural productivity

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Objective A. Develop a watershed-scale sediment budget

• Characterized microbial communities from eroding soil and suspended sediment

• Bacterial communities can serve as an eroding material source tracker – Discriminate between suspended

sediment sources and in-stream suspended sediment

• Identified dominant phyla

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Phyla Shared by Different Soil / Sediment Sources

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Microbial Diversity Indices

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Objective A. Sediment elemental fingerprinting

• Si, Co, P, Mn, Ba, Cu and Zn were the optimum combination of elements

• Clustered sediment from different categories– Upland erosion– Stream bank

•Sediment sources (from pasture, cattle path, forest etc.) could not be differentiated by their measured geochemical properties

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Similar Geology Across Watershed!

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Objective A. Understanding stream bank erosion processes • Stream bank erosion processes and

channel degradation in the southern Appalachian region

• How do vegetation and bedrock influence bank stability?

• Estimating sediment yields– SWAT analysis if land-use changed

• Estimating sediment yields from cattle paths

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Cattle Paths• Higher runoff volumes

and sediment loads, per storm event from cattle paths

• Control sites were 0.01 and 0.75 kg per storm

• Cattle paths: 5.67, 14.59, and 20.00 kg per storm

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Objectives B & C. Economics analysis of BMPs and adoption

• How likely will producers adopt rotational grazing?

• Integrated into the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) hydrologic model

• Estimated that the maximum upland sediment loss reduction with rotational grazing was 1,450 tons/year at a cost of $170/ton across the Watershed.

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Objective C. Farmer’s willingness to implement BMPs

Two surveys (2009 and 2014)•Mail survey (437 responses or 30%; 143 beef operations; 13,963 acres)•Adoption 4 different BMPs; stream crossings, rotational grazing, pasture improvement, and cattle water tanks

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Willingness to Adopt BMPs• Stream crossings, least preferred;

maintenance after high flow events• Younger, more educated producers

with higher income levels willing to adopt BMPs

• Beef cattle owners willing to improve pasture productivity– Win-Win BMP strategy for beef cattle

owners wishing to enhance animal productivity and improve water quality??

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

BMP adoption patterns

Practice Adopters (% of total cattle operations)

Total Units of practice adopted across 5 watersheds

Stream crossing

23 (16%) 1,302 ft2

Rotational grazing

62 (42%) 3,456 ac

Pasture improvement

100 (68%) 4,694 ac

Waterer 61 (41%) 171 troughs

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Participation and incentives

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

Objectives D & E. Conduct watershed education program

• Several 100 acres of pastures were renovated

• Several miles of cattle exclusion fencing, heavy use cattle lanes, and cattle waterers were installed during this project

• Significant reaches of Oostanaula creek were “de-posted” (a prelude to de-listing from 303 d list) in mid-2015

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture