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Prof. Dr. Silvia Secchi
Department of Geographical and Sustainability Sciences, University of Iowa, IA 52242, USA

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0 LAND USE SCIENCE
0 integrated modeling
0 water sustainability
0 Conservation policy
0 Environmental impacts of agriculture

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integrated modeling
Conservation policy

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Journal article
Published: 01 September 2020 in Fishes
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Invasive bigheaded carps, genus Hypophthalmichthys, are spreading throughout the Mississippi River basin. To explore the efficacy of a consumer-based market (i.e., invasivorism) to manage them, we developed a conceptual model and evaluated three harvest approaches—direct contracted removal, volume-based incentives (“fisher-side” control), and set-quota harvest (“market-side” control). We quantified the efficacy of these approaches and potential population impact in the Illinois River. Contracted removal was effective for suppressing small populations at the edge of the range but cannot support a market. “Fisher-side” removals totaled 225,372 kg in one year. However, participation was low, perhaps due to reporting requirements for fishers. The “market-side”, set-quota approach removed >1.3 million kg of bigheaded carp in less than 6 months. Larger, older fish were disproportionately harvested, which may hinder the ability to suppress population growth. Total density declined in one river reach, and harvest may reduce upstream movement toward the invasion fronts. With sufficient market demand, harvest may control bigheaded carp. However, lack of processing infrastructure and supply chain bottlenecks could constrain harvest, particularly at low commodity prices. Given the geographical scale of this invasion and complicated harvest logistics, concerns about economic dependence on invasivorism that encourage stock enhancement are likely unmerited.

ACS Style

Wesley W. Bouska; David C. Glover; Jesse T. Trushenski; Silvia Secchi; James E. Garvey; Ruairi MacNamara; David P. Coulter; Alison A. Coulter; Kevin Irons; Andrew Wieland. Geographic-Scale Harvest Program to Promote Invasivorism of Bigheaded Carps. Fishes 2020, 5, 29 .

AMA Style

Wesley W. Bouska, David C. Glover, Jesse T. Trushenski, Silvia Secchi, James E. Garvey, Ruairi MacNamara, David P. Coulter, Alison A. Coulter, Kevin Irons, Andrew Wieland. Geographic-Scale Harvest Program to Promote Invasivorism of Bigheaded Carps. Fishes. 2020; 5 (3):29.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wesley W. Bouska; David C. Glover; Jesse T. Trushenski; Silvia Secchi; James E. Garvey; Ruairi MacNamara; David P. Coulter; Alison A. Coulter; Kevin Irons; Andrew Wieland. 2020. "Geographic-Scale Harvest Program to Promote Invasivorism of Bigheaded Carps." Fishes 5, no. 3: 29.

Accepted manuscript
Published: 01 May 2020 in Environmental Research Letters
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Conservation provisions of US farm bills since 1985 have been aimed at mitigating negative environmental impacts of US agriculture. One of the long term goals has been to protect against soil erosion, with a focus specifically on highly erodible land (HEL). Conservation Compliance (CC) mandates that, in order to receive federal subsidies, farmers who plant annual crops on HEL must implement a conservation plan, with practices such as rotating crops and no-till farming. When crop prices increase, however, the incentives not to follow the plan increase, as conservation activities can reduce farmers' profits. This study is the first to assess the performance of conservation compliance between 2007 and 2019, a period of historically high and variable crop prices, using geographical information system tools and crop data in a critical agricultural production region, the US Corn Belt. Our results indicate there was a substantial increase in continuous corn on HEL, a proxy measure for non-compliance, in several portions of the study area in correspondence with higher crop prices following the 2007 Energy Bill. This mirrored the change in crop rotations on all cropland. The increase was positively correlated with both absolute and relative corn prices. While at the height of absolute and relative corn prices there were increases in continuous corn on HEL everywhere across the study region except parts of Missouri, some of the largest changes occurred in environmentally sensitive regions and areas which use irrigation, thereby potentially creating disproportionate environmental impacts. Similar changes in continuous corn also occurred in all cropland in the region, indicating that mandatory conservation programs are as vulnerable to periods of high crop prices as voluntary programs. Better monitoring for both CC and other conservation programs is critical to ensure the policies work as intended.

ACS Style

Austin Holland; David A Bennett; Silvia Secchi. Complying with conservation compliance? An assessment of recent evidence in the US Corn Belt. Environmental Research Letters 2020, 15, 084035 .

AMA Style

Austin Holland, David A Bennett, Silvia Secchi. Complying with conservation compliance? An assessment of recent evidence in the US Corn Belt. Environmental Research Letters. 2020; 15 (8):084035.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Austin Holland; David A Bennett; Silvia Secchi. 2020. "Complying with conservation compliance? An assessment of recent evidence in the US Corn Belt." Environmental Research Letters 15, no. 8: 084035.

