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Great Lakes Watershed Ecological Sustainability Strategy: Transactions for Agricultural Ecosystem Services As discussed elsewhere in this newsletter, the summer of 2011 saw a Harmful Algal Bloom (Microcystis sp.) of unprecedented size and severity in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. This bloom was primarily fueled by agricultural runoff from the Maumee Watershed, which has about 80% agricultural land use. Similar coastal eutrophication problems have been evident in other predominantly agricultural Great Lakes watersheds, including Saginaw Bay, Green Bay, and the Bay of Quinte. Fish and benthos community health and diversity problems have also been evident in the stream networks that drain these agricultural watersheds. To help address this problem, a team of researchers led by The Nature Conservancy and including Michigan State University and LimnoTech, have undertaken a large project funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund to target and incentivize environmentally beneficial conservation practices in Great Lakes agricultural watersheds. The overall goal of this project is to explore methods for identifying and then implementing agricultural conservation and best management practices that will lead to the greatest possible reduction in damaging environmental impacts without placing undue risk on farm productivity. The project will create a framework of the information and tools necessary for managing agricultural landscapes, to move toward optimal ecosystem improvement returns and understand the return on investments. At the core of the framework are modeling tools that compute the dose-response curve relationships between ecosystem improvements and the placement, timing, and type of agricultural best management practices. Used properly, this framework can inform producers, agricultural agencies, agribusinesses, and governing bodies so that they can set, and then farm for, measurable contributions to aquatic ecosystem improvement goals. By extension, this framework can inform agricultural policies, and pay for performance transactions, certification, or other non-monetary awards that lead to environmental improvements/outcomes resulting from improved flows of water across and through agricultural lands in the Great Lakes region. proposed transaction being tested would reduce farm drainage assessments by an amount equivalent to the ecosystem improvement that the landowner makes (pay for performance). US Postage Paid Permit #87 Ann Arbor, MI ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED 66 Farmer Willingness to Provide Environmental Services – This transaction would gauge the amount of reimbursements that farmers would be willing to accept to install various types of best management practices (BMPs) on their land. This transaction will be tested using a reverse auction process whereby farmers offer to implement BMPs on their land for a given price per acre. The various bids are then prioritized and selected for implementation by normalizing the price per acre bid by the relative ecological benefit (e.g., reduction in harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie). Of course, the ecological benefits will depend not only on the type of BMP but also on its location in the watershed relative to the delivery of nutrients to the lake. 66 Supply Chain Certification Programs – Certification programs are being investigated at three points in the overall supply chain: Product Certification (e.g., producers of products made from corn, soybeans, or wheat); Farmer Certification (e.g., the State of Michigan has a Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program [MAEAP]); and Agri-retailer Certification (we are working with a committee to establish a 4R nutrient management program being tested in Ohio). We are pleased to contribute to this ground-breaking project that we anticipate will lead to a comprehensive, science-based strategy for ecological sustainable agriculture in the Great Lakes Basin and beyond. •Re-Eutrophication of the Great Lakes •Modeling Guidance to Establish SiteSpecific Nutrient Goals Cover Let ter (cont .) Currents is published for our clients and associates by the employees of LimnoTech. involve setting target levels for nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the waterbodies themselves. This newsletter and past issues may be viewed on our website at: Highlighted in this newsletter are some of LimnoTech’s efforts to advance our understanding and solve water quality problems pertaining to nutrient pollution in the Great Lakes, both on land and in water. Also included is a recently completed effort by LimnoTech to provide practical and scientifically sound guidance to both regulators and the regulated community for establishing site-specific nutrient goals through the use of nutrient load-response models. We hope that you will find the topics in this newsletter interesting and informative. Please contact us with any questions or comments you may have about these articles. Victor J. Bierman, Jr., Ph.D., BCEEM Senior Scientist [email protected] Modeling analysis has indicated that ephemeral gully erosion is a significant contributor of nutrients and sediments in Great Lakes watersheds. (Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS) Currents Inside This Issue... www.limno.com/publications •Sustainable Strategies for Agricultural Ecosystems For more information please contact: Tim Bertsos, Editor [email protected] Contributors to this issue: Joseph V. DePinto, Ph.D. [email protected] Victor J. Bierman, Jr., Ph.D., BCEEM [email protected] Wendy M. Larson [email protected] Penelope E. Moskus [email protected] Reproduction of material by permission only. We are examining three basic categories of transactions that will be valued on the basis of their relative ecological performance: 66 County Agricultural Drain Management Systems – Nearly every acre of farmland in the lower Great Lakes is served by a drainage network that is locally governed and administered to collect, gather, and remove excessive water from agricultural lands to optimize farm production. The FIRST CLASS LimnoTech 501 Avis Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48108 LimnoTech Office Locations: Headquarters Ann Arbor, Michigan 734-332-1200 Mid-Atlantic Office Washington, D.C. 202-833-9140 Central Region Office Oakdale, MN 651-330-6038 Los Angeles Region Office Manhattan Beach, CA 418-704-0095 www.limno.com www.limno.com A publication of Vol. 14, No. 2 - Fall 2013 In Focus: Nutrient Management in Our Water Resources Nutrient pollution, caused by excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, is one of the most widespread, costly and challenging water quality problems in the United States. Nutrients occur naturally in aquatic ecosystems and support the growth of algae and aquatic plants, which provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish and other organisms. However, when too much nitrogen and phosphorus enter the environment, there can be adverse environmental, human health, and economic impacts. