Prairie Pothole Management Support Tool: A web application for evaluating prairie pothole flood risk

The Prairie Pothole Management Support Tool (PPMST) is an open-source, accessible web application that provides educational and informational evaluations of the flood risk of individual farmed prairie potholes within the Des Moines Lobe (DML) of Iowa. The PPMST provides a comparative numeric assessment of pothole flood risk, predicted from a random forest machine learning model, based on simple field characteristics. The PPMST allows landowners or extension specialists and consultants to assess a range of tillage and artificial drainage options and can compare traditional corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotations with perennial planting. The PPMST will be useful for conservation planning and precision agriculture by helping identify and prioritize these marginal land areas for continued farming or conservation.