Journal article
Published: 26 April 2019 in Science of The Total Environment
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There is consensus that the Clean Water Act (CWA) has generally been effective in addressing point source pollution in the US. There is also consensus that non-point source (NPS) pollution, particularly from agriculture, remains a problem. The potential for the CWA framework to affect change is unclear, due to the limited power of the US federal government in addressing NPS, the contentiousness surrounding it, and the lack of funding to implement plans that have been developed. States are critical in improving water quality in the U.S. In the Mississippi River Basin, State-level Nutrient Reduction Strategies are the vehicle chosen by the Environmental Protection Agency to improve water quality. We develop an assessment of the twelve Mississippi River states' strategies. We consider three issues: whether there is science-based support for a choice, with a focus on NPS; if and how updates on progress are available; and whether there is alignment of funding and abatement priorities. We find that the use of best science is limited, the role of livestock in pollution and its abatement is ignored, and the development of Numeric Nutrient Criteria is stalled. Further, several states have not reported on their progress, and there has been little additional funding for pollution reduction. This analysis can inform broader discussions on decentralized approaches to address water quality.

ACS Style

Silvia Secchi; Moira Mcdonald. The state of water quality strategies in the Mississippi River Basin: Is cooperative federalism working? Science of The Total Environment 2019, 677, 241 -249.

AMA Style

Silvia Secchi, Moira Mcdonald. The state of water quality strategies in the Mississippi River Basin: Is cooperative federalism working? Science of The Total Environment. 2019; 677 ():241-249.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silvia Secchi; Moira Mcdonald. 2019. "The state of water quality strategies in the Mississippi River Basin: Is cooperative federalism working?" Science of The Total Environment 677, no. : 241-249.

Review
Published: 10 April 2019 in Sustainability
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Understanding the dynamics of food production is critical to improving food security. This is particularly important in regions that rely on subsistence agriculture with little adaptive capacity to climate change. Sorghum plays an important role in food security in some of the poorest parts of the world. This article reviews the literature to identify and examine the major factors affecting sorghum production in three major production regions. Factors were not categorized ex ante but rather determined from the review. Ten major factors were identified as having notable impacts on sorghum production: climate change, population growth/economic development, non-food demand, agricultural inputs, demand for other crops, agricultural resources scarcity, biodiversity, cultural influence, price and armed conflict. This synthesis revealed that (1) multiple factors simultaneously affect sorghum production; (2) the effect of each factor is greatly influenced by the magnitude and certainty of one or more other factors; and, (3) factors differ in relevance and degree with regard to geography. Generally, improved agricultural inputs, population growth/economic development and climate change have substantial influence on sorghum production. However, local dynamics likely go beyond these broad trends and more exhaustive, locally-focused studies are needed for actionable planning purposes.

ACS Style

Clara W. Mundia; Silvia Secchi; Kofi Akamani; Guangxing Wang. A Regional Comparison of Factors Affecting Global Sorghum Production: The Case of North America, Asia and Africa’s Sahel. Sustainability 2019, 11, 2135 .

AMA Style

Clara W. Mundia, Silvia Secchi, Kofi Akamani, Guangxing Wang. A Regional Comparison of Factors Affecting Global Sorghum Production: The Case of North America, Asia and Africa’s Sahel. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (7):2135.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Clara W. Mundia; Silvia Secchi; Kofi Akamani; Guangxing Wang. 2019. "A Regional Comparison of Factors Affecting Global Sorghum Production: The Case of North America, Asia and Africa’s Sahel." Sustainability 11, no. 7: 2135.

Economic instruction
Published: 02 January 2019 in The Journal of Economic Education
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The authors present a semester-long game to teach the role of economics in natural resources management. The game is framed within a fisheries context: multiple student fisheries harvest fish to maximize yield/profit, which is measured using a piecewise linear function. There are prizes for both the student and the group with the highest semester-long catch, which brings forth the social dilemma associated with dynamic stock externalities in fisheries. The game can be played in large classes, is robust to student attrition, and requires 5–10 minutes per class period. Given its features, it can be used to teach behavioral economic principles in resource management, incentives versus command-and-control regulations, role of cheap talk, social preferences, punishment, and community management as well as solutions such as aquaculture.

ACS Style

Silvia Secchi; Simanti Banerjee. A dynamic semester-long social dilemma game for economic and interdisciplinary courses. The Journal of Economic Education 2019, 50, 70 -85.

AMA Style

Silvia Secchi, Simanti Banerjee. A dynamic semester-long social dilemma game for economic and interdisciplinary courses. The Journal of Economic Education. 2019; 50 (1):70-85.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Silvia Secchi; Simanti Banerjee. 2019. "A dynamic semester-long social dilemma game for economic and interdisciplinary courses." The Journal of Economic Education 50, no. 1: 70-85.

