Conservation practices have shown great results in terms of soil-fertility increase, soil-moisture retention, long-term-yield increase, and food-security improvement

Unfortunately, these gains could be threatened in the twenty-first century by a changing climate. Middle tennessee state university (mtsu) and the university of mississippi (UM) are collaborating on this integrated project to quantify watershed responses to conservation practices under a changing climate and assess the relative effectiveness of these conservation practices in different environments. In addition, we aim to help train the next generation of environmental scientists and engineers to be more aware of the agricultural challenges of the twenty-first century. Our main project objectives are (1) to develop watershed models expressing the current conditions of ten to fifteen watersheds around the country representing a variety of climatic, soil, and agricultural regimes, (2) to quantify the effectiveness of conservation practices under various physical and climatic conditions, (3) to quantify the impact of climate change on conservation practices in the studied watersheds, (4) to develop experiential learning projects for environmental science and engineering undergraduate students, and (5) to develop curriculums in our partnering institutions focused on environmental agriculture. Hence this integrated project is aimed at increasing the adaptability potential of U.S. Agriculture to future climate estimates, and preparing the environmental science and engineering workforce with skills and knowledge to face these challenges. The project involves the following academic codes: c (conservation), d (soil), l (environmental sciences), and w (water). The project addresses the following need areas: applied studies, curriculum design, experiential learning and collaborative interaction.