Ohio State University Logo Sugar Creek Method

  
Characteristics:

› Each Stream Is Unique

› Focus on Headwaters

› Encourage Local Participation

› Collaborate with Others

› Healthy Environment, Healthy Community

› A Holistic Approach

Related Information:

› Geography of the Sugar Creek Area

› Social Factors

› Water Quality & Testing

› Best Practices Implemented at Sugar Creek

› History of the Project

 Testing sites in the Sugar Creek

Water Quality and Testing Along the Sugar Creek

 

 

F. Water Quality Analysis I:     (next)         (return to Water Quality page outline)

We used redundancy analyses (RDA), a multivariate statistical analysis based on reduced-rank regression, to relate landscape characteristics to water quality in the headwaters of the Sugar Creek watershed.

  • The first two RDA axes explained over 57% of the total variation in sample sites:
  • High concentration of total solids was associated with sub-basins with high residential areas.
  • High concentrations of NO3 –N was associated with industrial, confined feedlots and cropland dominated subbasins.
  • Conversely, sub-basins with high proportions of pasture and forest cover are associated with low concentrations of NO3 --N and NH4 +-N.
  • Finally, higher concentrations of PO4 --P appear to be associated with farmsteads (the home, barns, and outbuildings associated with many family farms in the watershed; Fig. 6).
 

 

Sugar Creek Method Overview | Each Stream Is Unique | Focus on Headwaters | Encourage Local Participation | Collaborate with Others | Healthy Environment, Healthy Community | A Holistic Approach

For more information about the Sugar Creek Method contact Richard H. Moore (moore.11@osu.edu),  Associate Professor, Human and Community Resource Development, The Ohio State University.