| Abstract: |
Coincident with the development of a Chesapeake-wide TMDL, the Chesapeake Bay Program is developing a free, on-line decision-support tool known as the Scenario Builder. This tool is designed for both in-house and on-line use. The Chesapeake Bay Program staff use Scenario Builder to generate calibration and scenario data for the Chesapeake Bay Program’s watershed model. It is anticipated that state and local governments will use it to assist in generating management plans to meet load allocations associated with the TMDL.
The combination of Scenario Builder and the watershed model allows CBP staff, state and local governments, and watershed organizations to translate land use and land management decisions into changes in pounds of nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment originating from a particular county, region, or watershed. The underlying model to the Nutrient and Sediment Scenario Builder is process-based. Source data such as animal counts, human population, land cover, crop types, cropping practices, fertilizer rates, and BMPs are converted to watershed model inputs of land use, manure and fertilizer applications, land disturbance effects, crop uptake potential, and sewer and septic loads.
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