Using GIS to assess and manage the Conservation Reserve Program in Finney County, Kansas.

摘要

The 1985 U.S. Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) was modified in the 1996 Farm Bill, which authorized a total enrollment of up to 14.8 million ha, an early termination of certain CRP contracts, and additional new enrollments. This study used soil, land-use, groundwater, and other environmental layers from currently available sources of information for Finney County, Kansas. By using a geographic information system (GIS), we found that aquifer thickness, coinciding with gas or oil fields, was closely associated with the distribution of CRP land while other factors such as soil, aquifer depth, physiography, or slope had little effect on the CRP. We generated a map that outlined those CRP lands eligible for early termination. By using the state soilgeographic database to designate the conservation priority areas and soil erosion index as the criterion to rank potential CRP lands, we created another map showing areas best suited for new CRP bids.