Journal article
Published: 16 November 2018 in Environmental Science & Policy
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Agricultural production and farmer wellbeing are frequently and adversely affected by interacting climatic, economic, and policy-related disturbances. The ability of individuals to adapt and manage their resilience in the face of these threats is key to understanding how social-ecological systems might respond to future disturbances. We report the results of a survey of farmer adaptability in the Iowa-Cedar River Basin in eastern Iowa that asked questions of farm characteristics, experiences with extreme events, risk perceptions, climate change beliefs, and the frequency of perturbations that might stimulate a response. We find that in general farmers’ adoption of conservation practices and land use decisions are insensitive to climate-related perturbations. These individual adaptation decisions are affected by a wide array of constraints. Financial constraints and the stabilizing effect of crop insurance, in particular, reduce the self-reported likelihood that farmers will adapt to changes in system-level drivers. An analysis of constraints and farmer perturbation sensitivity suggests that alternative economic and policy levers may be necessary to incentivize change on the agricultural landscape.

ACS Style

Patrick Bitterman; David A. Bennett; Silvia Secchi. Constraints on farmer adaptability in the Iowa-Cedar River Basin. Environmental Science & Policy 2018, 92, 9 -16.

AMA Style

Patrick Bitterman, David A. Bennett, Silvia Secchi. Constraints on farmer adaptability in the Iowa-Cedar River Basin. Environmental Science & Policy. 2018; 92 ():9-16.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Patrick Bitterman; David A. Bennett; Silvia Secchi. 2018. "Constraints on farmer adaptability in the Iowa-Cedar River Basin." Environmental Science & Policy 92, no. : 9-16.

Chapter
Published: 05 May 2018 in Land Allocation for Biomass Crops
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While agriculture has dramatically increased the production of crops for energy generation, there has been limited growing of dedicated perennial crops for liquid fuel or electricity production. Adoption of dedicated perennials can be the first step in the transformation from unsustainable, energy intensive agricultural production to a system that is resilient to climate change, environmentally sustainable and financially stable for farmers. We focus on the perennial switchgrass because it is a native species and there is evidence of its favorable agronomic and environmental profile under a wide range of growing conditions. However, since switchgrass is a novel, perennial crop, there are challenges for farmers who want to grow it. This paper examines which factors are significant predictors in the interest of farmers in producing switchgrass through the analysis of the results of a survey completed by farmers in the Clear Creek watershed in rural Iowa. Knowledge of switchgrass and production on highly erodible land are both highly correlated with interest in growing switchgrass. In addition, long-term contracts with bio-refineries would help farmers decrease adoption risk. Our results can help establish policies that could influence farmers to shift production from annual crops to perennial native biomass energy crops. Switchgrass production has the potential to move agriculture from a contributor to climate change into a sector that mitigates climate change via reduction in energy-intensive inputs, such as fertilizers, production of renewable fuels, and sequestration of carbon in the soils.

ACS Style

Sarah Varble; Silvia Secchi. Growing Switchgrass in the Corn Belt: Barriers and Drivers from an Iowa Survey. Land Allocation for Biomass Crops 2018, 125 -144.

AMA Style

Sarah Varble, Silvia Secchi. Growing Switchgrass in the Corn Belt: Barriers and Drivers from an Iowa Survey. Land Allocation for Biomass Crops. 2018; ():125-144.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sarah Varble; Silvia Secchi. 2018. "Growing Switchgrass in the Corn Belt: Barriers and Drivers from an Iowa Survey." Land Allocation for Biomass Crops , no. : 125-144.

Journal article
Published: 05 December 2017 in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
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This article examines the international policy and institutional frameworks for response to natural and man-made disasters occurring in the Danube basin and the Tisza sub-basin, two transnational basins. Monitoring and response to these types of incidents have historically been managed separately. We discuss whether the policy distinctions in response to natural and man-made disasters remain functional given recent international trends toward holistic response to both kinds of disasters. We suggest that these distinctions are counterproductive, outdated, and ultimately flawed, illustrate some of the specific gaps in the Danube and the Tisza, and conclude by proposing an integrated framework for disaster response in the Danube basin and Tisza sub-basin.

ACS Style

Shanna N. McClain; Silvia Secchi; Carl Bruch; Jonathan W. F. Remo. What does nature have to do with it? Reconsidering distinctions in international disaster response frameworks in the Danube basin. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 2017, 17, 2151 -2162.

AMA Style

Shanna N. McClain, Silvia Secchi, Carl Bruch, Jonathan W. F. Remo. What does nature have to do with it? Reconsidering distinctions in international disaster response frameworks in the Danube basin. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 2017; 17 (12):2151-2162.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shanna N. McClain; Silvia Secchi; Carl Bruch; Jonathan W. F. Remo. 2017. "What does nature have to do with it? Reconsidering distinctions in international disaster response frameworks in the Danube basin." Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 17, no. 12: 2151-2162.