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in the water can cause algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle. Significant increases in algae can harm water quality, food resources, and habitats, and can decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive. Large “blooms” of algae can severely reduce or eliminate oxygen in the water, and can lead to reduced productivity and even death of large numbers of fish. They can also produce thick, green scums that impact recreation, businesses, and property values. Some algal blooms produce elevated levels of certain toxins that can make people sick if they come in contact with polluted water, consume tainted fish or shellfish, or drink contaminated water. These harmful algal blooms also divert energy from healthy fish production in aquatic systems. Excessive nutrients that find their way into waterbodies are often the direct result of human activities. The primary sources of these excessive nutrients are agriculture, stormwater, wastewater, fossil fuels, and various materials from in and around our homes, including fertilizers, yard and pet waste, and certain soaps and detergents. In recent years, agriculture has drawn increased attention because animal manure, excess fertilizer applied to crops and fields, and soil erosion make this sector one of the largest sources of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the country. When precipitation falls on cities and towns, it runs across impervious surfaces like rooftops, sidewalks and roads, and carries nutrients into local waterways. Wastewater treatment plants and septic systems do not always remove enough nitrogen and phosphorus before discharging their effluents into waterways. Electric power generation, industry, and transportation have all increased the amount of nitrogen in the air through the use of fossil fuels. Both regulatory agencies and the regulated community have been challenged by the need to find solutions to nutrient pollution because there is wide variability in how individual waterbodies respond to excessive nutrient inputs, and because the adverse impacts of these nutrient inputs can be manifested in a variety of different symptoms. In recent years, controversies surrounding regulatory attempts to develop numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) have highlighted both the scientific limitations of available methods for deriving NNC and the widespread social, political, and economic implications of nutrient controls. The need for technically sound methods also applies to other nutrient regulatory activities such as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The TMDL and NPDES approaches are directed at controlling nutrient loads that enter waterbodies, as opposed to NNC, which (Continued on back page) Guidance and Tools for Selecting, Developing, and Applying Nutrient Load-Response Models to Establish Site-Specific Nutrient Goals The Re-Eutrophication of the Great Lakes In the 1970s the Great Lakes community undertook a highly successful program of research, data collection, and modeling to establish target phosphorus loads for addressing eutrophication reduction goals for the system. Once these loading targets, established through wholelake modeling conducted in the 1970s, were officially instituted in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and largely met, the Great Lakes no longer experienced blue-green and nearshore benthic algal blooms through the 1980s. Beginning in about the mid1990s, however, the Great Lakes began experiencing what many are calling a “re-eutrophication.” We are seeing the return of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), mostly cyanobacteria such as Microcystis sp., and the return of nearshore nuisance benthic algae (Cladophora sp.) that cause recreation, aesthetic, and shoreline fouling impacts. At the same time, the open offshore waters of the deeper lakes are experiencing a deficiency of nutrients, called “desertification” by many, which threatens the coldwater fisheries in these lakes. Considerable research has pointed to a number of changes in the Great Lakes basin as leading causes of these phenomena. Of particular note is the change in the ecosystem structure and function resulting largely from the introduction of aquatic invasive species, in particular the infestation of all the lakes except Lake Superior by zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissenids). Another important factor is the increase of nutrient loading to the nearshore areas of these lakes from agricultural land use. And the increased loading of phosphorus is in the form of the highly bioavailable dissolved reactive phosphorus. The recently released 2012 Protocol of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement expresses the urgent need to develop a quantitative relationship between these stressors of the re-eutrophication problem and the severity of the in-lake responses being observed. To help address that need, LimnoTech has undertaken several projects to develop models in priority areas of the lakes to explain the cause-effect relationships and to establish the necessary load-response relationships needed to manage the problems. LimnoTech and its project collaborators have leveraged funding from the USACE-Buffalo District, NSF, NOAA, and the Great Lakes Protection Fund to develop a linked hydrodynamic–sediment transport–advanced ecosystem modeling framework (EFDC-A2EM) and to apply it to three priority Great Lakes systems: Saginaw Bay, the Western Basin of Lake Erie, and the Central Basin of Lake Erie. These applications have produced a number of important findings, including: In addition to the in-lake modeling, LimnoTech has undertaken several modeling projects in the agricultural watersheds that drain into these problem embayments/ basins. Three projects funded by the USACE-Buffalo District and the Great Lakes Protection Fund have allowed LimnoTech and its project team members to: 66 Develop fine-scale watershed models including ephemeral gully contribution to improve our ability to better understand the relative contribution of several factors to increased dissolved reactive phosphorus export from agricultural lands. 