We have demonstrated that we can detect citrus fruit, passion fruit, mangoes, bananas, various sausages, and deer horns.

IR-4

Mr. WHITTEN. In connection with the IR-4 program you are proposing an increase of $200,000 for fiscal year 1982. How do you propose to use this increase?

Dr. BERTRAND. These funds will be used to strengthen our pesticide residue analytical capabilities. There now exists a backlog of 600 potential researchable food uses in the IR-4 system which increase by about 200 needs each year. We can currently develop data for about 150 uses annually, and this increase should provide for an estimated 25 percent increase over our present capacity. Mr. WHITTEN. How did you use the increase that Congress provided for fiscal year 1981?

Dr. BERTRAND. The funds that were provided by Congress for the IR-4 program in fiscal year 1981 were earmarked for use by SEA, Cooperative Research, in the P.L. 89-106 Special Grants Program. The funds were distributed to the Leader Laboratories to strengthen support for development of analytical pesticide residue data and to the IR-4 Headquarters Office at New Brunswick, New Jersey. The funds are being utilized at the Leader Laboratories to maintain and/or update laboratory instrumentation used in pesticide residue analysis and to provide additional support for up to 11 satellite laboratories that cooperate with the IR-4 program.

Mr. WHITTEN. If Congress were to make available funds over and above your request for IR-4 work, give us some examples of where you would devote your work. What would be the highest priority areas over and above those you plan to undertake yourself?

Dr. BERTRAND. These funds would be used to initiate a new thrust with emphasis on the development of safety and environmental data for specialty chemicals and pathogens for use in integrated pest management programs. Some progress by industry is currently being made in the registration of specialty chemicals and pathogens. However, many of these materials have been in a developmental research phase in federal and state programs since 1970. Companies have not shown interest in most of these materials because of the increased registration requirements and increased costs for development. For instance, sex pheromones and other sex attractants have now been identified for at least 601 insect species. However, only five sex pheromones are currently registered for control of insect pests in the U.S. The IR-4 program can play a unique role in furthering the development registration, and commercial availability of these specialty chemicals and pathogens by assisting in the development of safety and environmental data which will further stimulate industry to register and market these materials.

NATIONAL ARBORETUM

Mr. WHITTEN. What is the proposed budget for the National Arboretum for fiscal year 1981 and fiscal year 1982?

Dr. BERTRAND. The proposed budget for fiscal year 1981 is $1,957,800 and fiscal year 1982 is $2,320,000.

Mr. WHITTEN. Have any major changes been made at the Arboretum during fiscal year 1980 and 1981, and what do you plan for the future?

Dr. BERTRAND. A major change in fiscal year 1980 was the construction of a National Herb Garden, of which the cost was shared equally between USDA and private funds.

The future plans include construction of a new research-education complex on a "brickyard" site. The current cost of this planned endeavor is estimated at $10 to $12 million, to be shared by USDA and private funds.

Mr. WHITTEN. You are requesting an increase of $400,000 for improving security at the Arboretum, and you refer to the fact that there has been significant increase in crimes against persons and property there. Please discuss with the Committee some of the problems you have been encountering at the Arboretum.

Dr. BERTRAND. In a 10 month period from August 1, 1979, to May 31, 1980, the Arboretum suffered losses from vandalism estimated at $50,303. One house was burned down, two restrooms wrecked, windows broken, typewriters stolen, and fences cut. More importantly, crimes against visitors have increased, largely because of the numerous escape routes through breaches in the fence along M Street.

Mr. WHITTEN. How much of the $400,000 will be for improving the perimeter fence and how much will be for improved security? Dr. BERTRAND. $224,000 will be expended for new fencing of the most critical areas and roughly $176,000 will be expended for contracting of full-time security guards.

Mr. WHITTEN. What assistance do you receive from the D.C. Police and other federal security agencies with respect to providing security for the Arboretum?