Journal article
Published: 01 December 2017 in Science of The Total Environment
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About 50% of U.S. water pollution problems are caused by non-point source (NPS) pollution, primarily sediment and nutrients from agricultural areas, despite the widespread implementation of agricultural Best Management Practices (BMPs). However, the effectiveness of implementation strategies and type of BMPs at watershed scale are still not well understood. In this study, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) ecohydrological model was used to assess the effectiveness of pollutant mitigation strategies in the Raccoon River watershed (RRW) in west-central Iowa, USA. We analyzed fourteen management scenarios based on systematic combinations of five strategies: fertilizer/manure management, changing row-crop land to perennial grass, vegetative filter strips, cover crops and shallower tile drainage systems, specifically aimed at reducing nitrate and total suspended sediment yields from hotspot areas in the RRW. Moreover, we assessed implications of climate change on management practices, and the impacts of management practices on water availability, row crop yield, and total agricultural production. Our results indicate that sufficient reduction of nitrate load may require either implementation of multiple management practices (38.5% with current setup) or conversion of extensive areas into perennial grass (up to 49.7%) to meet and maintain the drinking water standard. However, climate change may undermine the effectiveness of management practices, especially late in the 21st century, cutting the reduction by up to 65% for nitrate and more for sediment loads. Further, though our approach is targeted, it resulted in a slight decrease (~5%) in watershed average crop yield and hence an overall reduction in total crop production, mainly due to the conversion of row-crop lands to perennial grass. Such yield reductions could be quite spatially heterogeneously distributed (0 to 40%).

ACS Style

Awoke Dagnew Teshager; Philip W. Gassman; Silvia Secchi; Justin T. Schoof. Simulation of targeted pollutant-mitigation-strategies to reduce nitrate and sediment hotspots in agricultural watershed. Science of The Total Environment 2017, 607-608, 1188 -1200.

AMA Style

Awoke Dagnew Teshager, Philip W. Gassman, Silvia Secchi, Justin T. Schoof. Simulation of targeted pollutant-mitigation-strategies to reduce nitrate and sediment hotspots in agricultural watershed. Science of The Total Environment. 2017; 607-608 ():1188-1200.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Awoke Dagnew Teshager; Philip W. Gassman; Silvia Secchi; Justin T. Schoof. 2017. "Simulation of targeted pollutant-mitigation-strategies to reduce nitrate and sediment hotspots in agricultural watershed." Science of The Total Environment 607-608, no. : 1188-1200.

Journal article
Published: 01 March 2017 in Agricultural Systems
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ACS Style

Mukesh Dev Bhattarai; Silvia Secchi; Justin Schoof. Projecting corn and soybeans yields under climate change in a Corn Belt watershed. Agricultural Systems 2017, 152, 90 -99.

AMA Style

Mukesh Dev Bhattarai, Silvia Secchi, Justin Schoof. Projecting corn and soybeans yields under climate change in a Corn Belt watershed. Agricultural Systems. 2017; 152 ():90-99.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mukesh Dev Bhattarai; Silvia Secchi; Justin Schoof. 2017. "Projecting corn and soybeans yields under climate change in a Corn Belt watershed." Agricultural Systems 152, no. : 90-99.

Journal article
Published: 01 January 2017 in Agronomy Journal
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Studies comparing profitability of tillage systems often examine narrow historic windows or exclude annual price fluctuations. This study uses a continuous corn (Zea mays L.) (CC; 1970–1990) and corn–soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] (CS; 1991–2014) Tillage × Fertilizer study in somewhat poorly drained soils in southern Illinois to reconstruct partial annual budgets with historical prices for crops, fertilizers, lime, herbicides, fuel, labor, and machinery. Combinations of tillage (moldboard plow [MP], chisel tillage [ChT], alternate tillage [AT], and no-till [NT]) and fertilizer (Control, N-only, N+NPK starter, NPK+NPK starter, and NPK broadcast) treatments were evaluated. The CC profits were highest in NPK-applied treatments followed by N-only and Control. The MP treatments were similar to ChT and more profitable than NT, while AT fell between. In CS, NPK-applied treatments were similar regardless of tillage. Combined costs for herbicide, machinery, labor, and diesel were higher in MP and ChT systems than AT and lowest in NT, but were a small percentage of total costs (26.6, 26.0, 21.5, and 18.2%, respectively). Nitrogen fertilizer offered a return on investment of 396% in CC and 133% in CS while P & K returned 78% in CC and 109% in CS. Sensitivity analysis in CS showed that NT would be less profitable than MP if herbicide costs increased 850%. A 300% machinery cost increase would have made MP less profitable than NT. These findings suggest that since 1991 CS under NT carried the same potential for profit as other tillage systems under full fertility management. Copyright © 2016. . Copyright © 2016 by the American Society of Agronomy, Inc.

