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PubMed2003

A VSA-based strategy for placing conservation buffers in agricultural watersheds.

Conservation buffers have the potential to reduce agricultural nonpoint source pollution and improve terrestrial wildlife habitat, landscape biodiversity, flood control, recreation, and aesthetics. Conservation buffers, streamside areas and riparian wetlands are being used or have been proposed to control agricultural nonpoint source pollution. This paper proposes an innovative strategy for placing conservation buffers based on the able source area (VSA) hydrology. VSAs are small, variable but predictable portion of a watershed that regularly contributes to runoff generation. The VSA-based strategy involves the following three steps: first, identifying VSAs in landscapes based on natural characteristics such as hydrology, land use/cover, topography and soils; second, targeting areas within VSAs for conservation buffers; third, refining the size and location of conservation buffers based on other factors such as weather, environmental objectives, available funding and other best management practices. Building conservation buffers in VSAs allows agricultural runoff to more uniformly enter buffers and stay there longer, which increases the buffer's capacity to remove sediments and nutrients. A field-scale example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the within-VSA conservation buffer scenario relative to a typical edge-of-field buffer scenario. The results enhance the understanding of hydrological processes and interactions between agricultural lands and conservation buffers in agricultural landscapes, and provide practical guidance for land resource managers and conservationists who use conservation buffers to improve water quality and amenity values of agricultural landscape.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2004

Examination of physical and regulatory variables leading to small dam removal in Wisconsin.

The decision to remove or repair a dam depends on multiple variables, many of which encompass both physical and social factors. In Wisconsin, the Department of Natural Resources is mandated to inspect small dams every ten years. A safety inspection often acts as a trigger event to a dam removal or repair decision. Although the issues surrounding a dam removal decision are often couched as ecological, these decisions are influenced by their social and regulatory context. In this work, we examine descriptive variables of Wisconsin dams that were inspected and consequently removed or maintained between 1985 and 1990. We hypothesize that geographic location, height of dam, size of impoundment, age of dam, and type of ownership determine the likelihood of a safety inspection, and the subsequent likelihood of removal. Using a logistic model, we find that publicly owned dams had the greatest probability of inspection after 1985. Of these dams, older dams and those with smaller impoundments were most likely to be removed. We were unable to build a strong predictive model for dam removal with our suite of variables, suggesting that a community's decision to remove or maintain a dam is complex and heterogeneous.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗

PubMed2003

Influence of geoengineered climate on the terrestrial biosphere.

Various geoengineering schemes have been proposed to counteract anthropogenically induced climate change. In a previous study, it was suggested that a 1.8% reduction in solar radiation incident on the Earth's surface could noticeably reduce regional and seasonal climate change from increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). However, the response of the terrestrial biosphere to reduced solar radiation in a CO2-rich climate was not investigated. In this study, we hypothesized that a reduction in incident solar radiation in a Doubled CO2 atmosphere will diminish the net primary productivity (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystems, potentially accelerating the accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere. We used a dynamic global ecosystem model, the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS), to investigate this hypothesis in an unperturbed climatology. While this simplified modeling framework effectively separated the influence of CO2 and sunlight on the terrestrial biosphere, it did not consider the complex feedbacks within the Earth's climate system. Our analysis indicated that compared to a Doubled CO2 scenario, reduction in incident solar radiation by 1.8% in a double CO2 world will have negligible impact on the NPP of terrestrial ecosystems. There were, however, spatial variations in the response of NPP-engineered solar radiation. While productivity decreased by less than 2% in the tropical and boreal forests as hypothesized, it increased by a similar percentage in the temperate deciduous forests and grasslands. This increase in productivity was attributed to an approximately 1% reduction in evapotranspiration in the Geoengineered scenario relative to the Doubled CO2 scenario. Our initial hypothesis was rejected because of unanticipated effects of engineered solar radiation on the hydrologic cycle. However, any geoengineering approaches that reduce incident solar radiation need to be thoroughly analyzed in view of the implications on ecosystem productivity and the hydrologic cycle.

Carbon Dioxide↗

PubMed2004

Land conversion for suburban housing: A study of urbanization around Warsaw and Olsztyn, Poland.

