Download or read book Bioenergy Crop Production s Impact on Water Quality in the Mississippi River Basin Using the Benefit Transfer Approach written by William Tillman White and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biofuel production-driven land-use change in agricultural land can have impacts on ecosystem services. Since there is no planned mandate after the Renewable Fuel Standard, there are questions about what implications will future land-use changes have on water quality and how do water quality changes, resulting from potential bioenergy scenarios, affect changes in people's well-being? To answer these questions, I will estimate the value of the predicted changes in water quality under biofuel policy scenarios in counties inside the Mississippi River Basin. From this study, I found that as the percent of land-use changes increase across each county, water quality decreased. I also found that for every unit increase for the change in water quality index, the percentage of individuals' willingness to pay for a change in water quality would increase. The predicted willingness to pay for a change in water quality for a given household varied from -$72 to $143.
Download or read book Nutrient Control Actions for Improving Water Quality in the Mississippi River Basin and Northern Gulf of Mexico written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2009-07-13 with total page 91 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A large area of coastal waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico experiences seasonal conditions of low levels of dissolved oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. Excess discharge of nutrients into the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers causes nutrient overenrichment in the gulf's coastal waters and stimulates the growth of large algae blooms. When these algae die, the process of decomposition depletes dissolved oxygen from the water column and creates hypoxic conditions. In considering how to implement provisions of the Clean Water Act to strengthen nutrient reduction objectives across the Mississippi River basin, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requested advice from the National Research Council. This book represents the results of the committee's investigations and deliberations, and recommends that the EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture should jointly establish a Nutrient Control Implementation Initiative to learn more about the effectiveness of actions meant to improve water quality throughout the Mississippi River basin and into the northern Gulf of Mexico. Other recommendations include how to move forward on the larger process of allocating nutrient loading caps-which entails delegating responsibilities for reducing nutrient pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus-across the basin.
Download or read book Mississippi River Water Quality and the Clean Water Act written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2008-03-08 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mississippi River is, in many ways, the nation's best known and most important river system. Mississippi River water quality is of paramount importance for sustaining the many uses of the river including drinking water, recreational and commercial activities, and support for the river's ecosystems and the environmental goods and services they provide. The Clean Water Act, passed by Congress in 1972, is the cornerstone of surface water quality protection in the United States, employing regulatory and nonregulatory measures designed to reduce direct pollutant discharges into waterways. The Clean Water Act has reduced much pollution in the Mississippi River from "point sources" such as industries and water treatment plants, but problems stemming from urban runoff, agriculture, and other "non-point sources" have proven more difficult to address. This book concludes that too little coordination among the 10 states along the river has left the Mississippi River an "orphan" from a water quality monitoring and assessment perspective. Stronger leadership from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is needed to address these problems. Specifically, the EPA should establish a water quality data-sharing system for the length of the river, and work with the states to establish and achieve water quality standards. The Mississippi River corridor states also should be more proactive and cooperative in their water quality programs. For this effort, the EPA and the Mississippi River states should draw upon the lengthy experience of federal-interstate cooperation in managing water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.
Download or read book Mississippi River Water Quality and Interstate Collaboration written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2014-08-06 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Summary of a Workshop on Mississippi River Water Quality Science and Interstate Collaboration summarizes presentations and discussions of Mississippi River and basin water quality management, monitoring, and evaluation programs that took place at a workshop that was held in St. Louis on November 18-19, 2013. The workshop examined a wide array of challenges and progress in water quality monitoring and evaluation in states along the Mississippi River corridor, and provided a forum for experts from U.S. federal agencies, the Mississippi River states, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to share and compare monitoring and evaluation experiences from their respective organizations.
Download or read book Economic and Environmental Modeling of an Agricultural Watershed in the Mississippi Delta written by Rodney Eugene Wright and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Bio energy Feedstock Yields and Their Water Quality Benefits in Mississippi written by and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Cellulosic and agricultural bio-energy crops can, under careful management, be harvested as feedstock for bio-fuels production and provide environmental benefits. However, it is required to quantify their relative advantages in feedstock production and water quality. The primary objective of this research was to evaluate potential feedstock yield and water quality benefit scenarios of bioenergy crops: Miscanthus (Miscanthus-giganteus), Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), Johnsongrass (Sorghum halepense), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.), Soybean {Glycine max (L.) Merr.}, and Corn (Lea mays) in the Upper Pearl River watershed (UPRW), Mississippi using a Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). The SWAT model was calibrated (January 1981 to December 1994) and validated (January 1995 to September 2008) using monthly measured stream flow data. The calibrated and validated model determined good to very good performance for stream flow prediction (R2 and E from 0.60 to 0.86). The RMSE values (from 14 m3 s-1 to 37 m3 s-1) were estimated at similar levels of errors during model calibration and validation. The long-term average annual potential feedstock yield as an alternative energy source was determined the greatest when growing Miscanthus grass (373,849 Mg) as followed by Alfalfa (206,077 Mg), Switchgrass (132,077 Mg), Johnsongrass (47,576 Mg), Soybean (37,814 Mg), and Corn (22,069 Mg) in the pastureland and cropland of the watershed. Model results determined that average annual sediment yield from the Miscanthus grass scenario determined the least (1.16 Mg/ha) and corn scenario the greatest (12.04 Mg/ha). The SWAT model simulated results suggested that growing Miscanthus grass in the UPRW would have the greatest potential feedstock yield and water quality benefits.
