A Nutrient Use Geographic Information System for the U.S.

For the last couple of years, IPNI has been working on a rigorous GIS-based model for assessing nutrient balance and balance trends in the U.S.A., termed NuGIS. This project is part of our responsibility for understanding the nutrient status of cropping systems and as a complement to our periodic inventorying of soil fertility levels in the U.S.A.

By integrating multiple data layers to create county-level estimates of nutrient removal by crops, fertilizer applied, and manure nutrients, NuGIS offers a rather clear picture of “normal” nutrient use. Geospatial techniques are used to migrate the county data to watersheds which will allow NuGIS output to be compared to the output of water quality models.

This presentation will provide an overview of the system with particular focus on the southern United States.