Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID AL_2023_Prasad

How does extreme rainfall events influence surface runoff from Alabama cropping systems?

Institute: Alabama
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-09-01 End Date: 2024-08-31
Total Federal Funds: $7,500 Total Non-Federal Funds: $8,006

Principal Investigators: Rishi Prasad

Project Summary: Extreme rainfall event frequency is increasing with rising global surface temperatures. To ensure sustainable crop production and meet water quality standards, we must understand how extreme rainfall events affect nutrients and sediment runoff losses from agricultural fields. By simulating the intensity and volume of 10, 25, and 50-year rainfall in a 30-minute duration, we will evaluate the effects of extreme rainfall on off-site runoff losses under different cropping systems of Alabama. We hypothesize systems that prioritize the least ground disturbance and maintain crop residue on the soil surface throughout the year may have less runoff. We will collect undisturbed soil samples from 5 fields across north Alabama using a rainfall simulator. We will measure total runoff volume, sediment yield, and runoff quality to compare systems, assess relationships between field-scale management, extreme rainfall, and runoff, identify systems at greatest of off-site runoff risk, and promote resilient practices adoption among farmers.