TY - JOUR T1 - Using a watershed nutrient dynamics model, WEND, to address watershed-scale nutrient management challenges JF - Journal of Soil and Water Conservation SP - 630 LP - 635 VL - 54 IS - 4 AU - S.G. Aschmann AU - D. P. Anderson AU - R.J. Croft AU - E.A. Cassell Y1 - 1999/10/01 UR - http://www.jswconline.org/content/54/4/630.abstract N2 - Nutrient management has become a major focus for watershed-scale planning to sustain or improve groundwater quality in certain areas. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Watershed Science Institute (WSSI), in cooperation with a number of partners, is developing a process for creating unique, watershed-scale models to examine dynamic phosphorus (P) flows into, out of and within watersheds using a mass balance approach. The Watershed Ecosystem Nutrient Dynamics (WEND) model tracks watershed P balances over time within each of the several land-use sectors. Long-term impacts of various strategic policy decisions on P cycling both within and export from watersheds can be modeled. The Winooski River Watershed in Vermont is a case watershed in which WEND has been used to evaluate the impacts of long-term strategies on nutrient use efficiency. The objective of this study was to describe the effects of three scenarios (status quo, increased rate of development, and increased conservation policies) on P cycling. The model showed increased water quality impairment over 80 years under the status quo and development scenarios. Under the conservation scenario, P movement into the drainage network was significantly reduced. This suggests that the WEND model could be adopted as an NRCS tool for improved watershed-scale P management. ER -