Get reliable rangeland science

Historically, information on the types, patterns, causes, spatial location, severity, and extent of land degradation through soil erosion at global or national scales have not been available in sufficient detail for developing specific polices for targeting conservation in a cost-effective approach.� Over 55% of sediment and salts entering the Colorado River are derived from accelerated soil erosion from federal rangelands with damages estimated to be $385 million per year to water users.� Management tools to reduce dissolved-solids loading to the Colorado River through land- and water-management activities on rangelands are needed. ARS and it partners NRCS, BLM, USFS and BOR have implemented large scale experiments to evaluate rainfall/runoff/soil loss/water quality on rangelands for the last 40 years using rainfall/erosion simulators. ARS scientists working with a team of National Agricultural Library (NAL) IT Specialists are developing a relational database to archive this data on NAL servers for public access and sustainability. �The data will have sites cross referenced to NRCS soil series and ecological site databases. This new database with over 73 plant communities and 2,000 plots/runs will be used to validate and expand the utility of Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM) for plant communities not currently addressed by RHEM (i.e., meadows, salt desert shrubs, CRP grasslands, etc.); develop new equations to estimate total dissolved solids in runoff water; and use RHEM to develop standardized hydrologic section for NRCS rangeland Ecological Site Descriptions that describes optimum vegetation cover for reducing soil erosion and improving water quality. The RHEM model supported with the database will provide data immediately to USDA scientists and partners to improve its conservation planning tools for estimating soil erosion and salt transport processes on rangelands.