Natural Channel Design Projects
Reintroduction of Natural Fluvial Processes in Low-gradient
Drainage Channel
---A team of scientists in Ohio proposes to research and demonstrate an alternative drainage channel design that incorporates naturalized fluvial features to enhance stream integrity and maintain or improve drainage capacity.
---Researchers believe that retaining and incorporating vegetated benches, and small main channels that are created by natural fluvial (flow) processes, will result in lower nutrient and sediment discharges and will reduce maintenance costs.
Agricultural Drainage Ditches in the Midwestern Region of the USA
---The study is to identify how knowledge of fluvial processes might be used to make drainage ditches more self-maintaining and also enhance the ecology of these systems.
---The is to demonstrate an alternative drainage channel form that incorporates naturalized fluvial features to enhance stream integrity and maintain or improve drainage capacity.Drainage Projects
---A replicated field plot experiment was conducted to examine the hydrology, water quality, and crop yield impacts of controlled drainage, uncontrolled drainage, and subirrigation drainage on Hoytville silty clay soil in Ohio.
---Agricultural subsurface drainage water is a primary source of nitrate-nitrogen to surface waters.
---The Ohio State University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are working together to conduct this research to evaluate the installation performance of subsurface drainage installation equipment.
---DRAINMOD simulations using precipitation inputs at a base and a comparison weather station. This research is to produce representative, long-term precipitation and temperature records for each of Ohio's microclimatic regions for use in agricultural water management modeling.
---The study evaluates the grade control capability of the Liebrecht pull-behind drainage plow under experimental conditions and develops a testing method for similar drainage plows.
---Runoff, drain flow, and water table depth predictions from the WEPP hillslope model were evaluated against eight years measured runoff and drain flows from North Central Ohio and water table depths predicted using DRAINMOD.
---DRAINMOD model was used to simulate the runoff potential of the proposed site under drainage and wastewater irrigation, to evaluate subsurface drainage system design parameters and irrigation interval, and to predict the effect of wastewater irrigation on potential crop yield.
---Overview of guidelines for liquid manure application on drained cropland in the midwest
--- Ohio law specifies procedures that allow groups of landowners to organize for the construction and maintenance of drainage improvements with the assistance of either the county engineer or the local soil and water conservation district.
---This project is to evaluate and demonstrate an alternative drainage channel form that incorporates naturalized fluvial features to enhance stream integrity and maintain or improve drainage capacity.
---Maintenance of Multi-landowner Drainage Improvements in Ohio
---Ohio Drainage Contractor Characteristics and Installation Practices
---Construction of Multi-landowner Drainage Improvements in Ohio
---Cost Distribution Methods for Multi-landowner Drainage Improvements in OhioWetland and Water Table Management Projects
---A Wetland Reservoir Subirrigation System (WRSIS) allows for capture, treatment, storage, and reuse of runoff and subsurface drainage waters from cropland, in turn providing both environmental and agricultural production benefits.
---This Research emonstrates how construction and management of wetlands coupled with subirrigation can be economically profitable for farmers, thus stimulating the adoption of wetlands and reducing adverse impacts of agricultural runoff in the Ohio portion of the Maumee River Basin.
---Results indicate that the coupled-wetland agroecosystem management scheme substantially reduced runoff, subsurface drainage, and associated nitrate and ammonia losses from the system to surface waters, compared to corn-soybean systems with conventional subsurface drainage.
---Wetland-Reservoir-Subirrigation Systems (WRSIS) have the potential to improve downstream water quality by reducing discharge to streams, to provide wildlife habitat, to increase wetland acres and vegetation, and to provide a reliable supply of subirrigation water for sustained crop production.Irrigation/Micro-Irrigation Projects
---The study was focused on determining the soil-moisture characteristic curves and the optimum critical point (OCP) for microirrigation scheduling of cabbages.
---This study investigated the hydraulic properties of bamboo for both transmission and distribution of water in low volume - low pressure microirrigation schemes.Other Research Topics
---The purpose of this project was to improve on the existing means of harvesting corn using animal draft power. The focus was on an existing animal drawn corn harvester at Makerere University Agricultural Research Institute Kabanyolo (MUARIK).
Characteristics, Probable Discharges, and Maintenance Practices
---Statistical analysis of precipitation data and regional stream discharges was used to determine the frequency of events associated with fluvial features in the ditches. Fluvial processes result in the formation of a small meandering main channel within the confines of the ditch, as well as benches, small flood plains, riffles and pools.
---To evaluate the quality of installation of pull-behind drainage plows, forty-four subsurface drains were installed under experimental conditions by three different drainage plows.