Integrated Modeling to Assess the Ecological and Air Quality Trade-offs of Agricultural Burning in the Flint Hills of Eastern Kansas

Abstract:

The Flint Hills of eastern Kansas and northern Oklahoma is home to the largest remaining contiguous grassland prairie in the United States. Throughout the prairie, burning is a common practice used to preserve the prairie from encroachment of woody species such as eastern Red Cedar, and to enhance the quantity and quality of the grass grown for cattle grazing in the region. However, widespread annual burning in early spring has led to air quality exceedances and pollution impacts in urban areas such as Kansas City, Topeka, and Wichita. Our research effort focuses on developing a modelling environment that simulates the effects of burning in the Flint Hills using an integrated modeling system, including an eco-hydrological model, an air quality and dispersion model, an economic and health effects model, and a terrestrial-species model. Using this integrated system, we can model historical burning practices as well as hypothetical variations in timing and quantity of burns. Then, we can investigate the relative trade-offs between farm productivity, ecological effects, urban health effects, and habitat diversity for terrestrial species given different burning scenarios. The results from this systems approach will provide land managers with information about the relative trade-offs associated with burning considering multiple elements of sustainability throughout the Flint Hills.