Dr. BERTRAND. The District of Columbia Police, because of the proximity of the 5th District Headquarters, does provide a presence in the Arboretum through regular patrols, but only should be considered as a "visible" deterrent from time to time. Since contract guards do not have the power of arrest, we look to the D.C. Police to finalize the arrest process in cases where our guards have apprehended a suspect. They have also aided in searching for suspects on the grounds at the Arboretum. No other security force, other than SEA contract guards and the D.C. Police, provides assistance on the Arboretum grounds.

AGRISTARS

Mr. WHITTEN. According to page 170 of the notes you are requesting an increase of $1,500,000 for AgRISTARS. The AgRISTARS project was started as a satellite information system for developing intelligence on crop estimates both in the U.S. and overseas. However, the research work you propose for fiscal year 1982 in connection with AgRISTARS is in a totally different area. Does this mean that the program is being redirected, and why do you feel that such a redirection is necessary?

Dr. BERTRAND. While the major emphasis of the AgRISTARSAgriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing-research program has been on detection of stress in agricultural systems and better commodity production estimates,

the total program has included research efforts to investigate the application of remote sensing technology to meet the needs of agriculture in general and to meet specific needs identified by all USDA agencies.

The SEA program is not being redirected. Our program has been involved in research on the application of remote sensing technology to the detection of plant stress, to the development of better crop growth models, to the use of remote sensing technology for assessing conservation practices, to monitor pollution from agricultural sources, and to provide data more efficiently and effectively for input into hydrology, soil moisture, conservation, pollution, and crop growth and yield models. The proposed increase will be used to expand SEA's ongoing research effort on the application of remote sensing technology to agricultural problems.

LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION RESEARCH

Mr. WHITTEN. You are requesting an increase of $2,600,000 for land and water conservation research in support of the Resource Conservation Act. Please give the Committee some examples of how these additional funds will be used.

Dr. BERTRAND. An adequate supply of soil and water resources is the key to the survival of the world. All life depends on an adequate supply of these natural resources. We must, therefore, learn to use them wisely. We have had soil erosion since the beginning of time. It is a natural process, but it is accelerated when man disturbs the soil. This can be dramatic when large volumes of soil are eroded, resulting in gullies in the fields, or it can be less obvious when only a fraction of an inch of topsoil is lost during the year. The early farmers in this country, who used no methods of erosion control, quickly learned that after a few years of cropping, the fertile topsoil had been washed away and crop yields declined. Their answer was to move to new lands.

Efforts were introduced in the 1930's to conserve our soil and water resource base. Many farmers adopted the recommended conservation practices and significantly reduced the rate of erosion from their land. But, about half of the farms in the country today do not have adequate conservation practices. We are still losing about 3 billion tons of soil annually. We no longer have the option to move to new land. The amount of land suitable for farming is finite and is declining every year as a result of demands placed on land for houses, factories, highways, and other uses.

Recognizing the necessity for an accurate inventory of our natural resources base, the Congress passed Public Law 95-192, the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977-the RCA. In that law, the Secretary of Agriculture was requested to make an appraisal of soil, water, and related resources and their conservation, and to make informed long-range policy decisions regarding the use and protection of these resources. With the development of plans to implement the RCA, it became obvious that there was no reliable method for estimating the cost of erosion or the benefits to be derived from erosion research and control. Only scattered research data relating to the effect of erosion to soil productivity were available. Many times the effect of erosion on productivity was masked through the results of other research such as improved

crop varieties, increased fertilizer levels, supplemental irrigation, and pest controls, all of which increased the yield and overcame the reduction from erosion.

In order to meet the requirements of the RCA, an empirical regression-type yield-soil loss relation was developed for use in establishing an optimal national soil management policy. Unfortunately, the predicted yield responses for many areas of the country differ widely from experimental observations, indicating an underlying weakness in the assessment relationship. A more accurate method of assessing the effect of erosion on long-term soil productivity as well as an assessment of the effectiveness of various conservation measures on controlling soil erosion is needed.