Download or read book Improving Water Quality in the Mississippi River Basin and Northern Gulf of Mexico written by Committee on Clean Water Act Implementation Across the Mississippi River Basin and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2012-12-31 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most water resources managers, scientists, and other experts would agree that nonpoint source pollution is a more pressing and challenging national water quality problem today than point source pollution. Nonpoint sources of pollutants include parking lots, farm fields, forests, or any source not from a discrete conveyance such as a pipe or canal. Of particular concern across the Mississippi River basin (MRB) are high levels of nutrient loadings--nitrogen and phosphorus--from both nonpoint and point sources that ultimately are discharged into the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM). Nutrients emanate from both point and nonpoint sources across the river basin, but the large majority of nutrient yields across the MRB are nonpoint in nature and are associated with agricultural activities, especially applications of nitrogen-based fertilizers and runoff from concentrated animal feeding operations. Improving Water Quality in the Mississippi River Basin and Northern Gulf of Mexico offers strategic advice and priorities for addressing MRB and NGOM water quality management and improvements. Although there is considerable uncertainty as to whether national water quality goals can be fully realized without some fundamental changes to the CWA, there is general agreement that significant progress can be made under existing statutory authority and budgetary processes. This book includes four sections identifying priority areas and offering recommendations to EPA and others regarding priority actions for Clean Water Act implementation across the Mississippi River basin. These sections are: USDA's Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative; Numeric Water Quality Criteria for the northern Gulf of Mexico; A Basinwide Strategy for Nutrient Management and Water Quality; and, Stronger Leadership and Collaboration.
Download or read book Upper Mississippi River Basin Comprehensive Study written by and published by . This book was released on 1973 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Comprehensive Master Plan for the Management of the Upper Mississippi River Basin written by and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Evaluation of Field scale Soil Organic Carbon and Watershed scale Bioenergy Crop Production in Mississippi written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To date only a limited number of studies have been done at the field level to observe the effects of agricultural management practices on carbon sequestration, water quality, and bioenergy crop yield in Mississippi. Therefore, the goals of this study were to monitor soil organic carbon (SOC) levels at the field scale and perform a comprehensive analysis of the potential environmental impacts at the watershed scale using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) in two watersheds located in Mississippi. It was found that SOC levels generally are affected by depth, land use, and time. The SWAT models showed good performance overall and predicted that perennial grass production in the Town Creek watershed would render the most feedstock with the least environmental impact. The results of this study were consistent with the available literature, but a longer study period is recommended.
Download or read book Nutrients in the Upper Mississippi River written by and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 6 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Upper Mississippi River Main Stem Level B Study written by Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission and published by . This book was released on 1979 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2008-01-09 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: National interests in greater energy independence, concurrent with favorable market forces, have driven increased production of corn-based ethanol in the United States and research into the next generation of biofuels. The trend is changing the national agricultural landscape and has raised concerns about potential impacts on the nation's water resources. To help illuminate these issues, the National Research Council held a colloquium on July 12, 2007 in Washington, DC. Water Implications of Biofuels Production in the United States, based in part on discussions at the colloquium, concludes that if projected future increases in use of corn for ethanol production do occur, the increase in harm to water quality could be considerable from the increases in fertilizer use, pesticide use, and soil erosion associated with growing crops such as corn. Water supply problems could also develop, both from the water needed to grow biofuels crops and water used at ethanol processing plants, especially in regions where water supplies are already overdrawn. The production of "cellulosic ethanol," derived from fibrous material such as wheat straw, native grasses, and forest trimmings is expected to have less water quality impact but cannot yet be produced on a commerical scale. To move toward a goal of reducing water impacts of biofuels, a policy bridge will likely be needed to encourage growth of new technologies, best agricultural practies, and the development of traditional and cellulosic crops that require less water and fertilizer and are optimized for fuel production.
Download or read book Mississippi River Reservoir Benefit Study written by and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Upper Mississippi River Basin Conservation Act written by United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture. Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Resource Conservation, and Credit and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Potential of Producing Bioenergy Crops on Conservation Reserve Program Land in Missouri Iowa Nebraska and Kansas MINK Region to Mitigate Carbon Dioxide Emissions written by Loise N. Wambuguh and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Concerns about global warming and climate change have generated increasing interest in development of bioenergy crops as a potential source of low-carbon energy. The goal of this research was to quantify environmental and economic effects of using the U.S. CRP land to produce large-scale bioenergy crops. The APEX model was used to evaluate the potential of switchgrass and hybrid poplar production to provide biomass feedstock, sequester soil carbon, and simultaneously provide other environmental co-benefits including improvement of soil and water quality in the MINK region. The environmental results indicate that the level of biomass yields and change in soil organic carbon differ with type of bioenergy crop, soil type, climatic conditions, and cultural management. Converting CRP land into bioenergy crop production and adopting conservation management practices significantly reduced sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus loading into water bodies relative to traditional food crop production under conventional and conservation tillage practices. Results on economic effects of reverting CRP land into traditional crop production show a decline in prices of major U.S. commodities and federal government saving of nearly $ 1.7 billion annually on CRP rental payments. Putting some cropland currently under tradition crop production to produce conservation buffers has insignificant impact on commodity prices. Quantified information on environmental and economic effects of producing large-scale bioenergy crops assist policymakers develop sustainable and balance of energy-agriculture-environmental policies.
Download or read book Upper Mississippi River Main Stem Level B Study Draft Report written by and published by . This book was released on 1981 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
