By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN

Michigan Correspondent

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State University was awarded a $1.5 million grant to fund a five-year study on which factors and farm management practices are most effective in preventing nutrients from leaving farmlands and moving into rivers and lakes, with a primary focus on Lake Erie algal blooms.

Funded by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the research will be led by Ehsan Ghane, MSU biosystems and agricultural engineering assistant professor. The Lenawee County Conservation District will also be collaborating on the study.

Agricultural runoff is one of the known causes of the algal blooms in Lake Erie, and the agricultural community views this project as an essential step in addressing the issue.

Ghane said the research will look very closely at dissolved reactive phosphorus, which, unlike particulate forms of phosphorus, does not bind to soil and is much more difficult to contain because it moves with water.

When the water flows to fresh water bodies, such as Lake Erie, the algae absorbs the phosphorus and it grows to a large size.

“As it gets larger, the algae starts to produce toxins, and these toxins are harmful to living organisms such as humans, fish and pets,” Ghane said.

In addition to health concerns, Ghane said the algae can become so overbearing that it impacts the ability to use the waterways for recreation and other uses.

“It causes devastation for the water,” he said.

In 2014, Ghane said the water in Lake Erie became toxic due to the algal blooms near Toledo and parts of Michigan, where communities were getting their drinking supply of water from the lake. Due to the toxins, these communities were required to use bottled drinking water.

The study will examine several farm sites that are similar, but with some key differences. The researchers will alternate different free-drainage and controlled-drainage systems on the different farms over several growing seasons, and water samples will be tested frequently throughout the process.

Installing drain tile in farmland often improves plant productivity and, in some cases, is necessary to farm certain types of soil. Researchers will study different types of drainage control structures and how they affect nutrient loss and crop yield.

Another part of the study will focus on saturated buffers. Common buffers are strips of vegetation grown around farmland that act as a filter or barrier for nutrients. These buffers have been promoted and used for many years to address the flow of water on or within the soil. However, saturated buffers also include pipes that help utilize the natural filtering effect of the soil on water exiting the field’s drain tile lines, which also may improve nutrient retention.

Based on the research, Ghane said the team “will be able to tell a story about conservation practices and how effective the system is in reducing the amount of nutrients from running off into streams and rivers and finally the lake. We will be able to measure the reduction of nutrients lost and help determine how to keep these nutrients in the fields where they belong.”

In addition, he said the research will address management practices that may be more desirable for differing locations.

“One conservation practice may be suitable for one location, while another may work better in another area based on the landscape,” he said.

“This research will provide farmers, MSU Extension educators and state agency personnel with a deeper understanding of the physical, operational, and managerial factors that impact nutrient loss and management of drainage water,” Ghane added.

MDARD Director Jamie Clover Adams said the research is key to improving the health of Lake Erie’s water.

“We’re very eager to start this project because it will help us understand why dissolved reactive phosphorus is not staying in the soil using farming methods that have been successful in the past,” Clover Adams said. “The things we learn from this project will be shared regularly with farmers, even before the project is complete, so that they can adjust their practices as soon as possible. And the data we collect will be used by farmers to develop or implement additional practices that will help improve the health of Lake Erie.”

“To ultimately improve and protect the quality of Lake Erie, we need to have a better understanding of the best management practices for all types of phosphorus in the water,” said MDEQ Director C. Heidi Grether. “Studies like this are a big step in that direction.”

This grant-funded research project is a part of Michigan’s Domestic Action Plan for Lake Erie, which was developed by MDARD, DEQ and the Department of Natural Resources. The eight-year plan, currently still in draft form, is a guidance document intended to improve Lake Erie water quality and the surrounding ecosystem.