In Poland of the 1990s, urban demand for housing land around city agglomerations increased rapidly. The decreasing profitability of agricultural production also caused farmers to become interested in the sale of agricultural land for nonagricultural purposes, and new land legislation granted them the right to sell their land. Polish counties simultaneously received self-governing status, which allowed them to define the priorities for local development. Counties received additional responsibility for land management and quickly demonstrated strong support for land conversion, which was perceived as a factor of local development. This paper argues that decentralization and the extension of private control over land have led to a loss of rural landscapes in Poland because farmers, county governments, and rural society in general gained from the conversion of agricultural to housing land. Rapid urbanization has significantly reduced the availability of open space around cities and threatened valuable landscapes, for it has occurred in the absence of environmental safeguards. This paper reports findings from research in two counties, located in regions with diverse economic growth rates. Decentralization is particularly problematic if tax regulations and intergovernmental fiscal relations reward local authorities for urbanization but not environmental protection.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2004

Cumulative impacts of dock shading on Spartina alterniflora in South Carolina estuaries.

Salt marshes dominated by Spartina alterniflora and the associated networks of tidal creeks that drain them are characteristic geographical features of southeastern estuaries, important nursery habitat areas, and preferred sites for residential development. As the size of the coastal population increases, so has the number of requests for dock permits. With each new request for a dock permit, public concerns about the cumulative environmental impacts of dock proliferation on the coastal environment have increased. The objective of this particular study was to evaluate the impacts of shading by dock structures on stem densities of S. alterniflora in South Carolina coastal marshes. Shading impacts under individual docks were extrapolated to the tidal creek (local), county, and statewide scales. Dock structures were sampled both under and next to the walkway in the Charleston Harbor area of South Carolina. The density of S. alterniflora under docks was significantly lower than that which occurred next to the docks (i.e., 5 m away) for the short-form, tall-form, and both forms combined. We estimated that shading effects from dock structures in South Carolina decreased the stem density of S. alterniflora by 71%. Dock shading effects were small when evaluated from the perspective of the amount of marsh that occurs within specific tidal creeks (0.03-0.72%), in coastal counties at a maximum dock length (0.01-0.98%), or statewide (0.01-0.13%) at a maximum dock length. However, approximately 7,000 docks have been permitted over the last decade, resulting in a loss of salt marsh equivalent to 60 ha.

Ecosystem↗

PubMed2004

Re-establishing a sustainable wetland at former Lake Karla, Greece, using Ramsar restoration guidelines.

Lake Karla, Greece, was almost completely drained in 1962 both to protect surrounding farmlands from flooding and to increase agricultural area. Loss of wetland functions and values resulted in environmental, social, and economic problems. A number of restoration plans were proposed to address these problems. The plan approved by the government in the early 1990s proposed construction of a 4200-ha reservoir solely to improve water storage and flood attenuation functions. However, the Ramsar Scientific and Technical Review Panel states that the primary goal of any restoration project is to create resilient and sustainable ecosystems, as measured on a human timescale, in order to improve the ecological character and enhance the socioeconomic role that the wetland plays in the watershed. This study utilizes Ramsar guidelines for sustainable restoration of Lake Karla. Eight additional restoration measures are proposed based on functional analysis of the wetland to enhance additional wetland functions and support multiple values for humans and nature.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2004

Herbaceous covers to control tree invasion in rights-of-way: ecological concepts and applications.

In northeastern America, thousands of kilometers of utility rights-of-way (ROWs) have to be managed to prevent the establishment of a tall vegetation cover that does not comply with safety and maintenance regulations. Recent decades have seen the emergence of ecologically based vegetation control strategies to reduce environmental impacts as well as maintenance costs. One such strategy is to take advantage of competitive herbaceous covers to limit tree invasion. This approach, however, as well as its fundamental underlying principles, has been little scrutinized. In this article, (1) we present the main ecological concepts supporting the use of a herbaceous cover to limit tree invasion, emphasizing naturally forested ecosystems of northeastern America. They include reported evidence of stable plant communities and an overview of potential underlying mechanisms of inhibition. (2) We then review field applications, specifically testing the ability of seeded herbaceous covers to control tree invasion in ROWs. (3) We discuss unresolved issues relevant to management and research. The available evidence suggests that seeding herbaceous covers in ROWs can help control tree invasion, but many issues still limit broad-scale applications. The various interactions that govern plant community dynamics are far from being fully understood, so selecting species still largely depends on an empirical approach. Patterns of resistance to tree invasion must be investigated over a wide range of spatial, historical, and environmental contexts to determine effective management and seeding practices that will lead to broad-scale applications. We suggest establishing communities rather than single dominant species and using as much as possible native species to limit risks of invasion.

Ecology↗

PubMed2004

Effects of land management change on spatial variability of organic matter and nutrients in paddy field: a case study of Pinghu, China.