ACS Style

Andrew Trlica; Maninder K. Walia; Ron Krausz; Silvia Secchi; Rachel L. Cook. Continuous Corn and Corn-Soybean Profits over a 45-Year Tillage and Fertilizer Experiment. Agronomy Journal 2017, 109, 218 -226.

AMA Style

Andrew Trlica, Maninder K. Walia, Ron Krausz, Silvia Secchi, Rachel L. Cook. Continuous Corn and Corn-Soybean Profits over a 45-Year Tillage and Fertilizer Experiment. Agronomy Journal. 2017; 109 (1):218-226.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Andrew Trlica; Maninder K. Walia; Ron Krausz; Silvia Secchi; Rachel L. Cook. 2017. "Continuous Corn and Corn-Soybean Profits over a 45-Year Tillage and Fertilizer Experiment." Agronomy Journal 109, no. 1: 218-226.

Journal article
Published: 01 December 2016 in Science of The Total Environment
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During the latter half of the 19th Century and first half of the 20th Century, the Illinois River was heavily altered through leveeing off large portions of its floodplain, draining wetlands, and the construction of dams and river-training structures that facilitated navigation. As a result of these alterations, flood stages continue to rise, increasing flood risk and threatening to overtop levees along the La Grange Segment (LGS) of the Illinois River. Over the last two decades, more emphasis has been placed on reconnecting portions of floodplains to rivers in order to solve the long-term problem of rising flood heights attributed to continual heightening of levees to provide flood protection. Multiple studies have suggested that strategically reconnecting larger portions of the LGS could result in more sustainable floodplain management. However, the true costs and benefits of reconnecting the floodplain are not known. We use a novel hydrodynamic, geospatial, economic, and habitat suitability framework to assess the tradeoffs of strategically reconnecting the Illinois River to its floodplain in order to decrease flood risk, improve floodplain habitats, and limit the costs of reconnection. Costs include building-associated losses, lost agricultural profits, and levee removal and construction costs. Tested scenarios demonstrate that while flood heights and environmental benefits are maximized through the most aggressive levee setbacks and removals, these scenarios also have the highest costs. However, the tradeoff of implementing lower-cost scenarios is that there is less flood-height reduction and less floodplain habitat available. Several individual levee districts have high potential for reconnection based on limiting potential damages as well as providing floodplain habitat. To implement large-scale strategic floodplain reconnection, costs range from $1.2-$4.3 billion. As such, payments for ecosystem services will likely be necessary to compensate landowners for decreased long-term agricultural production and building losses that result in flood-reduction benefits and increased floodplain habitat.

ACS Style

Ross J. Guida; Jonathan W.F. Remo; Silvia Secchi. Tradeoffs of strategically reconnecting rivers to their floodplains: The case of the Lower Illinois River (USA). Science of The Total Environment 2016, 572, 43 -55.

AMA Style

Ross J. Guida, Jonathan W.F. Remo, Silvia Secchi. Tradeoffs of strategically reconnecting rivers to their floodplains: The case of the Lower Illinois River (USA). Science of The Total Environment. 2016; 572 ():43-55.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ross J. Guida; Jonathan W.F. Remo; Silvia Secchi. 2016. "Tradeoffs of strategically reconnecting rivers to their floodplains: The case of the Lower Illinois River (USA)." Science of The Total Environment 572, no. : 43-55.

Article
Published: 11 October 2016 in Environmental Management
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Land-based carbon sequestration constitutes a major low cost and immediately viable option in climate change mitigation. Using downscaled data from eight atmosphere-ocean general circulation models for a simulation period between 2015 and 2099, we examine the carbon sequestration potential of alternative agricultural land uses in an intensively farmed Corn Belt watershed and the impact of climate change on crop yields. Our results show that switching from conventional tillage continuous corn to no-till corn-soybean can sequester the equivalent of 192.1 MtCO2 eq of soil organic carbon per hectare with a sequestration rate of 2.26 MtCO2 eq ha−1 yr−1. Our results also indicate that switchgrass can sequester the equivalent of 310.7 MtCO2 eq of soil organic carbon per hectare with a sequestration rate of 3.65 MtCO2 eq ha−1 yr−1. Our findings suggest that, unlike for corn and soybean yields, climate change does not have a significant effect on switchgrass yields, possibly due to the carbon fertilization effect.

ACS Style

Mukesh Dev Bhattarai; Silvia Secchi; Justin Schoof. An Analysis of the Climate Change Mitigation Potential through Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration in a Corn Belt Watershed. Environmental Management 2016, 59, 77 -86.