66 Develop the ability to target the placement and type of agricultural best management practices to develop the most cost-effective approach to achieving desired environmental endpoints in these watersheds. 66 Work with agricultural economists and agricultural managers to explore ways to incentivize best management practices and conservation actions that will optimize environmental benefits. One of LimnoTech’s linked hydrodynamic-sediment transporteutrophication modeling efforts in the Great Lakes focuses on quantifying the relationship between sediment and nutrient loading to the Western Basin of Lake Erie and blooms of the blue-green algae, Microcystis, such as the one depicted in this satellite image. (Photo: Michigan Sea Grant, 2011) 66 By not filtering cyanobacteria in preference to other phytoplankton classes, and by altering the spatial and temporal distribution of bioavailable phosphorus in these systems, the presence of Dreissenids makes a significant contribution to the re-occurrence of HABs. 66 Significant increases in highly bioavailable dissolved reactive phosphorus from dominantly agricultural watersheds that drain into these systems is also a major contributor to the re-occurrence of HABs. 66 The combination of Dreissenid filtering of particulate matter, which greatly increases nearshore water clarity, and the runoff of phosphorus to nearshore waters, has led to the resurgence of nuisance benthic algae (e.g., Cladophora). 66 Lake Erie Central Basin hypoxia, which has also become worse since the mid-1990s, is the result of a combination of hydrometeorological stressors on the Central Basin and excessive phytoplankton production from the increased loading of bioavailable phosphorus to the lake. Taken together, the development of linked watershed-lake response models will allow us to quantify the relationship between conservation actions on land and eutrophication responses in the lake. We will thereby be able to estimate not only the level of agricultural conservation practices required to achieve aquatic ecological goals but also the cost of achieving those goals. We will also be able to estimate the extent that projected future climate change will exacerbate the re-eutrophication problem in the Great Lakes. The development of linked watershed-lake models will allow managers to quantify the relationship between conservation actions on land and eutrophication responses in the lake. More than 100,000 miles of rivers and streams, close to 2.5 million acres of lakes, reservoirs and ponds, and over 800 square miles of bays and estuaries in the United States have poor water quality because of excess nutrients, making nutrient over-enrichment one of leading causes of waterbody impairment in the nation (www2.epa.gov/ nutrientpollution/where-nutrient-pollution-occurs). EPA has been calling on states to develop numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) for more than a decade, but progress has been slow. This is caused, in part, by the complicated relationship between nutrients and endpoints of concern. The response of aquatic plants to nutrient loads is highly dependent on site-specific factors such as clarity, shading, habitat, and hydrology. Furthermore, there are multiple potential endpoints, including hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and aesthetics. Finally, the multiple levels of relationships that may develop among these endpoints must be considered. Because of this, both regulatory agencies and the regulated community have been challenged by the need to find regulatory solutions to nutrient issues while also acknowledging the wide variability in individual waterbody response to nutrient enrichment. With funding support provided by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), LimnoTech and a team of researchers developed nutrient load-response modeling guidance for establishing site-specific nutrient goals based on endpoints of concern. The LimnoTech team also developed a user-friendly Nutrient Modeling Toolbox (Toolbox) that facilitates the selection of an appropriate nutrient model(s) based on site-specific, technical, and regulatory needs. This Toolbox and associated guidance complement existing regulatory guidance on non-modeling approaches for deriving NNC, such as reference condition and stressorresponse approaches. A basic premise of this research is that properly conducted, process-based, load-response modeling approaches have more power than simpler methods to account for waterbody-specific characteristics and to resolve the effects of multiple confounding factors on ecological responses. Generally, modeling approaches require more resources (data, time, funding, expertise, etc.) than simpler methods. The Toolbox and guidance were developed with input from WERF’s advisory committee and a stakeholder advisory panel to ensure that they would be useful to both regulators and the regulated community. Additionally, LimnoTech and WERF have developed a user-friendly nutrient modeling "Toolbox" to guide stakeholders in selecting appropriate nutrient models based on multiple factors. States and EPA regions were surveyed to identify the most commonly used endpoints of concern and modeling approaches being used. The nutrient load-response guidance describes the process for developing, calibrating, and applying models to support development of site-specific nutrient goals and criteria. It also includes case studies illustrating the nutrient modeling process for six different sites, and describes how regulatory considerations affect the different steps of the modeling process, from model selection to model application, for deriving NNC and/or allowable nutrient loads. A summary of