The Household Responsibility System initiated in the late 1970s in China has brought a profound change to its rural economy. The shift from the collective farming system to individual family farms has changed land management. The change, including fertilization and crop systems, may have significant effects on soil quality and agro-environmental sustainability. However, very little research is being carried out on the impact of reformed land tenure systems on the spatial variability of soil nutrients. In this study, geostatistics was applied to analyze changes in the spatial variability of soil organic matter and nutrients in paddy fields in Pinghu County, China after 20 years of land management change. In 1984 and 2002, 617 and 131 locations were selected, respectively, for collecting surface soil samples to analyze soil organic matter (SOM), total nitrogen (TN), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK). From 1984 to 2002, variability of the SOM and TN changed from strongly to moderately spatial-dependent, and the variability of AP remained weakly dependent on space, but that of the AK changed from moderately to weakly spatial-dependent. That the trend of the variability of four soil properties in 2002 became weaker than that in 1984 showed that the extrinsic factors (soil management practices, such as fertilization) weakened the effect by intrinsic factors (soil formation factors, such as soil parent materials) owing to a long period of land management change. The temporal geographic maps of the SOM and nutrients spatial distributions suggested that the concentrations of the SOM and nutrients had been changed to different extents during the period. Significant increase in AP and decrease in AK were noted. The changes were likely due to the imbalance between N, P, and K fertilizers and increased grain yield.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2005

Large woody debris and land management in California's hardwood-dominated watersheds.

Although large woody debris (LWD) has been studied extensively in conifer-dominated watersheds, relatively little is known about LWD in hardwood-dominated watersheds. Field surveys of 32 hardwood-dominated stream reaches in northern coastal California revealed that levels of LWD varied with land ownership and that living trees strongly influenced debris jam formation. Almost half of the channel-spanning debris jams, which stored the most wood and were most likely to form a pool, were formed behind a key piece that was still living. These living key pieces might provide greater longevity and stability than would otherwise be expected from hardwood LWD. Compared to streams on private land, streams on public land had significantly greater LWD loading and debris-jam frequency. Land management practices that remove wood from streams might be contributing to the degradation of salmonid habitat in California's hardwood-dominated watersheds.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Adverse effects on Alfeios River Basin and an integrated management framework based on sustainability.

The Alfeios River, the longest and highest flow-rate river in Peloponnisos, constitutes an important water resource and ecosystem in Greece. In the present study, human activities in the Alfeios River Basin are described, and their impacts on water quality and the ecosystem are analyzed; effects resulting from interventions on river geomorphology between Flokas Dam and the river delta are determined. These actions have caused significant adverse impacts on the infrastructure (the dam, railroad, and road bridges), the level of aquifer water table and area water uses, and the aquatic and riparian ecosystem. A general integrated management strategy is formulated and a master management plan is proposed for resolving management problems in river basins. The plan considers local conditions and national requirements and complies with the European Communities legislation; it would help prevent further basin deterioration, improve water quality, and protect water resources and ecosystems in the area in accordance to sustainable development. The Alfeios River Basin serves as a case study in the development of the plan.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2006

Controls on nutrients across a prairie stream watershed: land use and riparian cover effects.

Nutrient inputs generally are increased by human-induced land use changes and can lead to eutrophication and impairment of surface waters. Understanding the scale at which land use influences nutrient loading is necessary for the development of management practices and policies that improve water quality. The authors assessed the relationships between land use and stream nutrients in a prairie watershed dominated by intermittent stream flow in the first-order higher elevation reaches. Total nitrogen, nitrate, and phosphorus concentrations were greater in tributaries occupying the lower portions of the watershed, closely mirroring the increased density of row crop agriculture from headwaters to lower-elevation alluvial areas. Land cover classified at three spatial scales in each sub-basin above sampling sites (riparian in the entire catchment, catchment land cover, and riparian across the 2 km upstream) was highly correlated with variation in both total nitrogen (r(2) = 53%, 52%, and 49%, respectively) and nitrate (r(2) = 69%, 65%, and 56%, respectively) concentrations among sites. However, phosphorus concentrations were not significantly associated with riparian or catchment land cover classes at any spatial scale. Separating land use from riparian cover in the entire watershed was difficult, but riparian cover was most closely correlated with in-stream nutrient concentrations. By controlling for land cover, a significant correlation of riparian cover for the 2 km above the sampling site with in-stream nutrient concentrations could be established. Surprisingly, land use in the entire watershed, including small intermittent streams, had a large influence on average downstream water quality although the headwater streams were not flowing for a substantial portion of the year. This suggests that nutrient criteria may not be met only by managing permanently flowing streams.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2005

Control of Tamarix in the Western United States: implications for water salvage, wildlife use, and riparian restoration.

Non-native shrub species in the genus Tamarix (saltcedar, tamarisk) have colonized hundreds of thousands of hectares of floodplains, reservoir margins, and other wetlands in western North America. Many resource managers seek to reduce saltcedar abundance and control its spread to increase the flow of water in streams that might otherwise be lost to evapotranspiration, to restore native riparian (streamside) vegetation, and to improve wildlife habitat. However, increased water yield might not always occur and has been substantially lower than expected in water salvage experiments, the potential for successful revegetation is variable, and not all wildlife taxa clearly prefer native plant habitats over saltcedar. As a result, there is considerable debate surrounding saltcedar control efforts. We review the literature on saltcedar control, water use, wildlife use, and riparian restoration to provide resource managers, researchers, and policy-makers with a balanced summary of the state of the science. To best ensure that the desired outcomes of removal programs are met, scientists and resource managers should use existing information and methodologies to carefully select and prioritize sites for removal, apply the most appropriate and cost-effective control methods, and then rigorously monitor control efficacy, revegetation success, water yield changes, and wildlife use.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Brazil's Samuel Dam: lessons for hydroelectric development policy and the environment in Amazonia.

Brazil's Samuel Dam, which formed a 540-km2 reservoir in the state of Rondônia in 1988, provides lessons for development decisions throughout Amazonia and in other tropical areas. The decision to build the dam was heavily influenced by its role in the political strategies of key decision makers. Samuel illustrates both impacts and benefits of electricity supply and the dilemmas facing decision makers regarding the various options for planned electricity generation. Environmental costs included flooding forest and stimulating illegal logging activity throughout western Amazonia because of an exception opened for Samuel in Brazil's prohibition of export of raw logs. Samuel emitted substantially more greenhouse gases than would have been emitted by generating the same amount of electricity from oil. Contamination of fish in the reservoir resulted from methylation of mercury present in the soil. Social costs of the dam included resettlement of 238 families of farmers; impacts on indigenous people were indirect. Mitigating measures included faunal rescue and creation of a forest reserve. The lessons of Samuel include the need to consider a full range of alternatives prior to making decisions in practice and the importance of adhering to the logical sequence of decision making, where information is gathered and compared prior to the decision. It also shows the need to maintain flexibility when the costs and benefits of different alternatives change significantly over the course of the project's planning and execution, as occurred at Samuel.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

A posteriori evaluation of strategies of management: the effectiveness of no-wash zones in minimizing the impacts of boat-wash on macrobenthic infauna.

Wind-driven waves are important in structuring intertidal and shallow subtidal assemblages of macrobenthic infauna. In the sheltered waters of estuaries, boat-generated waves (wash) may play a similar role because they are typically of a similar amplitude or larger than wind-driven waves. However, few studies have attempted to determine the role of wash in structuring assemblages. Consequently, strategies for managing boating focus around minimization of bank erosion. Along the Parramatta River (Sydney, Australia), no-wash zones have been established and mangroves planted to minimize the erosion of riverbanks and collapse of seawalls purportedly caused by 35-m-long RiverCat ferries. Although intended to also reduce the ecological impacts of wash, it is unclear whether these strategies achieve this goal. Unvegetated and vegetated (among the pneumatophores of mangroves) sediments were sampled in wash and no-wash zones along the Parramatta River to assess the effectiveness of no-wash zones and vegetation of river banks in reducing the ecological impacts of wash. Specifically, it was hypothesized that (1) assemblages of intertidal macrobenthic infauna would differ between wash and no-wash zones of the Parramatta River and (2) these differences would be greater in unvegetated than in vegetated habitat. As predicted, assemblages of macrobenthic infauna differed between the wash and no-wash zones. Capitellids, nereids, and spionids were more abundant in the no-wash zone. Contrary to the hypothesis, differences were no greater in the unvegetated habitat than in the vegetated habitat. The results suggest an impact of wash on assemblages of macrobenthic infauana and a role for no-wash zones in minimizing the effects of this disturbance.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Socioeconomic factors affecting farmers' perceptions of land degradation and stonewall terraces in central Palestine.

