Marketing Wetlands for Profit 1

B.J. Czartoski, L.C. Brown, N.R. Fausey, A.M.Brate, H.W. Belcher, R.L. Cooper 2

Abstract

Interfacing agricultural and ecological systems to help protect natural resources and sustain agricultural production is the challenge for the future. This innovative demonstration project was recently initiated to illustrate how construction and management of wetlands coupled with subirrigation can be economically profitable for farmers. The overall objective is to stimulate adoption of wetlands and to reduce adverse impacts of agricultural runoff. Project focus is to link constructed wetlands with water supply reservoirs for corn and soybean production using subirrigation. Wetlands will be constructed on prior-converted cropland to receive drainage from adjacent cropland, resulting in zero-discharge from those fields directly to streams. Agricultural runoff and subsurface drainage will recharge the constructed wetland seasonally. A deep water pool in the two-stage wetland will serve as a supplemental water supply for subirrigating corn and soybean crops in adjacent fields. Subirrigation research conducted in Michigan and Ohio suggests a strong potential for northwestern Ohio, but often water supply is a limiting factor.

  1. The project is funded primarily through the US EPA/Great Lakes Program Office and the Lake Erie Protection Fund. It is supported cooperatively by the USDA-Maumee Valley Resource Conservation and Development Area, Ohio Land Improvement Contractors' Association, USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, The Ohio State University, and Michigan State University.
  2. B.J. Czartoski, Coordinator, Maumee Valley RC&D, Defiance, OH; L.C. Brown, Associate Professor, Agricultural Engineering Dept., The Ohio State University; N.R. Fausey, Research Leader, Soil Drainage Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Columbus. OH; A.M. Brate, State Conservation Engineer, USDA-NRCS, Columbus, OH; H.W. Belcher, Visiting Associate Professor, Agricultural Engineering Dept., Michigan State University, E. Lansing, MI; and R.L. Cooper, Research Agronomist, Corn and Soybean Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Wooster, OH.

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