Research Seminar: Increasing Our Understanding of Tile Drainage Hydrology and Phosphorus Losses in Subsurface and Surface Runoff From Farm Fields in the Lake Champlain Basin

Joshua Faulkner, Research Assistant Professor with University of Vermont Extension, presented this webinar on his research to monitor discharge and phosphorus loss from tile drainage systems on farm fields in Addison County, Vermont. Tile drainage is a key strategy that farmers in the Lake Champlain basin are using to adapt to climate change, but our understanding of how tile alters field hydrology and transports phosphorus to surface waters is lacking.

Dr. Faulkner's two-year study yielded results that include total annual export of phosphorus and nitrogen in tiled fields, an improved understanding of soil matrix and preferential flow pathways, and how rainfall intensity (and climate change) may influence phosphorus transport at the field-scale.    

This seminar is part of the Lake Champlain Sea Grant Research Seminar Series; it took place on February 23, 2022. This Lake Champlain Sea Grant-funded project, Improving Our Understanding of Interactions Between Best Management Practices, Tile Drainage, and Phosphorus Losses in Subsurface and Surface Runoff, was completed in January 2022.