Land degradation by soil erosion is a socioeconomic and environmental problem facing many developing countries. Application of stonewall terraces for soil moisture conservation is vital to reducing the environmental impacts of this phenomenon. To this end, a field plot experiment was conducted in the study area along with the use of a closed-ended questionnaire. The object of the experiment was to study the socioeconomic impacts of soil erosion on local farmers and their adoption of the stonewall terrace technique. The study showed a higher net profit in areas that had implemented terrace conservation practices than in areas that had not (i.e., 3.5 to 6 times higher net profit). Correlation analysis indicated that the farmers' perceptions, land ownership, and geomorphology were significantly related to the farmers' incentives and willingness to adopt terraces as soil conservation measures (P < 0.05), although the correlations were negative. Smallholder farmers (52% of the interviewed farmers) were involved in the sale of the agricultural land for urban uses, largely because of the high price and immediate returns offered. However, the associated land use changes warrant greater involvement of both the private and public sectors. This cooperation may be accomplished through the introduction of a long-term agricultural loan system and the development of proper legislation accompanied by a comprehensive and durable infrastructure and service system with the goal of reducing the negative impact of land use changes and encouraging sustainable use of resources.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2004

A model of navigation-induced currents in inland waterways and implications for juvenile fish displacement.

The likely extension of commercial inland navigation in the future could increase hazards directly impacting on the nurseries of freshwater fish, especially for smaller individuals with limited swimming abilities. One limitation of the evaluation of inland navigation on fish assemblages is the lack of suitable hydraulic models. This article presents a hydraulic model to assess the increase of navigation-induced physical forces due to higher vessel speed, length, and drought in a low-flowing waterway related to maximum swimming performance of fish to (1) foresee hazards of enhancement of inland navigation, (2) derive construction measures to minimize the hydraulic impact on small fish, and (3) improve fish recruitment in waterways. The derived model computed current velocities induced by passing commercial vessels in inland waterways experimentally verified and parameterized in a German lowland waterway. Results were linked with a model of maximum fish swimming performance to elucidate consequences for freshwater fish populations. The absolute magnitude of navigation-induced current limits the availability of littoral habitats for small fish. Typical navigation-induced current velocities of 0.7-1 m/s in the straight reaches of waterways will be maintained by fish longer than 42 mm only. Smaller juveniles unable to withstand those currents could become washed out, injured, or displaced. In contrast, in small local bays, the navigation-induced current declined significantly. According to our model, in a 20-m extended bay, the return current drops below 0.11 m/s, corresponding to the maximum swimming speed of a 9-mm-long fish. Thus, enhancing shoreline development by connecting oxbows, tributaries, and especially by purpose-built bays limits the impact on fish recruitment without restricting navigation resulting in more precautionary and sustainable inland navigation.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Predicting the thermal effects of dam removal on the Klamath River.

The Klamath River once supported large runs of anadromous salmonids. Water temperature associated with multiple mainstem hydropower facilities might be one of many factors responsible for depressing Klamath salmon stocks. We combined a water quantity model and a water quality model to predict how removing the series of dams below Upper Klamath Lake might affect water temperatures, and ultimately fish survival, in the spawning and rearing portions of the mainstem Klamath. We calibrated the water quantity and quality models and applied them for the hydrometeorological conditions during a 40-year postdam period. Then, we hypothetically removed the dams and their impoundments from the models and reestimated the river's water temperatures. The principal thermal effect of dam and reservoir removal would be to restore the timing (phase) of the river's seasonal thermal signature by shifting it approximately 18 days earlier in the year, resulting in river temperatures that more rapidly track ambient air temperatures. Such a shift would likely cool thermal habitat conditions for adult fall chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) during upstream migration and benefit mainstem spawning. By contrast, spring and early summer temperatures could be warmer without dams, potentially harming chinook rearing and outmigration in the mainstem. Dam removal might affect the river's thermal regime during certain conditions for over 200 km of the mainstem.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Juggling land retirement objectives on an agricultural landscape: coordination, conflict, or compromise?

Strategic land retirement in agricultural settings has been used as one way to achieve a combination of social objectives, which include ameliorating water quality problems and enhancing existing systems of wildlife habitat. This study uses a simulation model operating on a virtual landscape, along with the compromise programming method, to illustrate the implications of alternative weighting schemes for the long-term performance of the landscape toward various objectives. The analysis suggests that particular spatial patterns may be related to how various objectives are weighted. The analysis also illustrates the inevitable trade-offs among objectives, although it may be tempting to present retirement strategies as "win-win."

Agriculture↗