Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Management Practices Used in Agricultural Drainage Ditches to Reduce Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia

  • Focused Review
  • Published:
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Agricultural non-point sources of nutrients and sediments have caused eutrophication and other water quality issues in aquatic and marine ecosystems, such as the annual occurrence of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. Management practices have been implemented adjacent to and in agricultural drainage ditches to promote their wetland characteristics and functions, including reduction of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment losses downstream. This review: (1) summarized studies examining changes in nutrient and total suspended solid concentrations and loads associated with management practices in drainage ditches (i.e., riser and slotted pipes, two-stage ditches, vegetated ditches, low-grade weirs, and organic carbon amendments) with emphasis on the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, (2) quantified management system effects on nutrient and total suspended solid concentrations and loads and, (3) identified information gaps regarding water quality associated with these management practices and research needs in this area. In general, management practices used in drainage ditches at times reduced losses of total suspended solids, N, and P. However, management practices were often ineffective during storm events that were uncommon and intense in duration and volume, although these types of events could increase in frequency and intensity with climate change. Studies on combined effects of management practices on drainage ditch water quality, along with research towards improved nutrient and sediment reduction efficiency during intense storm events are urgently needed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Alexander RB, Smith RA, Schwarz GE et al (2008) Differences in phosphorus and nitrogen delivery to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River basin. Environ Sci Technol 42:822–830

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amatya DM, Gilliam JW (2003) Effects of orifice-weir outlet on hydrology and water quality of a drained forested watershed. South J Appl For 27:130–142

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baker BH, Kröger R, Brooks JP et al (2015) Investigation of denitrifying microbial communities within an agricultural drainage system fitted with low-grade weirs. Water Res 87:193–201

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Baker BH, Kröger R, Prevost JD et al (2016) A field-scale investigation of nutrient and sediment reduction efficiencies of a low-technology best management practice: low-grade weirs. Ecol Eng 91:240–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouldin JL, Farris JL, Moore MT, Cooper CM (2004) Vegetative and structural characteristics of agricultural drainages in the Mississippi Delta landscapes. Environ Pollut 132:403–411

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burchell MR, Skaggs RW, Evans RO et al (2007) Addition of organic matter to agricultural ditch soils to be used as constructed wetlands for nitrate treatment. ASCE, world environmental and water resources congress 2007: restoring our natural habitat

  • Carter LM, Jones JW, Berry L et al (2014) Chap. 17: Southeast and the Caribbean. In: Melillo JM, Richmond TC, Yohe GW (eds) Climate change impacts in the United States: the third national climate assessment. U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, pp 396–417

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullum RF, Knight SS, Cooper CM, Smith S (2006) Combined effects of best management practices on water quality in oxbow lakes from agricultural watersheds. Soil Tillage Res 90:212–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Ambrosio JL, Ward AD, Witter JD (2015) Evaluating geomorphic change in constructed two-stage ditches. J Am Water Resour Assoc 51:910–922

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis RT, Tank JL, Mahl UH et al (2015) The influence of two-stage ditches with constructed floodplains on water column nutrients and sediments in agricultural streams. J Am Water Resour Assoc 51:941–955

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deaver E, Moore MT, Cooper CM, Knight SS (2005) Efficiency of three aquatic macrophytes in mitigating nutrient run-off. Int J Ecol Environ Sci 31:1–7

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans RO, Skaggs RW, Gilliam JW (1995) Controlled versus conventional drainage effects on water quality. J Irrig Drain Eng 121:271–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faust DR, Kröger R, Miranda LE, Rush SA (2016) Nitrate removal from agricultural drainage ditch sediments with amendments of organic carbon: potential for an innovative best management practice. Water Air Soil Pollut 227:378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faust DR, Kröger R, Omer AR et al (2017a) Understanding nitrogen and organic carbon contents of agricultural drainage ditches of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. J Soil Water Conserv (in press)

  • Faust DR, Kröger R, Rogers JW et al (2017b) Investigating organic carbon amendments with low-grade weirs as a management practice for nitrogen removal in experimental agricultural drainage ditches. J Soil Water Conserv (in review)

  • Flora C, Kröger R (2014a) Use of vegetated drainage ditches and low-grade weirs for aquaculture effluent mitigation: I. Nutrients. Aquac Eng 60:56–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flora C, Kröger R (2014b) Use of vegetated drainage ditches and low-grade weirs for aquaculture effluent mitigation: II. Suspended sediment. Aquac Eng 60:68–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilliam JW, Skaggs RW, Weed SB (1979) Drainage control to diminish nitrate loss from agricultural fields. J Environ Qual 8:137–142