AMA Style

Mukesh Dev Bhattarai, Silvia Secchi, Justin Schoof. An Analysis of the Climate Change Mitigation Potential through Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration in a Corn Belt Watershed. Environmental Management. 2016; 59 (1):77-86.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mukesh Dev Bhattarai; Silvia Secchi; Justin Schoof. 2016. "An Analysis of the Climate Change Mitigation Potential through Soil Organic Carbon Sequestration in a Corn Belt Watershed." Environmental Management 59, no. 1: 77-86.

Journal article
Published: 01 September 2016 in Applied Geography
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During the 1920’s, Illinois River levees became increasingly difficult for private landowners and the state to maintain as commodity prices fell and flood levels increased. However, the 1928 U.S. Flood Control act shifted a substantial portion of the burden of flood mitigation from local landowners to the federal government, preventing the dissolution of levee districts. While these levee systems have facilitated floodplain agricultural production and development for the last century, disconnecting the river from its floodplain has led to concerns about the negative impacts of levees on the physical and biological systems of the Illinois River Valley. Recent studies have emphasized approaches that would result in setting back or removing levees in order to naturalize portions of large river-floodplain systems, including the Illinois. The costs and benefits of such projects along the Illinois have shown potential restoration benefits may outweigh potential costs, but these studies have not demonstrated the specific levee districts which have the highest reconnection potential from an economic standpoint. This study uses geospatial methods to fill this gap by assessing the National Commodity Crops Productivity Index (NCCPI) soil values and agricultural production and profit values for corn and soybeans in 32 individual levee districts along a 235-km segment of the Lower Illinois River. In general, soil productivity index values were lower for Illinois River levee districts compared to the county averages in which the districts are located. Over the five-year study period from 2010 to 2014, the total agricultural profits in the levee districts ranged from $18–61 million. Several levee districts have relatively low per hectare agricultural values when compared to the value of wetland benefits, indicating these protected floodplain areas may be more suitable for reconnection.

ACS Style

Ross J. Guida; Jonathan Remo; Silvia Secchi. Applying geospatial tools to assess the agricultural value of Lower Illinois River floodplain levee districts. Applied Geography 2016, 74, 123 -135.

AMA Style

Ross J. Guida, Jonathan Remo, Silvia Secchi. Applying geospatial tools to assess the agricultural value of Lower Illinois River floodplain levee districts. Applied Geography. 2016; 74 ():123-135.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ross J. Guida; Jonathan Remo; Silvia Secchi. 2016. "Applying geospatial tools to assess the agricultural value of Lower Illinois River floodplain levee districts." Applied Geography 74, no. : 123-135.

Journal article
Published: 15 August 2016 in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
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Modeling impacts of agricultural scenarios and climate change on surface water quantity and quality provides useful information for planning effective water, environmental and land use policies. Despite the significant impacts of agriculture on water quantity and quality, limited literature exists that describes the combined impacts of agricultural land use change and climate change on future bioenergy crop yields and watershed hydrology. In this study, the soil and water assessment tool (SWAT) eco-hydrological model was used to model the combined impacts of five agricultural land use change scenarios and three downscaled climate pathways (representative concentration pathways, RCPs) that were created from an ensemble of eight atmosphere–ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs). These scenarios were implemented in a well-calibrated SWAT model for the intensively farmed and tiled Raccoon River watershed (RRW) located in western Iowa. The scenarios were executed for the historical baseline, early century, mid-century and late century periods. The results indicate that historical and more corn intensive agricultural scenarios with higher CO2 emissions consistently result in more water in the streams and greater water quality problems, especially late in the 21st century. Planting more switchgrass, on the other hand, results in less water in the streams and water quality improvements relative to the baseline. For all given agricultural landscapes simulated, all flow, sediment and nutrient outputs increase from early-to-late century periods for the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. We also find that corn and switchgrass yields are negatively impacted under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios in the mid- and late 21st century.

ACS Style

Awoke D. Teshager; Philip W. Gassman; Justin Schoof; Silvia Secchi. Assessment of impacts of agricultural and climate change scenarios on watershed water quantity and quality, and crop production. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 2016, 20, 3325 -3342.

AMA Style

Awoke D. Teshager, Philip W. Gassman, Justin Schoof, Silvia Secchi. Assessment of impacts of agricultural and climate change scenarios on watershed water quantity and quality, and crop production. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. 2016; 20 (8):3325-3342.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Awoke D. Teshager; Philip W. Gassman; Justin Schoof; Silvia Secchi. 2016. "Assessment of impacts of agricultural and climate change scenarios on watershed water quantity and quality, and crop production." Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 20, no. 8: 3325-3342.

