Water Resource Management Commons^™

Spatial Ecology Of Large Bodied Ichthyofauna In The Red River Of The North Basin, William Marshall Stuart

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Understanding spatial patterns and processes is essential for designing research studies, implementing management actions, and planning restoration efforts. The Red River of the North basin spans a broad geographic area where jurisdictional oversight is divided among several entities (Manitoba, CAN; North Dakota, USA; Minnesota, USA; South Dakota, USA), creating a mosaic of regulatory and functional process zones. Understanding the spatial ecology of freshwater fishes in this disjointed landscape is essential to address diverse life history requirements and the movement constraints imposed by anthropogenic structures. Long-term acoustic telemetry revealed that large bodied ichthyofauna employ a diverse range of movement strategies (i.e., …

Evaporation Basins For Salinity Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

An evaporation basin is an engineered earth structure designed to safely store and evaporate saline water discharged from drainage or pumping, while protecting high-value agricultural land, natural assets or built infrastructure.

DPIRD recommends that evaporation basins should form part of an integrated water and salinity management program. Information on this page is a guide only.

It is recommended that landholders seek expert advice plus engineering design and related support from qualified contractors.

Puccinellia (Puccinellia Ciliata) For Dryland Salinity Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Puccinellia (Puccinellia ciliata) is a potentially valuable fodder on waterlogged saline land. Puccinellia, Distichlis and marine couch are the most salt tolerant of the commercially available grasses. It is best suited to areas with more than 400mm annual rainfall and where the watertable is shallow over summer.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends that any dryland salinity management is part of a whole farm, and preferably a whole catchment, water management plan.

Managing Salinity: Fence And Volunteer Pasture, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

This treatment is recommended for saline sites that can support a mix of salt tolerant species and some non-tolerant pasture species, where livestock are present. It may also be the preferred solution for farmers who wish to see an improvement in their land at low cost.

The department recommends that any dryland salinity management is part of a whole farm, and preferably a whole catchment, water management plan.

Shallow Relief Drains In Western Australia, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Shallow relief drains are easy to construct and a cost-effective way to:

• remove accumulated surface water from depressions and low-lying land
• divert run-off from land that is prone to inundation or flooding
• remove surface water to a safe disposal area, to reduce the length of time the land is inundated or flooded
• reduce the potential for localised recharge and the development of secondary salinity
• improve the continuity of flow within the catchment along the valley floor.

Measuring Soil Salinity, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

To make sound decisions on managing saline sites, you need to know the source of salt, how salinisation is occurring, the landscape context, and most importantly, the actual salt concentration of the soil.

The most common 'measures' of salt concentration are actually estimates based on electrical conductivity of a soil and water solution. Soil salt content can be measured in a laboratory by measuring the total dissolved solids in a sample. In the field, salt concentration can also be estimated using electromagnetic induction-based soil sensors.

Excavated Tanks (Farm Dams), Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Guidelines and information for planning, legal requirements, design, construction and management of excavated tanks for water storage on farm.

Excavated tanks (farm dams) provide effective water storage wherever surface water run-off can be harvested for livestock, crop spraying, irrigation and domestic use on rural properties.

Excavated tanks for rainfall storage are common in the southern agricultural areas of WA.

Well-designed and constructed dams are farm assets, safe and require little maintenance.

Poor design and construction can lead to poor water harvesting and storage, excessive costs, downstream erosion and risks to property and people.

DPIRD recommends that excavated tanks should be …

Roaded Catchments In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Roaded catchments are earthwork structures designed to increase the amount of run-off from the catchment above a receiving farm dam.

Roaded catchments are lined with clay and compacted to make a smooth surface that reduces infiltration and increases run-off. Roaded catchments should discharge into a silt trap and then into a dam (excavated earth tank). This combined structure should be fenced to exclude livestock.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends that roaded catchments are part of an integrated water and salinity management program.

The information in this page is only a guide – seek expert advice before …

Natural Revegetation And No Grazing, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

The department recommends that any dryland salinity management is part of a whole farm, and preferably a whole catchment, water management plan.

Natural revegetation and no grazing are only recommended for sites that are too saline, waterlogged and/or inundated for other treatments to succeed in the south-west of Western Australia. It is also the preferred option for the lowest possible cost.

Managing Subsurface Water In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) recommends that subsurface water management is part of an integrated water and salinity program. An integrated program can help to lower water tables and alleviate problems with waterlogging, rising salinity, and infrastructure damage.

Water Lettuce And Its Control, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Biosecurity factsheets

Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) is a declared pest in Western Australia (WA). This factsheet describes the nature of the plant with links to requirements landowners/occupiers must adhere to and pest control methods.

