This dataset contains research data compiled by the “Managing Water for Increased Resiliency of Drained Agricultural Landscapes” project a.k.a. Transforming Drainage. This project was funded from 2015-2021 by the United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA, Award No. 2015-68007-23193). Data are also available from a separate web-accessible application (drainagedata.org). At drainagedata.org, users can visualize the data with customized tools, query based on specific sites and measurements of interest, and access site photographs, maps, summaries, and publications. Additional data or edits made following the publication of this data here at USDA NAL Ag Data Commons will be posted under the Versions tab on drainagedata.org. These data began in 1996 and include plot- and field-level measurements for 39 experiments across the Midwest and North Carolina. Practices studied include controlled drainage, drainage water recycling, and saturated buffers. In total, 219 variables are reported and span 207 site-years for tile drainage, 154 for nitrate-N load, 181 for water quality, 92 for water table, and 201 for crop yield. The Transforming Drainage Project worked to advance the process of designing and implementing agricultural drainage systems for storing water in the landscape to improve the resiliency and productivity of agricultural systems. At each site, a control plot was paired with a plot with one of the following three practices to assess impacts. Controlled Drainage (CD) is the practice of using a water control structure to raise the depth of the drainage outlet, holding water in the field during periods when drainage is not needed. Drainage Water Recycling (DWR) diverts subsurface drainage water into on-farm ponds or reservoirs, where it is stored until it can be used by the crop later in the season through supplemental irrigation. Saturated Buffers (SB) remove nitrate from subsurface drainage water by diverting it into the buffer where it can be taken up by growing vegetation or removed by denitrification.
- CSVField management - tillage
- CSVField management – notes
- CSVField management – residue
- CSVField management – fertilizing
- CSVField management – harvesting
- CSVField management – planting
- CSVField management – irrigation
- CSVField management – drainage water management
- CSVWeather data
- CSVSoil physicochemical properties data
- CSVSoil moisture data
- CSVAgronomic data
- CSVIrrigation data
- CSVStage data
- CSVWater table data
- CSVWater quality data
- CSVDrainage data
- CSVMethodology
- CSVPlot treatment
- CSVPlot description
- CSVSite description
- CSVData dictionary