The relationships of urbanization to surface water quality in four lakes of Hanyang,China

By converting rural land into urban land, urbanization impacts on surface water quality, because cities produce more pollutants than farmlands, especially heavy metals. Ways to reduce urbanization impacts on water quality are now being highlighted worldwide. Considering that land use can be a source or sink in pollution runoff, an understanding of the relationship between urbanization and surface water quality, as well as effects of specific land uses on water quality, is crucial. Corresponding management and controlling steps can then be put forward towards non-point source (NPS) pollution control and urban sustainable development. China has experienced rapid urbanization, especially since the 1980s. However, the environmental impacts of this process are not fully investigated. Hanyang, Hubei Province was selected as a typical city to study the impacts of urbanization on lake water quality. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to elucidate the correlation between different land uses and water quality indicators at both whole lake watershed and small catchment scales. The results indicated that land uses play different roles, either source or sink, in pollution flow processes. Bottomland had a negative and residential land a positive correlation to most water quality indicators, especially heavy metals. These proved to be indicative and crucial land uses in NPS pollution control. Finally, a strategy for regulating urban land uses is proposed for improving surface water quality in cities similar to Hanyang, in southern China.     

An assessment of coastal land-use and land-cover change from 1974–2008 in the vicinity of Mobile Bay,Alabama

The purpose of this research is to quantify and assess geospatial land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes in the coastal counties of Mobile and Baldwin, Alabama using nine Landsat images from 1974–2008. A study-specific classification scheme was devised comprising upland herbaceous, upland forest, non-woody and woody wetlands, open water, and urban categories. Upland forest was the most dominant terrestrial cover type. Wetlands averaged 17% and urban averaged 7%. A majority of the urban expansion occurred between 1974 and 1979 (26%). Thirty-four percent of the 2008 urban areas were upland forest in 1974. Watershed-scale analysis of Three Mile Creek and D’Olive Bay highlights the temporal and spatial differences of urbanization for watersheds found within the same region. This study is a Gulf of Mexico Alliance (GOMA) Application Pilot project that uses NASA data products to benefit coastal environmental managers and community members. Results have led to increased effectiveness of coastal conservation decision-making, increased understanding of post-hurricane LULC change, continued research on habitat change impacts, and contributed to timely conservation planning efforts. This study has benefited the development of watershed management plans by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, which is especially important given projected climate change.     

Functional Homogenization Effect of Urbanization on Bird Communities

Abstract:  We studied the community richness and dynamics of birds in landscapes recently affected by urbanization to test the prediction that biotic communities living in degraded landscapes are increasingly composed of generalist species. We analyzed bird communities in 657 plots monitored by the French Breeding Bird Survey from 2001 to 2005, accounting for the probability of species detection and spatial autocorrelation. We used an independent land-cover program to assess urbanization intensity in each FBBS plot, from 1992 to 2002. We found that urbanization induced community homogenization and that populations of specialist species became increasingly unstable with increasing urbanization of the landscape. Our results emphasize that urbanization has a substantial impact on the spatial component of communities and highlight the destabilizing effect of urbanization on communities over time. These results illustrate that urbanization may be a strong driving force in functional community composition and that measuring community homogenization is a powerful tool in the assessment of the effects of landscape changes and thus aides sustainable urban planning.     

Urbanization and nutrient retention in freshwater riparian wetlands.

Urbanization can degrade water quality and alter watershed hydrology, with profound effects on the structure and function of both riparian wetlands (RWs) and aquatic ecosystems downstream. We used freshwater RWs in Fairfax County, Virginia, USA, as a model system to examine: (1) the effects of increasing urbanization (indexed by the percentage of impervious surface cover [%ISC] in the surrounding watershed) on nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in surface soils and plant tissues, soil P saturation, and soil iron (Fe) chemistry; and (2) relationships between RW soil and plant nutrient chemistries vs. the physical and biotic integrity of adjacent streams. Soil total P and NaOH-extractable P (representing P bound to aluminum [Al] and Fe hydrous oxides) varied significantly but nonlinearly with % ISC (r2 = 0.69 and 0.57, respectively); a similar pattern was found for soil P saturation but not for soil total N. Relationships were best described by second-order polynomial equations. Riparian wetlands appear to receive greater P loads in moderately (8.6-13.3% ISC) than in highly (25.1-29.1% ISC) urbanized watersheds. These observations are consistent with alterations in watershed hydrology that occur with increasing urbanization, directing water and nutrient flows away from natural RWs. Significant increases in total and crystalline soil Fe (r2 = 0.57 and 0.53, respectively) and decreases in relative soil Fe crystallinity with increasing %ISC suggest the mobilization and deposition of terrestrial sediments in RWs, likely due to construction activities in the surrounding watershed. Increases in RW plant tissue nutrient concentrations and %ISC in the surrounding watershed were negatively correlated with standard indices of the physical and biotic integrity of adjacent streams. In combination, these data suggest that nutrient and sediment inputs associated with urbanization and storm-water management are important variables that affect wetland ecosystem services, such as water quality improvement, in urbanizing landscapes.     

