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INVESTIGATOR: Landis, A.

PERFORMING INSTITUTION:
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA 29634

ANALYSIS OF NUTRIENT FLOW FROM FARM TO GLOBE USING AGRICULTURAL SOIL WATER SUSTAINABILITY EVALUATION (ASWAE) FRAMEWORK

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY: The overarching goal of this project is to develop a multi-spatial-scale framework to better enable technology and policy analysis for nutrient management to produce more agricultural products using agricultural soil water sustainability evaluation (ASWSE) framework. Our framework will improve the understanding of sustainable production of agroecosystems while retaining needed ecosystems services. The proposed Agricultural Soil Water Sustainability Evaluation (ASWSE) Framework developed herein will bridge previously disparate modeling approaches to nutrient management, including local fate and transport modeling, nutrient input-output analysis at the watershed and national scale, regional environmental impact assessment (e.g. global warming, eutrophication, acidification, smog), and national and global resources scarcity. The proposed ASWSE framework will enable an improved understanding on the impacts of nutrients in the regional, national, and global context. The ASWSE framework developed herein will enable long-range improvement in and sustainability of U.S. agriculture and food systems. A scenario analysis of state, federal, and international biofuel policies will aid decision makers in understanding the impacts of biofuel policies on nutrient scarcity, global warming, eutrophication, acidification, smog and aid in prioritizing technology and management solutions. This study will create a bridge between nutrient consumption practices and nutrient management solutions from small technological solutions to global impacts in an effort to minimize environmental burdens caused by the increase in nutrient consumption associated with agricultural production.

OBJECTIVES: This research will develop a multi-spatial-scale framework to better enable technology and policy analysis for nutrient management to produce more agricultural products using agricultural soil water sustainability evaluation (ASWSE) framework. Our framework will improve the understanding of sustainable production of agroecosystems while retaining needed ecosystems services. The ASWSE developed herein will bridge previously disparate modeling approaches to nutrient management, including local fate and transport modeling, regional nutrient input-output analysis, regional environmental impact assessment (e.g. eutrophication potential and global warming), and national and global resources scarcity.This research will link nutrient recovery, reuse, and control technologies to regional and national impacts resulting from nutrient consumption and evaluate issues of nutrient availability and scarcity at the national and global scale. Finally, we will use policy scenario analysis and life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the impacts of policies and agricultural management strategies. The specific objectives to be achieve through this project are to:Develop and integrate stochastic N & P models and metrics with GHG emission guidelines from managed soils that easily can integrate into LCA and are spatially explicit and agriculturally relevantCreate estimates of nutrient flows and P scarcity within domestic consumption and international trade for commodities as well as manufactured food productsAssess the implications and potential for a range of control technologies, management strategies, and policies.