data and research needs is also provided for further improvement of nutrient models. The Toolbox contains 30 publicly available process-based and empirical models that link nutrients to ecological response indicators for aquatic systems. Accompanying the Toolbox is a user-friendly interface (Model Selection Decision Tool) that helps users navigate the Toolbox to identify an appropriate model(s), considering site-specific factors such as waterbody type, ecological response indicators (endpoints), type of application, and spatial and temporal variability. The stepwise nutrient modeling guidance and Toolbox facilitates the use of models for deriving scientifically sound nutrient goals. The guidance report, the Toolbox, and Toolbox user’s manual can be obtained from WERF at: http://www.werf.org/a/ka/Search/ResearchProfile. aspx?ReportId=LINK1T11 The Toolbox is accompanied by a user-friendly interface that helps users identify the correct model by considering sitespecific factors such as waterbody type, ecological response indicators (endpoints), type of application, and physical and temporal variability. LimnoTech will be conducting a workshop—Workshop W11: WERF LINK1T11: Modeling Approaches to Developing Site-specific Nutrient Goals, Criteria, and Management—at WEFTEC 2013 in Chicago on Saturday, October 5 from 8:30-12:00. Workshop attendees will have an opportunity to use the Model Selection Decision Tool to select appropriate models from the Nutrient Modeling Toolbox. Guidance and Tools for Selecting, Developing, and Applying Nutrient Load-Response Models to Establish Site-Specific Nutrient Goals The Re-Eutrophication of the Great Lakes In the 1970s the Great Lakes community undertook a highly successful program of research, data collection, and modeling to establish target phosphorus loads for addressing eutrophication reduction goals for the system. Once these loading targets, established through wholelake modeling conducted in the 1970s, were officially instituted in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and largely met, the Great Lakes no longer experienced blue-green and nearshore benthic algal blooms through the 1980s. Beginning in about the mid1990s, however, the Great Lakes began experiencing what many are calling a “re-eutrophication.” We are seeing the return of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), mostly cyanobacteria such as Microcystis sp., and the return of nearshore nuisance benthic algae (Cladophora sp.) that cause recreation, aesthetic, and shoreline fouling impacts. At the same time, the open offshore waters of the deeper lakes are experiencing a deficiency of nutrients, called “desertification” by many, which threatens the coldwater fisheries in these lakes. Considerable research has pointed to a number of changes in the Great Lakes basin as leading causes of these phenomena. Of particular note is the change in the ecosystem structure and function resulting largely from the introduction of aquatic invasive species, in particular the infestation of all the lakes except Lake Superior by zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissenids). Another important factor is the increase of nutrient loading to the nearshore areas of these lakes from agricultural land use. And the increased loading of phosphorus is in the form of the highly bioavailable dissolved reactive phosphorus. The recently released 2012 Protocol of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement expresses the urgent need to develop a quantitative relationship between these stressors of the re-eutrophication problem and the severity of the in-lake responses being observed. To help address that need, LimnoTech has undertaken several projects to develop models in priority areas of the lakes to explain the cause-effect relationships and to establish the necessary load-response relationships needed to manage the problems. LimnoTech and its project collaborators have leveraged funding from the USACE-Buffalo District, NSF, NOAA, and the Great Lakes Protection Fund to develop a linked hydrodynamic–sediment transport–advanced ecosystem modeling framework (EFDC-A2EM) and to apply it to three priority Great Lakes systems: Saginaw Bay, the Western Basin of Lake Erie, and the Central Basin of Lake Erie. These applications have produced a number of important findings, including: In addition to the in-lake modeling, LimnoTech has undertaken several modeling projects in the agricultural watersheds that drain into these problem embayments/ basins. Three projects funded by the USACE-Buffalo District and the Great Lakes Protection Fund have allowed LimnoTech and its project team members to: 66 Develop fine-scale watershed models including ephemeral gully contribution to improve our ability to better understand the relative contribution of several factors to increased dissolved reactive phosphorus export from agricultural lands. 66 Develop the ability to target the placement and type of agricultural best management practices to develop the most cost-effective approach to achieving desired environmental endpoints in these watersheds. 66 Work with agricultural economists and agricultural managers to explore ways to incentivize best management practices and conservation actions that will optimize environmental benefits. One of LimnoTech’s linked hydrodynamic-sediment transporteutrophication modeling efforts in the Great Lakes focuses on quantifying the relationship between sediment and nutrient loading to the Western Basin of Lake Erie and blooms of the blue-green algae, Microcystis, such as the one depicted in this satellite image. (Photo: Michigan Sea Grant, 2011) 66 By not filtering cyanobacteria in preference to other phytoplankton classes, and by altering the spatial and temporal distribution of bioavailable phosphorus in these systems, the presence of Dreissenids makes a significant contribution to the re-occurrence of HABs. 66 Significant increases in highly bioavailable dissolved reactive phosphorus from dominantly agricultural watersheds that drain into these systems is also a major contributor to the re-occurrence of HABs. 66 The combination of Dreissenid filtering of particulate matter, which greatly increases nearshore water clarity, and the runoff of phosphorus to nearshore waters, has led to the resurgence of nuisance benthic algae (e.g., Cladophora). 