Confined Paddock Feeding And Feedlotting Of Sheep, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Animal production and livestock factsheets

Confinement feeding (also referred to as lot feeding or feedlotting) is an intensive feeding system in a confined area where all, or the majority of, feed and water is supplied to the contained animals. The department recommends using confinement feeding as part of a whole farm livestock, pasture and erosion management program.

We recommend having a confinement feeding system as an integral part of a whole farm livestock, pasture and erosion management program. Guides and resources that provide more detailed information are listed at the bottom of this fact sheet.

Improving Rice Yield Using Sensor Based Nitrogen Application And Best Management Practices (Bmps) In Rice-Soybean And Rice-Crawfish Rotational Systems, Charles Darnall

LSU Master's Theses

Sustainable rice farming requires effective nutrient management and conservation practices to maintain high yields and minimize environmental impact. Implementing best management practices (BMPs) promotes lower fertilizer application rates, increased N use efficiency, improves soil health, and water quality. Demonstration fields established in two different rotational cropping systems (rice-soybean and rice-crawfish) in Kaplan, LA in 2023. In each rotation system, the benefits of BMPs (sensor based mid-season N management and cover cropping) compared to farmer’s practice (FP) were evaluated using yield, yield components, soil and water quality as metrics. The rice-soybean fields in 2023 and 2024 were both planted with PVL03 …

Wics Conference 2024: Creating Connections Together: Agenda And Abstracts, Daren D. Redfearn, Christopher A. Proctor

Water and Integrated Cropping Systems Conferences

WICS Conference 2024: Creating Connections Together

Agenda and Abstracts

Water Security (Quantity/Quality)

Nebraska Groundwater Quality Clearinghouse; Augustine Adjei, Martha Rhoades, and Kent Eskridge

Assessing the AquaCrop model’s accuracy for soybean under variable irrigation; Anmol Singh

Yield response of irrigated maize hybrids to water availability; Thais Murias Jardi, Saleh Taghvaeian, Chris Proctor, Daran Rudnick, and Chuck Burr

Using the DSSAT CERES-Maize model to evaluate farmers' irrigation decisions; Rintu Sen

Nutrient Management and Cycling

Effect of cover crop mixtures and crop rotation on nitrogen dynamics and crop yield in southeast Nebraska; Madhusudhan Adhikaari

Nitrogen inhibitors reduce nitrogen losses via ammonia volatilization, nitrous …

Carbon Restoration Potential On Global Land Under Water Resource Constraints, Shouzhang Peng, César Terrer, Benjamin Smith, Philippe Ciais, Qinggong Han, Jialan Nan, Joshua B. Fisher, Liang Chen, Lei Deng, Kailiang Yu

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Ecosystem restoration is a critical nature-based solution to mitigate climate change. However, the carbon sequestration potential of restoration, defined as the maximum achievable carbon storage, has likely been overestimated because previous studies have not adequately accounted for the competition between ecosystem water demands for maximizing carbon sequestration and human water needs. Here we used a comprehensive process-based model combined with extensive land-use data and evaporation recycling accounting for land–atmosphere feedback to estimate the water requirements associated with ecosystem restoration. We found that achieving the carbon sequestration potential of restoration would significantly reduce global water availability per capita by 26%, posing …

Policies And Programs For Water-Wise Residential Landscaping In Utah, Charlotte Clark, Kendall Becker, Scott Hotaling

All Current Publications

Water-wise landscaping is the practice of using plants in a landscape that are adapted to local conditions and only need small amounts of water. Converting yards to water-wise landscaping conserves water and is a climate adaptation action residents can take to benefit Utah as temperatures rise and drought becomes more common. Many policies and programs in Utah help residents use water conscientiously and make changes. This fact sheet provides information regarding current and future water-wise landscaping policies and programs in Utah.

Effects Of Microplastic Biofilms On An Anthropogenically Impacted Suburban Lake, Paris M. Velasquez

Masters Theses

Plastics have been observed in every location on the planet, and their prevalence in the environment is due in part to their strong resistance to degradation. Inland lakes are susceptible to plastic pollution by highway runoff, which contains plastic fragments of brake pads, car tires, litter, and road paint. These plastics eventually enter freshwater environments and degrade into microplastics (

Open Groundwater Drains In Wa, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Open groundwater drains are excavated channels with sloping floors and sides and open levees, designed to intercept and drain surface (usually fresh) and groundwater (usually saline in WA) from agricultural land. These drains are most effective where the channel is dug below a water table in soils that allow good lateral drainage.

