DEVELOPING A DIGITAL DATABASE TO FACILITATE LONG-TERM IMPACTS OF ANIMAL PRODUCTION ON WATER QUALITY WITHIN A MANTLED KARST WATERSHED OF THE SPRINGFIELD PLATEAU PROVINCE, SOUTHERN OZARKS, NORTHWEST ARKANSAS

The Savoy Experimental Watershed (SEW) is a long-term, interdisciplinary research site in the southern Ozark uplands of the midcontinental United States. It was founded in 1950s as the Beef Cattle Experimental Farm by the USDA and the University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture to aid local farms in diversifying crops and products by introducing cattle production. Swine were introduced in 1965, and poultry were introduced in the mid-1990s. The study area of the SEW encompasses 1,288 hectares, of which 884 are forested; the remainder (404 hectares) are utilized for agricultural pastures and facilities. Initial topics of research included forestry, soils, and hydrology.

This presentation synthesizes selected aspects of the research conducted at SEW since 1993, which has been expanded to include water quality, detailed hydrologic budgets, spring discharges, weather, tracing experiments, karst inventories, and groundwater. Sources of data include published reports in peer-reviewed journals, student thesis and dissertations, field notebooks from hydrology courses and student investigations, and USGS training-course notes and handouts. Historically, most SEW research did not exist in digital form, nor was it easily accessible. This investigation describes the challenges and benefits of producing an integrated, coherent digital database. By analyzing the broad range of data in the form of paper documents and converting them to digital files, this study provides a template for organizing databases and making these available to a much broader audience.