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenan CM, Moorman TB, Kaspar TC et al (2006) Comparing carbon substrates for denitrification of subsurface drainage water. J Environ Qual 35:824–829

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hodaj A, Bowling LC, Frankenberger JR, Chaubey I (2017) Impact of a two-stage ditch on channel water quality. Agric Water Manag 192:126–137

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes RM, Jones JB Jr, Fisher SG, Grimm NB (1996) Denitrification in a nitrogen-limited stream ecosystem. Biogeochemistry 33:125–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knowles R (1982) Denitrification. Microbiol Rev 46:43–70

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krider L, Magner J, Hansen B et al (2017) Improvements in fluvial stability associated with two-stage ditch construction in Mower County, Minnesota. J Am Water Resour Assoc 53:886–902

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Moore MT (2011) Phosphorus dynamics within agricultural drainage ditches in the lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Ecol Eng 37:1905–1909

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Holland M, Moore M, Cooper C (2007) Plant senescence: a mechanism for nutrient release in temperate agricultural wetlands. Environ Pollut 146:114–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Cooper CM, Moore MT (2008a) A preliminary study of an alternative controlled drainage strategy in surface drainage ditches: low-grade weirs. Agric Water Manag 95:678–684

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Holland MM, Moore MT, Cooper CM (2008b) Agricultural drainage ditches mitigate phosphorus loads as a function of hydrological variability. J Environ Qual 37:107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Moore MT, Farris JL, Gopalan M (2011) Evidence for the use of low-grade weirs in drainage ditches to improve nutrient reductions from agriculture. Water Air Soil Pollut 221:223–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Pierce SC, Littlejohn KA et al (2012) Decreasing nitrate-N loads to coastal ecosystems with innovative drainage management strategies in agricultural landscapes: an experimental approach. Agric Water Manag 103:162–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Dunne EJ, Novak J et al (2013a) Downstream approaches to phosphorus management in agricultural landscapes: regional applicability and use. Sci Total Environ 442:263–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Usborne EL, Pierce SC (2013b) Sediment and phosphorus accumulation dynamics behind newly installed low-grade weirs in agricultural drainage ditches. J Environ Qual 42:1480–1485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröger R, Littlejohn KA, Pierce SC et al (2013c) Evidence toward sediment accumulation characteristics of slotted inlet pipes as best management practices on agricultural landscapes. Ecol Eng 51:249–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lalonde V, Madramootoo CA, Trenholm L, Broughton RS (1996) Effects of controlled drainage on nitrate concentrations in subsurface drain discharge. Agric Water Manag 29:187–199

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lassaletta L, Billen G, Grizzetti B et al (2014) 50 Year trends in nitrogen use efficiency of world cropping systems: the relationship between yield and nitrogen input to cropland. Environ Res Lett 9:105011

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Littlejohn KA, Poganski BH, Kröger R, Ramirez-Avila JJ (2014) Effectiveness of low-grade weirs for nutrient removal in an agricultural landscape in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. Agric Water Manag 131:79–86

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu F, Wang Y, Xiao R et al (2015) Influence of substrates on nutrient removal performance of organic channel barriers in drainage ditches. J Hydrol 527:380–386

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) (2017) 2017 Shelfwide Cruise: July 24–July 31. Press Release, pp 1–8

  • Mahl UH, Tank JL, Roley SS, Davis RT (2015) Two-stage ditch floodplains enhance N-removal capacity and reduce turbidity and dissolved P in agricultural streams. J Am Water Resour Assoc 51:923–940

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Maul JD, Cooper CM (2000) Water quality of seasonally flooded agricultural fields in Mississippi, USA. Agric Ecosyst Environ 81:171–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLellan E, Robertson D, Schilling K et al (2015) Reducing nitrogen export from the corn belt to the Gulf of Mexico: agricultural strategies for remediating hypoxia. J Am Water Resour Assoc 51:263–289

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore MT, Kröger R (2010) Evaluating plant species-specific contributions to nutrient mitigation in drainage ditch mesocosms. Water Air Soil Pollut 217:445–454

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore MT, Bennett ER, Cooper CM et al (2001) Transport and fate of atrazine and lambda-cyhalothrin in an agricultural drainage ditch in the Mississippi Delta, USA. Agric Ecosyst Environ 87:309–314

