Work continues on preparing a version of the ACPF OFETool that can be run anywhere in the DEP domain. A draft version of the OFETool for inclusion in the ACPF has been finalized that accesses DEP web services and requests DEP model runs to summarize. The draft tool runs a two-step approach of the tool. 1 - Obtain DEP info; 2 - Run a HUC12 OFE assessment. However, the draft OFETool does not yet access the DEP tillage rasters as those only became available as a web service in late June. Read more about Equipping conservation practitioners with quantitative estimations of sediment and P reduction from BMPs Jul 2025

On May 13, we finished installing all field equipment of pilot-scale bioreactors. These bioreactors began operation on the same day, and water quality samples have been collected every week. Analysis for Nitrate, GHG (CH4, N2O, CO2) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) is ongoing. Read more about How Long Will Corncobs Improve Nitrogen Removal in Bioreactors? Jun 2025

Previous PI Luquin moved to a position with the University of Minnesota on September 15. He remains committed to completing the project and the remainder of the project period was mostly devoted to paperwork changing PI from Luquin to Brian Gelder at ISU. Minor amounts of additional project work consisted of building an Ag Conservation Planning Framework ArcGIS tool to enable sharing of the OFETool process with GIS professionals and watershed managers.

Related activities and accomplishments Read more about Equipping conservation practitioners with quantitative estimations of sediment and P reduction from BMPs Jan 2025

We conducted a series of model simulations to assess the potential of in-field and edge-of-field practices in reducing nitrate loading. In-field strategies included cover crops, fertilizer reduction, manure substitution and fertilizer timing adjustments, while saturated riparian buffers (SRBs) were evaluated for additional nitrate removal based on daily estimates of water flow and nitrate concentration from the DLEM-catchment model. Read more about Building cross-scale predictability of land-to-aquatic nitrogen loads in agriculture-dominated watersheds Feb 2025

The monthly (4-week interval) sampling of the study field has been completed. For a total of 1,400 samples, a consistent grid of 100 samples per month was taken from the field to a depth of 15 cm (6 inches), packed into individual bags, and sent for further analysis at a commercial laboratory for soil nutrients. A stack of covariates, including different digital terrain attributes (slope gradient, profile curvature, eastness, northness, etc.) and remote sensing imagery (Sentinel-2, Landsat-8) has been created to be used as predictors in the modelling process. Read more about Spatial models for scaling optimal nutrient management research from plot to field and watershed scales Apr 2025