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Through this integrated research, extension and education project, we will advance the adoption and strategic placement of appropriate bioreactor and constructed wetland designs, tailored to spatial/geographic conditions and climate regimes while understanding limitations and uncertainties, to remove offsite losses of nitrogen (N) from agriculture lands.<P> Our research objective is to define the opportunities, constraints, uncertainties and research needs of siting and designing bioreactors and constructed wetlands for N removal from agricultural lands. Key activities and outputs include: the synthesis of published and ongoing research on bioreactors and constructed wetlands through meta-analysis and engagement with researchers; and the development of guidelines on the potential regional effectiveness of bioreactor and constructed wetland designs in different physiographic and agricultural settings. <P>Our extension objective is to increase the capacity of public, private and university sectors to incorporate place-based factors into the siting, design and construction of bioreactors and constructed wetlands thereby expanding informed adoption and strategic placement of these practices by agricultural producers and managers. Key activities and outputs include: ongoing assessment of training and informational needs of our stakeholders to inform all extension outputs; examination of the functional requirements/site conditions within GIS to identify geographic constraints for these artificial N sinks; development of Web Soil Survey interpretation to enhance the utility of soil survey data in the siting of systems; development of guidance documents that provide place-based assessment of the performance, constraints, uncertainties and variability of different types of artificial N sinks; and promotion of extension materials to our stakeholders and partners through symposia and workshops at national conferences and a website that captures information gleaned from our work and cooperating scientists, including examples, published studies, and maps. <P>Our education objective is to enhance student knowledge and technical literacy of the mechanisms, assessment techniques, design factors, constraints, uncertainties and challenges presented by bioreactors and constructed wetlands for N removal from agricultural lands. Key activities and outputs include the development of a suite of online teaching resources for interested faculty and shared expertise between the four institutions through shared course development.
Non-Technical Summary: <BR>In watersheds that generate elevated delivery of agricultural nitrogen (N), constructed wetlands or carbon bioreactors hold great promise in sustaining agricultural productivity while also protecting the water quality. These systems are positioned to intercept drainage waters or N-rich groundwater and promote denitrification, the conversion of nitrate to N gases. Some of these practices are eligible for USDA EQIP support in select states (e.g., Iowa, Arkansas and Illinois), but widespread adoption is stymied by critical knowledge gaps, including the seasonal performance of different designs in different settings, longevity of treatment and lack of design criteria. Through an integrated research, extension and education project, we seek to advance the adoption and strategic placement of appropriate bioreactor and constructed wetland designs. Our project will couple a comprehensive meta-analysis of past and current studies with expert judgment to develop place-based assessments, including web Soil Survey interpretation of the performance, constraints, uncertainties and variability of different types of artificial sinks. Our efforts will be informed by advisory teams of technical and implementation experts and by ongoing assessment of training and informational needs of our stakeholders. We will deliver guidance materials and other synthesis outputs to our stakeholders and partners through conferences, workshops and web based vehicles. We will include case studies within selected watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay and Upper Mississippi region. Finally, our project will provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate training and the development of online teaching resources and shared course development. We expect that the long-term impact of this work will contribute to improvements in the water quality of estuarine systems resulting from decreased watershed N loading. At the intermediate time scale, outcomes from our work will guide the efficient siting of these systems as via Federal (e.g., NRCS EQIP), Extension and state programs and enhance the understanding of the gaps in knowledge and limitations of artificial N sinks. Immediate outcomes include increased stakeholder knowledge of the utility and placement of artificial N sinks, undergraduate and graduate student training on artificial N sinks and increased ability to map specific locations suitable for these best management practices. To achieve these outcomes, we will generate a series of outputs including website; peer-reviewed journal articles; workshops, and presentations at National conferences and in conjunction with regional Extension and partner trainings. <P> Approach: <BR> We will form an advisory team to help identify projects and provide guidance for analysis, synthesis and extension activities of artificial N sinks. We will build a dataset that includes information gleaned from research-oriented studies of N removal - and information on design, construction practices, longevity and costs that will be gathered from the growing set of full-scale systems that are being installed throughout North America and beyond. The results of pilot studies, lab assessments, demonstration sites and process level theoretical studies will also be considered to augment and provide insights into particular drivers of N removal on these systems. We will rely on the components of the ADDIE model to provide our team with a systematic guide for planning and assessment. Our evaluation plan will test for changes in knowledge and interest in pursuing these BMPs pre- and post- events (symposia, training, web viewing). We will develop approaches to translate our results into geospatial databases that can facilitate a place-based overview linking our synthesis of the expected level of N removal performance, critical constraints and key uncertainties for various designs to the physiographical setting, soils, climate and agricultural system. We will create a listserv and a website that captures guidance documents and training materials specifically developed by our project and those of our colleagues, including examples, published studies, summaries, and maps. In addition to training at National conferences, we will also target regional Extension events and the technical trainings of partners, such as NRCS. We will conduct knowledge assessments pre- and post-events. We will focus our educational efforts on: graduate level research synthesis and analyses; involvement of undergraduates in experiential learning; and integrated teaching and curriculum development between all four institutions.