International Watershed Technology: Improving Water Quality and the Environment

Abstract

This article introduces a collection of papers from the fourth biennial ASABE 21st Century Watershed Technology Conference and Workshop: Improving Water Quality and the Environment, held in Hamilton, New Zealand, on November 3-6, 2014. This Special Collection consists of three articles selected from the 47 meeting papers. The technical presentations at the conference focused on solving spatial and temporal water quality and quantity problems and addressed topics such as watershed management in developing countries, water quality standards, agricultural best management practice (BMP) effectiveness, emerging problems, impact of extreme weather conditions, biological monitoring, increasing stakeholder involvement, political and economic implications, watershed implementation planning, forest and rangeland water quality issues, and water resources education. At first glance, these topics seem quite diverse. A more detailed look suggested that the "big data" and data mining themes of the last conference in Bari, Italy, continued to develop.