Little River Experimental Watershed database

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Southeast Watershed Research Laboratory (SEWRL) initiated a hydrologic research program on the Little River Experimental Watershed in south‐central Georgia, United States, in 1967. The primary intent of the program was to develop an improved understanding of basic hydrologic and water quality processes on Coastal Plain watersheds and to evaluate the effects of agricultural management practices on the region's natural resources and environment. Long‐term (up to 37 years), research‐quality streamflow data have been collected for up to eight flow measurement sites within the Gulf‐Atlantic Coastal Plain physiographic region, an important agricultural production area in the southeastern United States. Forty‐six precipitation gauges and three climate stations are currently in operation to collect data in support of the hydrologic network. Over the past 20 years, sediment and agrichemical concentrations in streamflow have also been monitored to permit evaluation of the impacts of agriculture on regional surface and groundwater quality. Along with the hydrologic and water quality data, geographic spatial data layers for terrain, soils, geology, vegetation, and land management have also been developed. These databases, described in five accompanying data reports, can be accessed via an ftp site supported by the SEWRL ( ftp://www.tiftonars.org/ ).