66 Lake Erie Central Basin hypoxia, which has also become worse since the mid-1990s, is the result of a combination of hydrometeorological stressors on the Central Basin and excessive phytoplankton production from the increased loading of bioavailable phosphorus to the lake. Taken together, the development of linked watershed-lake response models will allow us to quantify the relationship between conservation actions on land and eutrophication responses in the lake. We will thereby be able to estimate not only the level of agricultural conservation practices required to achieve aquatic ecological goals but also the cost of achieving those goals. We will also be able to estimate the extent that projected future climate change will exacerbate the re-eutrophication problem in the Great Lakes. The development of linked watershed-lake models will allow managers to quantify the relationship between conservation actions on land and eutrophication responses in the lake. More than 100,000 miles of rivers and streams, close to 2.5 million acres of lakes, reservoirs and ponds, and over 800 square miles of bays and estuaries in the United States have poor water quality because of excess nutrients, making nutrient over-enrichment one of leading causes of waterbody impairment in the nation (www2.epa.gov/ nutrientpollution/where-nutrient-pollution-occurs). EPA has been calling on states to develop numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) for more than a decade, but progress has been slow. This is caused, in part, by the complicated relationship between nutrients and endpoints of concern. The response of aquatic plants to nutrient loads is highly dependent on site-specific factors such as clarity, shading, habitat, and hydrology. Furthermore, there are multiple potential endpoints, including hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and aesthetics. Finally, the multiple levels of relationships that may develop among these endpoints must be considered. Because of this, both regulatory agencies and the regulated community have been challenged by the need to find regulatory solutions to nutrient issues while also acknowledging the wide variability in individual waterbody response to nutrient enrichment. With funding support provided by the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), LimnoTech and a team of researchers developed nutrient load-response modeling guidance for establishing site-specific nutrient goals based on endpoints of concern. The LimnoTech team also developed a user-friendly Nutrient Modeling Toolbox (Toolbox) that facilitates the selection of an appropriate nutrient model(s) based on site-specific, technical, and regulatory needs. This Toolbox and associated guidance complement existing regulatory guidance on non-modeling approaches for deriving NNC, such as reference condition and stressorresponse approaches. A basic premise of this research is that properly conducted, process-based, load-response modeling approaches have more power than simpler methods to account for waterbody-specific characteristics and to resolve the effects of multiple confounding factors on ecological responses. Generally, modeling approaches require more resources (data, time, funding, expertise, etc.) than simpler methods. The Toolbox and guidance were developed with input from WERF’s advisory committee and a stakeholder advisory panel to ensure that they would be useful to both regulators and the regulated community. Additionally, LimnoTech and WERF have developed a user-friendly nutrient modeling "Toolbox" to guide stakeholders in selecting appropriate nutrient models based on multiple factors. States and EPA regions were surveyed to identify the most commonly used endpoints of concern and modeling approaches being used. The nutrient load-response guidance describes the process for developing, calibrating, and applying models to support development of site-specific nutrient goals and criteria. It also includes case studies illustrating the nutrient modeling process for six different sites, and describes how regulatory considerations affect the different steps of the modeling process, from model selection to model application, for deriving NNC and/or allowable nutrient loads. A summary of data and research needs is also provided for further improvement of nutrient models. The Toolbox contains 30 publicly available process-based and empirical models that link nutrients to ecological response indicators for aquatic systems. Accompanying the Toolbox is a user-friendly interface (Model Selection Decision Tool) that helps users navigate the Toolbox to identify an appropriate model(s), considering site-specific factors such as waterbody type, ecological response indicators (endpoints), type of application, and spatial and temporal variability. The stepwise nutrient modeling guidance and Toolbox facilitates the use of models for deriving scientifically sound nutrient goals. The guidance report, the Toolbox, and Toolbox user’s manual can be obtained from WERF at: http://www.werf.org/a/ka/Search/ResearchProfile. aspx?ReportId=LINK1T11 The Toolbox is accompanied by a user-friendly interface that helps users identify the correct model by considering sitespecific factors such as waterbody type, ecological response indicators (endpoints), type of application, and physical and temporal variability. LimnoTech will be conducting a workshop—Workshop W11: WERF LINK1T11: Modeling Approaches to Developing Site-specific Nutrient Goals, Criteria, and Management—at WEFTEC 2013 in Chicago on Saturday, October 5 from 8:30-12:00. Workshop attendees will have an opportunity to use the Model Selection Decision Tool to select appropriate models from the Nutrient Modeling Toolbox. Great Lakes Watershed Ecological Sustainability Strategy: Transactions for Agricultural Ecosystem Services As discussed elsewhere in this newsletter, the summer of 2011 saw a Harmful Algal Bloom (Microcystis sp.) of unprecedented size and severity in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. This bloom was primarily fueled by agricultural runoff from the Maumee Watershed, which has about 80% agricultural land use. Similar coastal eutrophication problems have been evident in other predominantly agricultural Great Lakes watersheds, including Saginaw Bay, Green Bay, and the Bay of Quinte. Fish and benthos