Data from: Water quality of an integrated crop–livestock system in the northern Great Plains

Integrated crop-livestock (ICL) systems can potentially increase agricultural productivity in an environmentally sustainable manner. Impacts of ICL systems on water quality, however, have not been adequately studied. Rainfall simulations were used to examine effects of cropland and grass pasture vegetation types on surface runoff and water infiltrating into soil in a long-term ICL study near Mandan, ND USA. Simulations were conducted before and after grazing over a two-year period (August 2017 – May 2019). Water quality parameters included nitrate-N, nitrite-N, ammonia-N, phosphate-P, and total suspended solid (TSS) concentrations and loads in surface and infiltration waters. Water N and P compounds were determined using an AQ1 Discrete Analyzer, while TSS concentrations were determined by mass difference after passing a known sample volume through filter paper and drying to a constant mass. Surface runoff loads for N and P compounds were calculated by the sum of sample concentrations multiplied by sample volumes for all samples collected during each simulation event. As a supplement to water quality parameters, plant biomass and litter samples were collected, and percent cover of living vegetation, vegetation litter, and bare ground were estimated within a representative area of the sample site. Data may be used to understand ICL system impacts on water quality and are generally applicable to cropland and rangeland under a semiarid continental climate for the following soil types: Grassna, Linton, Mandan, Temvik, Williams, and Wilton.

综合农作物-牲畜（ICL）系统有望在环境可持续的前提下提升农业生产效率。然而，ICL系统对水质的影响尚未得到充分研究。在美国北达科他州曼丹附近的一项长期ICL研究中，通过降雨模拟实验，考察了农作物与草地牧场植被类型对地表径流和土壤渗入水中影响的效应。模拟实验在2017年8月至2019年5月两个年度的放牧前后进行。水质参数包括硝酸盐-N、亚硝酸盐-N、氨-N、磷酸盐-P以及地表水和渗入水中的总悬浮固体（TSS）浓度和负荷。使用AQ1离散分析仪测定了水中的N和P化合物，而TSS浓度则是通过将已知体积的样品通过滤纸并干燥至恒重后的质量差来确定。通过计算每个模拟事件期间收集的所有样品的浓度与体积之和，计算了N和P化合物的地表径流负荷。作为水质参数的补充，收集了植物生物量和凋落物样品，并在代表性采样区域内估算生活植被、植被凋落物和裸露地面的覆盖率。这些数据可用于理解ICL系统对水质的影响，并通常适用于半干旱大陆性气候下的农作物和放牧地，适用于以下土壤类型：Grassna、Linton、Mandan、Temvik、Williams和Wilton。