DPIRD recommends leveed groundwater drains in most cases. These should form part of a whole farm and whole catchment integrated water and salinity management program. Information on this page is a guide only. It is highly recommended that landholders considering the construction of open drains seek expert advice …

Fleabane And Its Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Flaxleaf and tall fleabane (Conyza spp.) are emerging weeds in Western Australia (WA), germinating in spring and becoming major weeds in summer. Fleabane is now considered an important weed of reduced tillage farming systems.

Historically, fleabane was primarily a weed of roadsides, particularly if the road shoulders were sprayed with glyphosate, leaving bare soil on which the fleabane could germinate and flourish.

A Step By Step Shoreline Attribute Analysis For Selected Waterbodies In The Gulf Of Mexico To Promote The Use Of Living Shorelines, Christoper Boyd, Xutong Niu, Taylor R. Horn

Journal of Extension

Living Shorelines are being promoted by coastal extension professionals as a more resilient nature-based solution to control shoreline erosion. The Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences Living Shorelines Suitability Model was run in selected waterbodies within the Gulf of Mexico.

The locations of the selected water bodies, coastal data sets used, and shoreline protection recommendations generated by the Model are presented. A step-by-step statistical analysis conducted through ArcGIS Pro from these selected coastal shorelines will illustrate how extension professionals with novice GIS experience can use the model output to promote living shorelines to coastal property owners, city managers, and developers.

Impact Of Land Use Dynamics On The Water Yields In The Gorgan River Basin, Masoomeh Yaghoobi, Aram Fathi, Shahryar Fazli, Wenzhao Li, Elham Haghshenas, Vahid Shokri Kuchak, Hesham El-Askary

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

This research investigates the future dynamics of water yield services in the Gorgan River Basin in the North of Iran by analyzing land cover changes from 1990 to 2020, using Landsat images and predicting up to 2040 with the Land Change Modeler and InVEST model under three scenarios: continuation, conservation, and mitigation. The results indicate significant shifts in agricultural land impacted water yields, which fluctuated from 324.7 million cubic meters (MCM) in 1990 to 279.7 MCM in 2010, before rising to 320.1 MCM by 2020. The study uniquely assesses the effects of land use changes on water yields, projecting a …

Rotary Spading To Ameliorate Soil Water Repellence, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

One-off deep cultivation can reduce the severity of soil water repellence by mixing some of the repellent topsoil into the wettable subsoil and bringing wettable subsoil to the surface.

Rotary spading or deep cultivation increases water infiltration by providing pathways for water entry; diluting the water repellent soil with non-repellent soil; increasing the breakdown of soil organic matter causing water repellence; in some soil types, spading and other deep cultivation can lift subsoil with higher clay content to the surface.

Deep cultivation increases the risk of wind and water erosion. To minimise the risk of erosion, follow the guidelines on …

Developing A Controlled Traffic (Tramline) Farming System, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grains and other field crops factsheets

Controlled traffic farming (CTF) is a farming system built on permanent wheel tracks where the crop zone and traffic lanes are permanently separated. It can improve profitability and sustainability.

Implements for seeding, spraying, spreading and harvesting have a particular span, or multiple of it, and all wheel tracks are confined to specific traffic lanes.

CTF increases profit by more yield, better grain quality, improved operation timeliness, and reduced costs. The environment can improve, with less nutrient leaching, less water erosion, better water infiltration, and less greenhouse gas emission. Implementation needs a clear, long-term plan, and prioritisation of soil health.

Another …

Integrating Water And Nitrogen Management For Sustainable Agriculture: Optimizing Resource Use Efficiency And Maximizing Crop Productivity, Jiaming Duan

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

Advisors: Derek Heeren and Daran Rudnick Maize, accounting for over 95% of national grain production in the United States, is highly sensitive to water and nitrogen (N) inputs. Conventional agricultural practices often lead to excessive application, causing groundwater contamination through nitrate leaching. Therefore, there is a demand for integrating water and nitrogen management with innovative scheduling methods for sustainable agricultural development.

This dissertation first reviewed two decades of U.S.-based research, highlighting the optimal management of water and N to enhance yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Findings indicate that maintaining optimal levels of N and water …

Impacts Of Invasive Carp And Their Population Dynamics On Fish Communities In The Missouri River, Joshua F. Kocik

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Invasive Carp species: Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, Bighead Carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis, Grass Carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, and Black Carp Mylopharyngodon piceus have both potential and realized abilities to negatively impact native species. Specifically, Bighead Carp and Silver Carp as filter feeders have been theorized to be detrimental not only to adult filter-feeding species, but to many fish which rely on plankton and algae in their early-life stages. The impact of Invasive Carp on the overall fish community remains underexplored. The fish communities below Gavins Point Dam (Invasive Carp present) and Fort Randall Dam (Invasive Carp absent) afford the …