community health and diversity problems have also been evident in the stream networks that drain these agricultural watersheds. To help address this problem, a team of researchers led by The Nature Conservancy and including Michigan State University and LimnoTech, have undertaken a large project funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund to target and incentivize environmentally beneficial conservation practices in Great Lakes agricultural watersheds. The overall goal of this project is to explore methods for identifying and then implementing agricultural conservation and best management practices that will lead to the greatest possible reduction in damaging environmental impacts without placing undue risk on farm productivity. The project will create a framework of the information and tools necessary for managing agricultural landscapes, to move toward optimal ecosystem improvement returns and understand the return on investments. At the core of the framework are modeling tools that compute the dose-response curve relationships between ecosystem improvements and the placement, timing, and type of agricultural best management practices. Used properly, this framework can inform producers, agricultural agencies, agribusinesses, and governing bodies so that they can set, and then farm for, measurable contributions to aquatic ecosystem improvement goals. By extension, this framework can inform agricultural policies, and pay for performance transactions, certification, or other non-monetary awards that lead to environmental improvements/outcomes resulting from improved flows of water across and through agricultural lands in the Great Lakes region. proposed transaction being tested would reduce farm drainage assessments by an amount equivalent to the ecosystem improvement that the landowner makes (pay for performance). US Postage Paid Permit #87 Ann Arbor, MI ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED 66 Farmer Willingness to Provide Environmental Services – This transaction would gauge the amount of reimbursements that farmers would be willing to accept to install various types of best management practices (BMPs) on their land. This transaction will be tested using a reverse auction process whereby farmers offer to implement BMPs on their land for a given price per acre. The various bids are then prioritized and selected for implementation by normalizing the price per acre bid by the relative ecological benefit (e.g., reduction in harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie). Of course, the ecological benefits will depend not only on the type of BMP but also on its location in the watershed relative to the delivery of nutrients to the lake. 66 Supply Chain Certification Programs – Certification programs are being investigated at three points in the overall supply chain: Product Certification (e.g., producers of products made from corn, soybeans, or wheat); Farmer Certification (e.g., the State of Michigan has a Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program [MAEAP]); and Agri-retailer Certification (we are working with a committee to establish a 4R nutrient management program being tested in Ohio). We are pleased to contribute to this ground-breaking project that we anticipate will lead to a comprehensive, science-based strategy for ecological sustainable agriculture in the Great Lakes Basin and beyond. •Re-Eutrophication of the Great Lakes •Modeling Guidance to Establish SiteSpecific Nutrient Goals Cover Let ter (cont .) Currents is published for our clients and associates by the employees of LimnoTech. involve setting target levels for nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the waterbodies themselves. This newsletter and past issues may be viewed on our website at: Highlighted in this newsletter are some of LimnoTech’s efforts to advance our understanding and solve water quality problems pertaining to nutrient pollution in the Great Lakes, both on land and in water. Also included is a recently completed effort by LimnoTech to provide practical and scientifically sound guidance to both regulators and the regulated community for establishing site-specific nutrient goals through the use of nutrient load-response models. We hope that you will find the topics in this newsletter interesting and informative. Please contact us with any questions or comments you may have about these articles. Victor J. Bierman, Jr., Ph.D., BCEEM Senior Scientist [email protected] Modeling analysis has indicated that ephemeral gully erosion is a significant contributor of nutrients and sediments in Great Lakes watersheds. (Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS) Currents Inside This Issue... www.limno.com/publications •Sustainable Strategies for Agricultural Ecosystems For more information please contact: Tim Bertsos, Editor [email protected] Contributors to this issue: Joseph V. DePinto, Ph.D. [email protected] Victor J. Bierman, Jr., Ph.D., BCEEM [email protected] Wendy M. Larson [email protected] Penelope E. Moskus [email protected] Reproduction of material by permission only. We are examining three basic categories of transactions that will be valued on the basis of their relative ecological performance: 66 County Agricultural Drain Management Systems – Nearly every acre of farmland in the lower Great Lakes is served by a drainage network that is locally governed and administered to collect, gather, and remove excessive water from agricultural lands to optimize farm production. The FIRST CLASS LimnoTech 501 Avis Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48108 LimnoTech Office Locations: Headquarters Ann Arbor, Michigan 734-332-1200 Mid-Atlantic Office Washington, D.C. 202-833-9140 Central Region Office Oakdale, MN 651-330-6038 Los Angeles Region Office Manhattan Beach, CA 418-704-0095 www.limno.com www.limno.com A publication of Vol. 14, No. 2 - Fall 2013 In Focus: Nutrient Management in Our Water Resources Nutrient pollution, caused by excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, is one of the most widespread, costly and challenging water quality problems in the United States. Nutrients occur naturally in aquatic ecosystems and support the growth of algae and aquatic plants, which provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish and other organisms. However, when too much nitrogen and phosphorus enter the environment, there can be adverse environmental, human health, and economic impacts. