| This thesis develops an integrated modeling framework that combines a soil organic matter model, a hydrologic model and a farm model with GIS to examine the tradeoffs of carbon sequestration and water quality benefits, and applies it empirically to the Fairchild Creek watershed in the Grand River Basin of Ontario. Within the framework, the hydrologic model is used to simulate soil erosion in sub-catchments and related off-site sediment abatement under conventional and conservation tillage. The estimated sediment yield serves as one of the inputs to the soil organic matter model to simulate carbon sequestration or retention with different tillage scenarios. Finally, an optimization model is developed to identify the spatial pattern of carbon sequestration retention and sediment reduction benefits and target locations for implementing conservation tillage to achieve environmental benefits at least costs. A comparison of different scenarios provides insights on spatial targeting of conservation tillage in achieving both carbon sequestration and water quality benefits in an agricultural watershed. |