Spatiotemporal Plasticity In Reproductive Readiness And Recruitment Of Ichthyoplankton Of Invasive Silver Carp Along A Western Invasion Front, Jessi L. Urichich

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Individuals of invasive species at the edge of their invasion distribution may exhibit enhanced reproductive capacity and phenotypic plasticity leading to accelerated range expansion. Environmental conditions in highly fluctuating environments at distribution edges may either promote or hinder such reproductive readiness and phenotypic plasticity. Dynamic habitat conditions and periodic disturbances experienced in prairie streams, such as drought (e.g., low-flow, high water temperatures), may potentially reduce suitable spawning environments and ichthyoplankton recruitment of invasive Silver Carp, potentially slowing range expansion or enabling management strategies that reduce abundance in the absence of a reproducing population. Female Silver Carp batch fecundity, Gonadosomatic Index …

Assessing, Restoring, And Centering Social–Ecological Relationships For Advancing Social–Ecological Resilience In The Northern Great Plains Grasslands, Katia Pilar Carranza Bernal

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The Northern Great Plains grasslands are social-ecological systems that were shaped by evolutionary and Indigenous social-ecological relationships. European colonization disrupted many of these interactions, including the coupling of fire and grazing, and degraded social-ecological resilience, shifting these grasslands to a new state. For those reasons, my research focused on assessing, restoring, and centering evolutionary and Indigenous social-ecological relationships for advancing social-ecological resilience in the Northern Great Plains grasslands. I first performed a study in the Nebraska Sandhillls assessing the potential of patch-burn grazing to support grassland resilience by comparing its effects to those of rotational grazing. Through vegetation and bird …

Development Of A Flow Cytometry Method For The Identification And Enumeration Of Enterococcus Faecalis, Riza Magbitang

Master's Theses

A multi-color flow cytometry method coupled with fluorescent staining was developed to detect and quantify E. faecalis concentrations in coastal waters as an alternative to the traditional membrane filtration method. The developed method was used to characterize E. faecalis during batch growth and yielded consistent results across the various physiological states of the cells. Additionally, the application of propidium iodide (i.e., a viability stain), afforded the method the ability to differentiate between cells with intact and compromised cell membranes, which raises the potential of quantifying cells that are in viable-but-non-culturable (VBNC) state. Initial field test using natural seawater samples spiked …

Phylogenomics Recovers Multiple Origins Of Portable Case Making In Caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera), Nature's Underwater Architects, Paul B. Frandsen, Ralph W. Holzenthal, Marianne Espeland, Jesse Breinholt, Jessica A. Thomas Thorpe, Sabrina Simon, Akito Y. Kawahara, David Plotkin, Scott Hotaling, Yiyuan Li, C. Riley Nelson, Oliver Niehuis, Christoph Mayer, Lars Podsiadlowski, Alexander Donath, Bernhard Misof, Emily Moriarty Lemmon, Alan Lemmon, John C. Morse, Shanlin Liu, Steffen U. Pauls, Xin Zhou

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Caddisflies (Trichoptera) are among the most diverse groups of freshwater animals with more than 16 000 describes species. They play a fundamental role in freshwater ecology and environmental engineering in streams, rivers and lakes. Because of this, they are frequently used as indicator organisms in biomonitoring programmes. Despite their importance, key questions concerning the evolutionary history of caddisflies, such as the timing and origin of larval case making, remain unanswered owing to the lack of a well-resolved phylogeny. Here, we estimated a phylogenetic tree using a combination of transcriptomes and targeted enrichment data for 207 species, representing 48 of 52 …

A Comparative Analysis Of Openet For Evaluating Evapotranspiration In California Almond Orchards, Kyle Knipper, Martha Anderson, Nicholas Bambach, Forrest Melton, Zac Ellis, Yun Yang, John Volk, Andrew J. Mcelrone, William Kustas, Matthew Roby, Will Carrara, Sebastian Castro, Ayse Kilic, Joshua B. Fisher, Anderson Ruhoff, Gabriel B. Senay, Charles Morton, Sebastian Saa, Richard G. Allen

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

The almond industry in California faces water management challenges that are being exacerbated by droughts, climate change, and groundwater sustainability legislation. The Tree-crop Remote sensing of Evapotranspiration eXperiment (T-REX) aims to explore opportunities to improve precision irrigation management for woody perennial cropping systems. Almond orchards in the California Central Valley were equipped with eddy covariance flux measurements to evaluate satellite remote sensing-based evapotranspiration (RSET) models. OpenET provides high-resolution (30-m spatial and daily temporal) RSET data, synthesizing decades of research for practical water management. This study provides an evaluation of OpenET performance at six almond sites covering a large range in …