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in the water can cause algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle. Significant increases in algae can harm water quality, food resources, and habitats, and can decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive. Large “blooms” of algae can severely reduce or eliminate oxygen in the water, and can lead to reduced productivity and even death of large numbers of fish. They can also produce thick, green scums that impact recreation, businesses, and property values. Some algal blooms produce elevated levels of certain toxins that can make people sick if they come in contact with polluted water, consume tainted fish or shellfish, or drink contaminated water. These harmful algal blooms also divert energy from healthy fish production in aquatic systems. Excessive nutrients that find their way into waterbodies are often the direct result of human activities. The primary sources of these excessive nutrients are agriculture, stormwater, wastewater, fossil fuels, and various materials from in and around our homes, including fertilizers, yard and pet waste, and certain soaps and detergents. In recent years, agriculture has drawn increased attention because animal manure, excess fertilizer applied to crops and fields, and soil erosion make this sector one of the largest sources of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the country. When precipitation falls on cities and towns, it runs across impervious surfaces like rooftops, sidewalks and roads, and carries nutrients into local waterways. Wastewater treatment plants and septic systems do not always remove enough nitrogen and phosphorus before discharging their effluents into waterways. Electric power generation, industry, and transportation have all increased the amount of nitrogen in the air through the use of fossil fuels. Both regulatory agencies and the regulated community have been challenged by the need to find solutions to nutrient pollution because there is wide variability in how individual waterbodies respond to excessive nutrient inputs, and because the adverse impacts of these nutrient inputs can be manifested in a variety of different symptoms. In recent years, controversies surrounding regulatory attempts to develop numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) have highlighted both the scientific limitations of available methods for deriving NNC and the widespread social, political, and economic implications of nutrient controls. The need for technically sound methods also applies to other nutrient regulatory activities such as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The TMDL and NPDES approaches are directed at controlling nutrient loads that enter waterbodies, as opposed to NNC, which (Continued on back page) Great Lakes Watershed Ecological Sustainability Strategy: Transactions for Agricultural Ecosystem Services As discussed elsewhere in this newsletter, the summer of 2011 saw a Harmful Algal Bloom (Microcystis sp.) of unprecedented size and severity in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. This bloom was primarily fueled by agricultural runoff from the Maumee Watershed, which has about 80% agricultural land use. Similar coastal eutrophication problems have been evident in other predominantly agricultural Great Lakes watersheds, including Saginaw Bay, Green Bay, and the Bay of Quinte. Fish and benthos community health and diversity problems have also been evident in the stream networks that drain these agricultural watersheds. To help address this problem, a team of researchers led by The Nature Conservancy and including Michigan State University and LimnoTech, have undertaken a large project funded by the Great Lakes Protection Fund to target and incentivize environmentally beneficial conservation practices in Great Lakes agricultural watersheds. The overall goal of this project is to explore methods for identifying and then implementing agricultural conservation and best management practices that will lead to the greatest possible reduction in damaging environmental impacts without placing undue risk on farm productivity. The project will create a framework of the information and tools necessary for managing agricultural landscapes, to move toward optimal ecosystem improvement returns and understand the return on investments. At the core of the framework are modeling tools that compute the dose-response curve relationships between ecosystem improvements and the placement, timing, and type of agricultural best management practices. Used properly, this framework can inform producers, agricultural agencies, agribusinesses, and governing bodies so that they can set, and then farm for, measurable contributions to aquatic ecosystem improvement goals. By extension, this framework can inform agricultural policies, and pay for performance transactions, certification, or other non-monetary awards that lead to environmental improvements/outcomes resulting from improved flows of water across and through agricultural lands in the Great Lakes region. proposed transaction being tested would reduce farm drainage assessments by an amount equivalent to the ecosystem improvement that the landowner makes (pay for performance). US Postage Paid Permit #87 Ann Arbor, MI ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED 66 Farmer Willingness to Provide Environmental Services – This transaction would gauge the amount of reimbursements that farmers would be willing to accept to install various types of best management practices (BMPs) on their land. This transaction will be tested using a reverse auction process whereby farmers offer to implement BMPs on their land for a given price per acre. The various bids are then prioritized and selected for implementation by normalizing the price per acre bid by the relative ecological benefit (e.g., reduction in harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie). Of course, the ecological benefits will depend not only on the type of BMP but also on its location in the watershed relative to the delivery of nutrients to the lake. 66 Supply Chain Certification Programs – Certification programs are being investigated at three points in the overall supply chain: