The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resource Conservation Service (USDA NRCS) defines soil health as “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals, and humans.”

Soil, according to the NRCS, performs five essential functions:

• Regulating water
• Sustaining plant and animal life
• Filtering and buffering potential pollutants
• Cycling nutrients
• Providing physical stability and support

Small ruminants (e.g. sheep, goats) can negatively affect soil health and hydrological properties, especially at high grazing densities. Biomass removal and hoof imprints can lead to increased soil compaction, greater soil erodibility, increased sediment removal, and reduce porosity and hydraulic conductivity. These effects on soil health and runoff are of the utmost importance in many small ruminant farms in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands, where animals are herded in steep slopes at close proximity to fluvial channels that flow directly to the sea.

Edge-of-field (EOF) monitoring is an automated sampling technique that monitors the quantity and quality of runoff water before it can enter the natural stream system. Information is collected via instrumented stations placed at the edge of agricultural fields. Measurements relating to runoff volume, as well as sediment and nutrient loads in the water are taken, during and after runoff-inducing rain events. These contributions will help us form a comprehensive understanding of transport mobilization behavior during rain events.