The Lake Erie Agricultural Systems for Environmental Quality project: an introduction.

In the last part of the twentieth century, recognition became widespread of the important effect of agricultural runoff on the health of aquatic ecosystems in the Lake Erie basin and elsewhere. Because of the efforts to remediate Lake Erie, the "dead lake" among the Laurentian Great Lakes, a number of research and demonstration projects were undertaken in the Lake Erie basin to evaluate and foster adoption of conservation tillage and other farming techniques that would reduce runoff while maintaining productivity. In addition, intensive water quality studies of long duration were begun on major tributaries to Lake Erie during this time.

Soils, water quality, and watershed size: interactions in the Maumee and Sandusky river basins of northwestern Ohio.

Soil variability in watersheds accounts for the problem of partitioning downstream water quality data and evaluating sources of non-point pollution. This review of previous water quality studies was conducted to examine more closely the influence of soil properties on pollutant export. The approach used in this paper was to start with data from the two largest watersheds (Maumee and Sandusky) and then compare them on a unit area export basis with data from intermediate-size and smaller watersheds.

Relationships among plant available phosphorus, fertilizer sales, and water quality in northwestern Ohio.

Soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in northwestern Ohio river water has declined over the past 20 yr in response to decreased applications of fertilizer P. Our objective was to evaluate changes in soluble P (Bray-1 P) levels in the soil over time as influenced by fertilizer P management, cultivation practice, soil properties, and landscape factors. Because soil is the intermediary between added P and SRP measured in river water, we examined the relationship between fertilizer P, soluble soil P, and SRP.