Journal article
Published: 08 July 2016 in River Research and Applications
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Levee-protected floodplains along the 125-km LaGrange Segment (LGS) of the Illinois River were screened for their abiotic suitability for alternative ecosystem services (ESs), including wetland creation, habitat, floodwater denitrification and flood-tolerant agriculture. The suitability framework developed for this study builds upon the Land Capability Potential Index and is informed by the current understanding of the linkages between river hydrology, hydraulics, floodplain soils, floodplain vegetation and floodplain nutrient cycling. In addition to screening these floodplain areas for alternative ESs, we demonstrate how this framework can be combined with economic assessments of current floodplain services to inform how strategic floodplain reconnection (i.e. restoration of hydrologic linkages between river and floodplain for the purpose of flood mitigation and provisioning of alternative ESs) could be used to work towards sustainable floodplain management. Results show that ESs increase with upstream distance from the LaGrange Lock and Dam. This is attributed to the operation of the lock and dam generating a water level that would result in the inundation of a substantial portion of floodplain (>70 km2) up to ˜60 km upstream if the levees were to be removed or set back. Comparison of the profits from current floodplain agriculture with the potential profits of flood-tolerant agriculture suggests that overcoming the economic costs of floodplain reconnection within the LGS will likely require both conversion of reconnected floodplain lands to flood-tolerant agriculture and payments for ESs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

ACS Style

J. W. F. Remo; R. J. Guida; S. Secchi. Screening the Suitability of Levee Protected Areas for Strategic Floodplain Reconnection Along the LaGrange Segment of the Illinois River, USA. River Research and Applications 2016, 33, 863 -878.

AMA Style

J. W. F. Remo, R. J. Guida, S. Secchi. Screening the Suitability of Levee Protected Areas for Strategic Floodplain Reconnection Along the LaGrange Segment of the Illinois River, USA. River Research and Applications. 2016; 33 (6):863-878.

Chicago/Turabian Style

J. W. F. Remo; R. J. Guida; S. Secchi. 2016. "Screening the Suitability of Levee Protected Areas for Strategic Floodplain Reconnection Along the LaGrange Segment of the Illinois River, USA." River Research and Applications 33, no. 6: 863-878.

Journal article
Published: 05 July 2016 in Water International
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This article explores the elements limiting adaptive governance in the Tisza sub-basin, considers policy options available to the sub-basin, and concludes that more attention must be paid to frameworks governing adaptation in transboundary sub-basins where resources are limited. The Tisza is the largest sub-basin in the Danube River basin, and faces increasing water management pressures exacerbated by climate change. The Tisza countries have experienced challenges with managing climate change adaptation in a nested, consistent and effective manner pursuant to the EU Water Framework Directive. This is due to inefficiencies in climate change adaptation, such as weakened vertical coordination.

ACS Style

Shanna N. McClain; Carl Bruch; Silvia Secchi. Adaptation in the Tisza: innovation and tribulation at the sub-basin level. Water International 2016, 41, 813 -834.

AMA Style

Shanna N. McClain, Carl Bruch, Silvia Secchi. Adaptation in the Tisza: innovation and tribulation at the sub-basin level. Water International. 2016; 41 (6):813-834.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shanna N. McClain; Carl Bruch; Silvia Secchi. 2016. "Adaptation in the Tisza: innovation and tribulation at the sub-basin level." Water International 41, no. 6: 813-834.

Validation study
Published: 30 November 2015 in Environmental Management
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Applications of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model typically involve delineation of a watershed into subwatersheds/subbasins that are then further subdivided into hydrologic response units (HRUs) which are homogeneous areas of aggregated soil, landuse, and slope and are the smallest modeling units used within the model. In a given standard SWAT application, multiple potential HRUs (farm fields) in a subbasin are usually aggregated into a single HRU feature. In other words, the standard version of the model combines multiple potential HRUs (farm fields) with the same landuse/landcover, soil, and slope, but located at different places of a subbasin (spatially non-unique), and considers them as one HRU. In this study, ArcGIS pre-processing procedures were developed to spatially define a one-to-one match between farm fields and HRUs (spatially unique HRUs) within a subbasin prior to SWAT simulations to facilitate input processing, input/output mapping, and further analysis at the individual farm field level. Model input data such as landuse/landcover (LULC), soil, crop rotation, and other management data were processed through these HRUs. The SWAT model was then calibrated/validated for Raccoon River watershed in Iowa for 2002–2010 and Big Creek River watershed in Illinois for 2000–2003. SWAT was able to replicate annual, monthly, and daily streamflow, as well as sediment, nitrate and mineral phosphorous within recommended accuracy in most cases. The one-to-one match between farm fields and HRUs created and used in this study is a first step in performing LULC change, climate change impact, and other analyses in a more spatially explicit manner.

