Abstract
The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain is a critical region for agricultural production in the United States, providing the majority of the nation’s rice, catfish, and cotton. Although it is a humid region, high agricultural yields are maintained through irrigation from groundwater and surface water sources. Heavy groundwater extraction has led to cones of depression in the alluvial aquifer in both Arkansas and Mississippi. This study explores the link between increasing irrigation and streamflow alteration within the alluvial plain. Changing land use patterns were evaluated utilizing the USDA Census of Agriculture datasets to determine changes in land-use, irrigation, and crop yield from 1969 to 2017. Temporal land use patterns set the background for the analysis of sixteen long-term streamflow records from the USGS, which were assessed using the Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) software to determine changes in low flow patterns in rivers overlying the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer. Most streamflow records had significant hydrologic alteration with respect to low flow conditions, including higher frequency of low flow events, lower annual minima, or a declining base flow index. Changes in streamflow coincide with areas of massive increases in irrigated cropland area. This study provides further context for the tradeoffs between intensive agricultural production and agroecosystem sustainability.
Highlights
The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain (MAP), including most of eastern Arkansas, western Mississippi, and northeastern Louisiana, relies on agricultural production to drive the regional economy (Alhassan et al, 2019)
Mississippi returns the highest aquaculture yields in the nation (U.S Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2019). It is a humid region, the MAP receives most of its rainfall outside of the growing season, and producers rely on irrigation from either groundwater or surface water to reduce crop stress and to optimize crop yields (Massey et al, 2017)
We evaluated the difference in yield based on irrigation status utilizing available data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop survey, only cotton yield was available for Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi in both irrigated and non-irrigated cropland
Summary
The Mississippi River Alluvial Plain (MAP), including most of eastern Arkansas, western Mississippi, and northeastern Louisiana, relies on agricultural production to drive the regional economy (Alhassan et al, 2019). Mississippi returns the highest aquaculture yields in the nation (U.S Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2019). It is a humid region, the MAP receives most of its rainfall outside of the growing season, and producers rely on irrigation from either groundwater or surface water to reduce crop stress and to optimize crop yields (Massey et al, 2017). As of 2000, the Mississippi River Valley Alluvial Aquifer (MRVAA) was ranked third in the nation for total water withdrawals (35 billion liters per day) with more than 98% of this water used for irrigation (Maupin and Barber, 2005).
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