Assessing Soil and Water Conservation 1977 Congress passed Soil and Water Resource Conservation Act RCA Directed Secretary of Agriculture to appraise periodically the soil water and related resources and their conservation on agricultural land and to make long range policy decisions on their use and protection USDA National Soil Erosion Soil Productivity Research Planning Recommended a research approach consisting of mathematical modeling and field experiments The EPIC Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator Model The eight major divisions within EPIC for input data Hydrology Weather Soil erosion Soil nutrients Plant growth Soil temperature Tillage Economics USDA National Soil Erosion Soil Productivity Research Planning Three objectives of committee Determine what is known about the problem Define it Identify research accomplishments Identify current research efforts Determine what additional knowledge is needed Develop a research approach for solving the problem USDA National Soil Erosion Soil Productivity Research Planning Plan of action ARS Agricultural Research Service and SCS NRCS met to identify most pressing needs Model of soil erosion soil productivity Experimentation to quantify the effects of erosion on productivity Water and wind erosion mechanics Conservation tillage 14 ARS locations were assigned the task of modeling for the 1985 RCA Planning process The EPIC Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator Model Output Potential Uses in addition to RCA Analysis National level conservation policy studies National level program planning and evaluation Project level planning and design Research 1 The EPIC Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator Model Goals of EPIC Physically based and capable of simulating the processes and impacts involved simultaneously Capable of simulating hundreds of years Applicable to a wide range of soils climates and crops US Efficient convenient to use and capable of assessing the effects of management changes on erosion and soils productivity 2
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