The increase of $2,600,000 will be used to initiate an intensive research program to respond to this need. This will be a multifaceted program that will include: developing mathematical models to predict the effect of erosion on soil productivity and crop yields and to evaluate the effect of various conservation practices on soil erosion and long-term soil productivity; initiating and conducting nationwide field experiments to determine the effect of erosion on soil productivity; developing and evaluating conservation tillage systems applicable to a wide range of crop residues and potential soil erodibility conditions; and improving the accuracy and range of application of models to predict water and wind erosion through the development of a sound theoretical understanding of the basic mechanics of erosion.

The results of this research will, for the first time, provide a scientifically based method for assessing the effect of erosion on long-term soil productivity and an assessment of the effectiveness of various conservation measures in controlling soil erosion.

TARGETING OF CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

Mr. WHITTEN. You state that you plan to develop information needed to target soil conservation programs for various soils at different locations. How will this information be applied to the various conservation programs, and how would you propose that they use this information?

Dr. BERTRAND. The Soil Conservation Service-SCS—has lead agency responsibility for the RCA. Science and Education Administration, Agricultural Research, as the lead research agency in the Department, is working very closely with SCS on this project. Scientists of these two agencies are jointly planning the details of the field experiments, including site selection to be most representative of soils, climate, and topography and will jointly review and evaluate the results. SCS will have access to the data as soon as they are available and will be in a position to make recommendations regarding the effectiveness of various conservation practices for various sections of the country.

T-VALUE RESEARCH

Mr. WHITTEN. You also make reference to the fact that a prime objective of the RCA program is to reduce erosion to the T-value.

Have you been doing any research on the T-value itself since there has been considerable controversy surrounding the T-value?

Dr. BERTRAND. You are right in drawing attention to the controversy and uncertainty surrounding the soil loss tolerance, or Tvalue, and the need for additional research in this area. These tolerance levels of soil erosion were derived by scientists from a number of disciplines at a series of regional workshops held in 1961 and 1962. In specifying soil loss tolerances for U.S. soils, a number of factors influencing plant growth and productivity were considered. Even so, the values specified reflect a consensus of broad professional judgment rather than hard scientific evidence obtained from controlled experiments designed to answer this question. Although additional experimental evidence has been obtained in recent years indicating an adverse impact of soil erosion on productivity for selected sites, no generally accepted methodology for conducting a nationwide assessment of the impacts of soil erosion on productivity is available. One of the major benefits of the proposed study on soil erosion and soil productivity is the substantially stronger scientific basis that it will give the concept of soil loss tolerance.

ACID RAIN

Mr. WHITTEN. You are requesting $150,000 for research on acid rain, and you state that relatively little research information is available on this subject. Since the papers have been full of statements about acid rain over the last several years, it would seem someone is conducting research in this area. What has EPA been doing in the field of acid rain research?

Dr. BERTRAND. Considerable research has been conducted on the effect and distribution of acid rain, but little of this has dealt with the effect on crops and soils. The Environmental Protection Agency-EPA—and the Department of Agriculture have cooperated with several other agencies in developing an acid rain monitoring network. EPA is developing transport models to describe the movement and deposition patterns of acid producing emissions of sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides from coal combustion and other sources. EPA is also conducting research on the environmental effects of acid precipitation on lakes and streams. Their results, along with those from other agencies and other nations, have established that acid rain does damage lakes, and that some fish species have been reduced or eliminated by acid precipitation. However, little information is available on the effect of acid rain on crop production and on our soil resource base. We propose to initiate research to determine if acid rain is a potential danger to our food production systems and to assess the long-term effects of acid rain on crops and soils.

SOIL MANAGEMENT RESEARCH IN ALASKA

Mr. WHITTEN. You are requesting an increase of $300,000 for soil management research in Alaska. This compares with a fiscal 1981 program of $138,000. Why are you proposing such a large increase over your fiscal 1981 program?