Design of Vegetative Filter Strip Using Web-Based System with Groundwater Table and Pesticide Degradation Analysis Modules

Abstract

Vegetative filter strips (VFS) are an effective approach to reducing edge-of-field discharge of sediment and pesticide. The web-based Vegetative Filter Strip MODel (VFSMOD) system, developed to assess the trapping efficiency of VFS, has a limited capability in regards to considering the effects of shallow groundwater table, which significantly affects estimation of infiltration and runoff in the VFS. In addition, the system does not simulate the transport of pesticides that can be implemented in agricultural areas. Thus, the web-based VFSMOD system was enhanced in this study by incorporating the groundwater table in simulating soil moisture dynamics and by adding a new water quality module for evaluating the VFS performances effectively. Results show that the trapping efficiencies of sediment (61%) and a pesticide (57%) were simulated with the VFS width of 1 m for a single storm event, improving the VFSMOD performance with a shallow groundwater table. The optimum VFS widths for multiple storm events were found for a given reduction goal.