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore MT, Kröger R, Locke MA et al (2010) Nutrient mitigation capacity in Mississippi Delta, USA drainage ditches. Environ Pollut 158:175–184

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Moore MT, Kröger R, Locke MA et al (2013) Seasonal and interspecific nutrient mitigation comparisons of three emergent aquatic macrophytes. Bioremediation J 17:148–158

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pierce SC, Kroger R, Pezeshki SR (2012) Managing artificially drained low-gradient agricultural headwaters for enhanced ecosystem functions. Biology 1:794–856

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell KL, Bouchard V (2010) Is denitrification enhanced by the development of natural fluvial morphology in agricultural headwater ditches? J North Am Benthol Soc 29:761–772

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell GE, Ward AD, Mecklenburg DE et al (2007a) Two-stage channel systems: part 2, case studies. J Soil Water Conserv 62:286–296

    Google Scholar 

  • Powell GE, Ward AD, Mecklenburg DE, Jayakaran AD (2007b) Two-stage channel systems: part 1, a practical approach for sizing agricultural ditches. J Soil Water Conserv 62:277–286

    Google Scholar 

  • Prince Czarnecki JM, Baker BH, Brison AM, Kröger R (2014) Evaluating flood risk and alterations to hydraulic patterns following installation of low-grade weirs in agricultural systems. Agric Water Manag 146:69–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roley SS, Tank JL, Stephen ML et al (2012) Floodplain restoration enhances denitrification and reach-scale nitrogen removal in an agricultural stream. Ecol Appl 22:281–297

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scavia D, Bertani I, Obenour DR et al (2017) Ensemble modeling informs hypoxia management in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 114:8823–8828

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DR, Haggard BE, Warnemuende EA, Huang C (2005) Sediment phosphorus dynamics for three tile fed drainage ditches in northeast Indiana. Agric Water Manag 71:19–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song CC, Wang LL, Guo YD et al (2011) Impacts of natural wetland degradation on dissolved carbon dynamics in the Sanjiang Plain, northeastern China. J Hydrol 398:26–32

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Strock JS, Dell CJ, Schmidt JP (2007) Managing natural processes in drainage ditches for nonpoint source nitrogen control. J Soil Water Conserv 62:188–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Tyler HL, Moore MT, Locke MA (2012a) Potential for phosphate mitigation from agricultural runoff by three aquatic macrophytes. Water Air Soil Pollut 223:4557–4564

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tyler HL, Moore MT, Locke MA (2012b) Influence of three aquatic macrophytes on mitigation of nitrogen species from agricultural runoff. Water Air Soil Pollut 223:3227–3236

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Usborne EL, Kröger R, Pierce SC et al (2013) Preliminary evidence of sediment and phosphorus dynamics behind newly installed low-grade weirs in agricultural drainage ditches. Water Air Soil Pollut 224:1520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (2008) Gulf hypoxia action plan 2008 for reducing, mitigating, and controlling hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico and improving water quality in the Mississippi River Basin. Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, pp 1–64

    Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (2011) Moving forward on Gulf hypoxia annual report 2011. Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, pp 1–24

    Google Scholar 

  • USEPA (2013) Assessing progress made since 2008. Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, pp 1–86

  • Vaughan RE, Needelman BA, Kleinman PJA, Allen AL (2007) Vertical distribution of phosphorus in agricultural drainage ditch soils. J Environ Qual 36:1895–1903

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wuebbles D, Meehl G, Hayhoe K et al (2014) CMIP5 climate model analyses: climate extremes in the United States. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 95:571–583

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and, where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program (not all prohibited bases apply to all programs). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this paper is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the US Department of Agriculture.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Derek R. Faust

    Present address: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, P.O. Box 459, Mandan, ND, 58554, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Mississippi State University, Box 9690, Mississippi State, MS, 39762, USA

    Derek R. Faust & Scott A. Rush

  2. Covington Civil and Environmental, LLC, 2510 14th Street, Ste 1010, Gulfport, MS, 39501, USA

    Robert Kröger

  3. USDA-Agricultural Research Service National Sedimentation Laboratory, Water Quality and Ecology Research Unit, 598 McElroy Drive, Oxford, MS, 38655, USA

    Matthew T. Moore

Authors
  1. Derek R. Faust
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert Kröger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Matthew T. Moore
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Scott A. Rush
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Derek R. Faust.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Faust, D.R., Kröger, R., Moore, M.T. et al. Management Practices Used in Agricultural Drainage Ditches to Reduce Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 100, 32–40 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2231-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2231-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation