Recipient Organization
KANSAS STATE UNIV
(N/A)
MANHATTAN,KS 66506
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Declines of the Ogallala-High Plains Aquifer have been particularly severe in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) region where thousands of acres of irrigated cropland have been lost from production. Climate-change induced droughts and heat stress across the region will intensify over the next 50 years, ramping up pressure on an already strained aquifer system. The transition from fully irrigated production to climate-smart systems presents significant biophysical, sociological, and economic impacts for the region. To address these challenges, we will apply an integrated approach composed of research, classroom and producer-led education, and extension programs across three aims: 1) socio-economic, 2) technical, and 3) education and outreach. OpenET, a satellite-based evapotranspiration (ET) modeling, data visualization, and access tool can play a crucial role in enabling innovative approaches to irrigation planning and scheduling decisions by producers, and identifying areas of differential irrigation efficiency, using both field-scale and historical data. Similarly, the 'Q-stable' approach can provide data-driven insights into pumping levels required for aquifer sustainability. By collaborating with stakeholders to improve and use these tools in new ways, the project will address the socio-economic challenges of increasing water use efficiency and reducing water use to levels needed to stabilize aquifer levels. Producers who have already embraced climate-smart technology and practices can provide valuable insights for implementing these systems. We will leverage this producer insight into development of new education and outreach programs aimed at fostering sustainable practices and resilient systems that can mitigate impacts of declining water supplies and changing climate conditions.
Animal Health Component
100%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
This project's transdisciplinary approach spans teaching, research, extension, and engagement with three overarching aims: 1) Draw on lived-experiences of impacted producers and communities to better understand the socio-economic challenges associated with the transition to climate-smart production and identify and evaluate needed incentives, policies and support systems to aid those impacted (Aim SE); 2) Use satellite-based ET data combined with ground-based data to advance data-driven irrigation management, identify regions with rapid withdrawals to enhance system-level water use efficiency, and provide producers new adaptation tools and strategies (Aim T); and 3) Deliver education and outreach on water depletion and adaptation strategies including transdisciplinary college courses, high school curriculum, and producer networks (Aim EO).
Project Methods
Aim SE. Understand socio-economic (SE) challenges, and identify and evaluate solutionsOur team will use a mixed-methods research design with five stages of data collection to unpack the social impacts on producers and community members.Working with Extension (Obj. EO.4), we will convene focus groups composed of state water regulators, groundwater managers and board members, and municipal officials to evaluate water policy in our target areasAn integrated approach will be used by our economic modeling team to evaluate not only crop production in our target area,but also grazing cattle industry impacts, rural economics, and interdependencies and opportunities with new, supporting agribusiness.We will use quasi-experimental, difference-in-differences (DD) procedures to establish a causal relationship between local water-use policies, water use (acre inches/acre), and the water-use efficiency indicators (Crop Water Use Efficiency - CWUE, crop yield water use efficiency - CYWUE). The DD procedure uses a quasi-experimental control group to identify a causal effect of an intervention on the water use indicators.Aim T. Use remotely sensed ET and ground sensors to quantify hydrologic impacts and provide producers novel adaptation tools for improved water managementWe will establish a comprehensive sensor network to obtain information on multi-depth soil moisture and water application regimes, along with crop production and yield data from producers to create models to estimate regional water useand water use efficiencyin the target regionUpdate irrigation scheduling toolsto incorporate OpenET-based NDVI to automatically adjust crop coefficients by estimating the crop phenology and developmental stages, increasing the confidence in modeled ET and improving irrigation recommendations at the farm-level.We will develop regional, ET-based water use estimates through the integration of OpenET data with other datasets such as crop type from the Cropland Data Layer, irrigation status from Annual Irrigation Maps, AIM, and Landsat-based Irrigation Dataset, LANIDand soil physical and hydraulic properties from Probabilistic Remapping of SSURGO, POLARIS.We will compare the Q-Stable estimation derived from OpenET-based water use estimates to those from reported WIMAS water use data to assess the accuracy of basing Q-Stable calculations on OpenET data. Completion of this objective will provide estimates of both the response of aquifer water levels to pumping for each of the focal GCDs and specific, locally-derived groundwater conservation targets required to slow the rate of aquifer decline and/or stabilize aquifer water levels.We will combine the PDIV data from the KS WIMAS pumping database, the data repository and regional models developed, and ET data sourced from OpenET to quantify CWUS. The results from this data driven approach will support quantifying farm-level, county and regional water use efficiency estimation by linking CWUS to on-farm irrigation efficiency.A technology demonstration hub will be established at the university research farm in each of the three states will focus on the major cropping systems in the regions.Aim EO. Develop Education and Outreach (EO) on water depletion and adaptationWe will create a virtual collaboration space where students can share their work, and engage in discussions across the three Aims.We will host networking events such as social gatherings or panel discussions where students from different Aims can interact in an informal setting.At each annual meeting, we will also host a student workshop to include presentations from experts in each Aim, interactive sessions, and group discussions to encourage cross-pollination of ideas.We will develop relevant course curriculum based on research and survey analyses. College curriculum will be implemented in existing courses or taught via Special Topics. The same content will be tailored to high school education by using next-generation storylines, inquiry-based learning, and interactive resources that open exciting avenues for engaging students in water conservation education.We will partner with three Hispanic Serving Institutions, OK Panhandle State University, West Texas A&M University, and Garden City Community College in KS, to offer hands-on, applied learning to both students and faculty. Participants will learn, side-by-side with the project team, from the climate-smart technology innovation demonstrations and farm-specific irrigation management tools, and engage with producers, industry partners, and farmworkers.We will develop extension programs to reach out to diverse groups including county extension agents, producers, crop consultants, commodity groups, agricultural lenders, crop insurance providers, policymakers, and the general public.We will recruit cooperators (producers, allied industry, and policy advisors) with an interest in digital decision support tools to serve as beta-testers for OpenET-based tools that support transition to climate-smart agricultural enterprises that require reduced irrigation input.Based on the beta-testing and use case feedback, presentations, training modules, how-to-videos, and workshops will be developed for use by extension specialists, researchers, and other educators to share how to properly access, use and interpret data from OpenET.We will facilitate a peer-to-peer network of producers and allied support industry partners through workshops and other interactive forums to help promote and ease the transition to more climate-smart production practices.