KANSAS: Researcher awarded $750K USDA grant to develop irrigation strategies in eastern Great Plains
Vaishali Sharda, assistant professor of biological and agricultural engineering at Kansas State University, has received a USDA grant to develop water and nutrient management strategies to aid in managing climate risks and preserving resources in the eastern Kansas River Basin.
Sharda is the K-State lead for the four-year, $750,000 project, “Irrigation at the new 100th Meridian: Adaptation to manage climate risks and preserve water resources in the Eastern Kansas River Basin."
The project aims to help the region adapt to current and future changes in climate as the 100th meridian, which separates the arid western United States from the humid eastern half of the country, shifts eastward. The hydroclimatic conditions characterizing the 100th meridian are expected to continue to migrate eastward throughout the 21st century.
"This 'new 100th meridian' caused by eastward aridification will introduce novel climate risks and require new management strategies, such as the expansion of irrigation, for a large U.S. agricultural region," Sharda said. "Our goal is to develop water and nutrient management strategies that can enhance crop productivity, protect water quantity and quality, and sustain agricultural communities in the face of these novel climate risks in the eastern Great Plains."