Product Certification (e.g., producers of products made from corn, soybeans, or wheat); Farmer Certification (e.g., the State of Michigan has a Michigan Agricultural Environmental Assurance Program [MAEAP]); and Agri-retailer Certification (we are working with a committee to establish a 4R nutrient management program being tested in Ohio). We are pleased to contribute to this ground-breaking project that we anticipate will lead to a comprehensive, science-based strategy for ecological sustainable agriculture in the Great Lakes Basin and beyond. •Re-Eutrophication of the Great Lakes •Modeling Guidance to Establish SiteSpecific Nutrient Goals Cover Let ter (cont .) Currents is published for our clients and associates by the employees of LimnoTech. involve setting target levels for nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the waterbodies themselves. This newsletter and past issues may be viewed on our website at: Highlighted in this newsletter are some of LimnoTech’s efforts to advance our understanding and solve water quality problems pertaining to nutrient pollution in the Great Lakes, both on land and in water. Also included is a recently completed effort by LimnoTech to provide practical and scientifically sound guidance to both regulators and the regulated community for establishing site-specific nutrient goals through the use of nutrient load-response models. We hope that you will find the topics in this newsletter interesting and informative. Please contact us with any questions or comments you may have about these articles. Victor J. Bierman, Jr., Ph.D., BCEEM Senior Scientist [email protected] Modeling analysis has indicated that ephemeral gully erosion is a significant contributor of nutrients and sediments in Great Lakes watersheds. (Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS) Currents Inside This Issue... www.limno.com/publications •Sustainable Strategies for Agricultural Ecosystems For more information please contact: Tim Bertsos, Editor [email protected] Contributors to this issue: Joseph V. DePinto, Ph.D. [email protected] Victor J. Bierman, Jr., Ph.D., BCEEM [email protected] Wendy M. Larson [email protected] Penelope E. Moskus [email protected] Reproduction of material by permission only. We are examining three basic categories of transactions that will be valued on the basis of their relative ecological performance: 66 County Agricultural Drain Management Systems – Nearly every acre of farmland in the lower Great Lakes is served by a drainage network that is locally governed and administered to collect, gather, and remove excessive water from agricultural lands to optimize farm production. The FIRST CLASS LimnoTech 501 Avis Drive Ann Arbor, MI 48108 LimnoTech Office Locations: Headquarters Ann Arbor, Michigan 734-332-1200 Mid-Atlantic Office Washington, D.C. 202-833-9140 Central Region Office Oakdale, MN 651-330-6038 Los Angeles Region Office Manhattan Beach, CA 418-704-0095 www.limno.com www.limno.com A publication of Vol. 14, No. 2 - Fall 2013 In Focus: Nutrient Management in Our Water Resources Nutrient pollution, caused by excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, is one of the most widespread, costly and challenging water quality problems in the United States. Nutrients occur naturally in aquatic ecosystems and support the growth of algae and aquatic plants, which provide food and habitat for fish, shellfish and other organisms. However, when too much nitrogen and phosphorus enter the environment, there can be adverse environmental, human health, and economic impacts. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus in the water can cause algae to grow faster than ecosystems can handle. Significant increases in algae can harm water quality, food resources, and habitats, and can decrease the oxygen that fish and other aquatic life need to survive. Large “blooms” of algae can severely reduce or eliminate oxygen in the water, and can lead to reduced productivity and even death of large numbers of fish. They can also produce thick, green scums that impact recreation, businesses, and property values. Some algal blooms produce elevated levels of certain toxins that can make people sick if they come in contact with polluted water, consume tainted fish or shellfish, or drink contaminated water. These harmful algal blooms also divert energy from healthy fish production in aquatic systems. Excessive nutrients that find their way into waterbodies are often the direct result of human activities. The primary sources of these excessive nutrients are agriculture, stormwater, wastewater, fossil fuels, and various materials from in and around our homes, including fertilizers, yard and pet waste, and certain soaps and detergents. In recent years, agriculture has drawn increased attention because animal manure, excess fertilizer applied to crops and fields, and soil erosion make this sector one of the largest sources of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the country. When precipitation falls on cities and towns, it runs across impervious surfaces like rooftops, sidewalks and roads, and carries nutrients into local waterways. Wastewater treatment plants and septic systems do not always remove enough nitrogen and phosphorus before discharging their effluents into waterways. Electric power generation, industry, and transportation have all increased the amount of nitrogen in the air through the use of fossil fuels. Both regulatory agencies and the regulated community have been challenged by the need to find solutions to nutrient pollution because there is wide variability in how individual waterbodies respond to excessive nutrient inputs, and because the adverse impacts of these nutrient inputs can be manifested in a variety of different symptoms. In recent years, controversies surrounding regulatory attempts to develop numeric nutrient criteria (NNC) have highlighted both the scientific limitations of available methods for deriving NNC and the widespread social, political, and economic implications of nutrient controls. The need for technically sound methods also applies to other nutrient regulatory activities such as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). The TMDL and NPDES approaches are directed at controlling nutrient loads that enter waterbodies, as opposed to NNC, which (Continued on back page)