ACS Style

Awoke Dagnew Teshager; Philip W Gassman; Silvia Secchi; Justin T Schoof; Girmaye Misgna. Modeling Agricultural Watersheds with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT): Calibration and Validation with a Novel Procedure for Spatially Explicit HRUs. Environmental Management 2015, 57, 894 -911.

AMA Style

Awoke Dagnew Teshager, Philip W Gassman, Silvia Secchi, Justin T Schoof, Girmaye Misgna. Modeling Agricultural Watersheds with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT): Calibration and Validation with a Novel Procedure for Spatially Explicit HRUs. Environmental Management. 2015; 57 (4):894-911.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Awoke Dagnew Teshager; Philip W Gassman; Silvia Secchi; Justin T Schoof; Girmaye Misgna. 2015. "Modeling Agricultural Watersheds with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT): Calibration and Validation with a Novel Procedure for Spatially Explicit HRUs." Environmental Management 57, no. 4: 894-911.

Journal article
Published: 24 November 2015 in Land
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We developed an agent-based model (ABM) to simulate farmers’ decisions on crop type and fertilizer application in response to commodity and biofuel crop prices. Farm profit maximization constrained by farmers’ profit expectations for land committed to biofuel crop production was used as the decision rule. Empirical parameters characterizing farmers’ profit expectations were derived from an agricultural landowners and operators survey and integrated in the ABM. The integration of crop production cost models and the survey information in the ABM is critical to producing simulations that can provide realistic insights into agricultural land use planning and policy making. Model simulations were run with historical market prices and alternative market scenarios for corn price, soybean to corn price ratio, switchgrass price, and switchgrass to corn stover ratio. The results of the comparison between simulated cropland percentage and crop rotations with satellite-based land cover data suggest that farmers may be underestimating the effects that continuous corn production has on yields. The simulation results for alternative market scenarios based on a survey of agricultural land owners and operators in the Clear Creek Watershed in eastern Iowa show that farmers see cellulosic biofuel feedstock production in the form of perennial grasses or corn stover as a more risky enterprise than their current crop production systems, likely because of market and production risks and lock in effects. As a result farmers do not follow a simple farm-profit maximization rule.

ACS Style

Deng Ding; David Bennett; Silvia Secchi. Investigating Impacts of Alternative Crop Market Scenarios on Land Use Change with an Agent-Based Model. Land 2015, 4, 1110 -1137.

AMA Style

Deng Ding, David Bennett, Silvia Secchi. Investigating Impacts of Alternative Crop Market Scenarios on Land Use Change with an Agent-Based Model. Land. 2015; 4 (4):1110-1137.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Deng Ding; David Bennett; Silvia Secchi. 2015. "Investigating Impacts of Alternative Crop Market Scenarios on Land Use Change with an Agent-Based Model." Land 4, no. 4: 1110-1137.

Article
Published: 30 October 2015 in Environmental Management
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Tenants and part-owners are farming an increasing number of acres in the United States, while full-owners are farming fewer acres. This shift in ownership is a potential cause for concern because some previous research indicated that tenant and part-owner farmers were less likely to adopt conservation practices than farmers who owned the land they farmed. If that trend persists, ownership changes would signal a national drop in conservation adoption. Here we examine this issue using a survey of agricultural operators in the Clear Creek watershed in Iowa, a state with intensive agricultural production. We compare adoption of conservation practices, and preferences for conservation information sources and communication channels, between farmers who rent some portion of the land they farm (tenants and part-owners) and farmers who own all of the land they farm (full-owners). We find that renters are more likely to practice conservation tillage than full-owners, though they are less likely to rotate crops. In addition, renters report using federal government employees (specifically, Natural Resource Conservation Service and Farm Service Agency) as their primary sources of conservation information, while full-owners most frequently rely on neighbors, friends, and County Extension. These findings are significant for conservation policy because, unlike some past research, they indicate that renters are not resistant to all types of conservation practices, echoing recent studies finding an increase in conservation adoption among non-full-owners. Our results emphasize the importance of government conservation communication and can inform outreach efforts by helping tailor effective, targeted conservation strategies for owners and renters.

ACS Style

Sarah Varble; Silvia Secchi; Caroline Gottschalk Druschke. An Examination of Growing Trends in Land Tenure and Conservation Practice Adoption: Results from a Farmer Survey in Iowa. Environmental Management 2015, 57, 318 -330.

AMA Style

Sarah Varble, Silvia Secchi, Caroline Gottschalk Druschke. An Examination of Growing Trends in Land Tenure and Conservation Practice Adoption: Results from a Farmer Survey in Iowa. Environmental Management. 2015; 57 (2):318-330.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sarah Varble; Silvia Secchi; Caroline Gottschalk Druschke. 2015. "An Examination of Growing Trends in Land Tenure and Conservation Practice Adoption: Results from a Farmer Survey in Iowa." Environmental Management 57, no. 2: 318-330.