皖南丘陵地区小流域氮素径流输出的动态变化

以亚热带北部皖南丘陵地区小流域定位实地观测为基础 ,研究了农林共存小流域氮素径流输出规律。发现小流域氮素径流输出季节性变化明显。降雨和施肥是影响这一变化的重要因子 ,模拟分析表明 ,它们与氮素输出之间具有很好的线性相关关系     

基于MIKESHE模型的潮河流域土地利用与降水变化对水文的影响评价

运用多测站校正检验机制率定方法,应用MIKESHE模型量化评价土地利用与降水变化对流域水文的影响。结果表明,尽管MIKESHE模型在流域上游大阁站的模拟性能稍逊于下会站和戴营站,3个测站校正和验证阶段的Nash-sutchliffe系数值分别为0.56和0.49、0.65和0.69、0.57和0.68,但模型对于各测站平均径流的模拟效果较好,说明该模型在潮河流域等华北土石山区具有一定的适用性和应用潜力。与基准期(1963—1979年)相比,1980—1989年潮河流域年径流量减少约22 mm,土地利用与降水变化对流域水文变化的贡献相当,两者分别占总径流变化的59%和41%;1990—1999年年径流量较基准期基本没有变化,这主要是由于降水变化与土地利用变化对流域水文的影响作用相反;2000—2008年,流域年径流量较基准期减少35 mm,降水变化对径流减少的影响作用占80%,土地利用变化则占20%。     

城市化地区植被生态环境效应研究

城市植被具有其它生态环境要素难以替代的多样化生态服务功能,城市化地区的植被生态环境效应研究是一个具有重要理论和实践意义的研究课题。国内外该领域的研究已经形成一系列特色鲜明的研究方向,几个重要研究范畴中,城市化过程对植被影响研究属于传统的理论兼应用研究范畴,从景观生态学视角入手,注重残遗植被保护等是该领域近年来的新研究方向;城市植被生态服务功能研究是目前研究工作积累最为丰富的热点领域,重点研究方向包括负面生态环境效应缓冲与还原、自然环境调控、生物多样性保护以及城市碳氧平衡等;比较而言,城市植被保护与管理研究相对薄弱,亟待加强。总结国内外现有研究工作可以看出,城市化地区的植被生态效应研究存在着一定程度的理论研究与应用研究脱节,专业研究与综合研究脱节,微观研究与宏观研究脱节等不合理现象,应当成为今后研究工作中重点关注并加以克服的问题。     

Can floor-area-ratio incentive promote low impact development in a highly urbanized area?—A case study in Changzhou City,China

As an environmental friendly measure for surface runoff reduction, low impact development (LID) has been applied successfully in urban areas. However, due to high price of land and additional expense for LID construction in highly urbanized areas, the developers of real estate would not like to proceed LID exploitation. Floor area ratio (FAR) refers to “the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.” Increasing FAR indicates that the developers can construct higher buildings and earn more money. By means of awarding FAR, the developers may be willing to practice LID construction. In this study, a new residential district is selected as a case study to analyze the tradeoff between the runoff reduction goal achieving by LID practices and the incentive of awarding FAR to promote LID construction. The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis IntegratioN (SUSTAIN) model is applied to simulate the runoff reduction under various LID designs and then derive the Pareto-optimal solutions to achieve urban runoff reduction goals based on cost efficiency. The results indicates that the maximum surface runoff reduction is 20.5%. Under the extremity scenarios, the government has options to award FAR of 0.028, 0.038 and 0.047 and the net benefits developers gain are 0 CNY, one million CNYand two million CNY, respectively. The results provide a LID construction guideline related to awarding FAR, which supports incentive policy making for promoting LID practices in the highly urbanized areas.

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Effects of Urbanization on Occupancy of Stream Salamanders

Abstract: Urban development is the most common form of land conversion in the United States. Using a before–after control‐impact study design, we investigated the effects of urbanization on larval and adult stages of southern two‐lined salamanders (Eurycea cirrigera) and northern dusky salamanders (Desmognathus fuscus). Over 5 years, we estimated changes in occupancy and probabilities of colonization and survival in 13 stream catchments after urbanization and in 17 catchments that were not urbanized. We also examined effects of proportion of urbanized area in a catchment and distance of the salamander population to the nearest stream on probabilities of colonization and survival. Before urbanization, adult and larval stages of the two salamander species occupied nearly all surveyed streams, with occupancy estimates ranging from 1.0 to 0.78. Four years after urbanization mean occupancy of larval and adult two‐lined salamanders had decreased from 0.87 and 0.78 to 0.57 and 0.39, respectively. Estimates of mean occupancy of larval northern dusky salamanders decreased from 1.0 to 0.57 in urban streams 4 years after urbanization; however, adult northern dusky salamander occupancy remained close to 1.0 in urban streams over 5 years. