@article {Veith288, author = {T.L. Veith and J.E. Richards and S.C. Goslee and A.S. Collick and R.B. Bryant and D.A. Miller and B.W. Bills and A.R. Buda and R.L. Sebring and P.J.A. Kleinman}, title = {Navigating spatial and temporal complexity in developing a long-term land use database for an agricultural watershed}, volume = {70}, number = {5}, pages = {288--296}, year = {2015}, doi = {10.2489/jswc.70.5.288}, publisher = {Soil and Water Conservation Society}, abstract = {No comprehensive protocols exist for the collection, standardization, and storage of agronomic management information into a database that preserves privacy, maintains data uncertainty, and translates everyday decisions into quantitative values. This paper describes the development of a relational database intended to meet the agronomic and ecosystem interests of potential users from a long-term experimental watershed located in Pennsylvania, United States{\textquoteright} Ridge and Valley physiographic province. We discuss the type and complexity of the data, which has historically been documented in free-form surveys collected through discussion with farmers. We detail the development process of a spatially and temporally explicit land management database and discuss the challenges in standardizing, without generalizing, 13 years of historic free-form data for 13 farms and 315 fields. Finally, we provide examples at field, farm, and watershed scales of how this database serves as a foundation for other data sets and modeling efforts that support research aimed at helping farmers meet long-term production, land stewardship, and water quality goals.}, issn = {0022-4561}, URL = {https://www.jswconline.org/content/70/5/288}, eprint = {https://www.jswconline.org/content/70/5/288.full.pdf}, journal = {Journal of Soil and Water Conservation} }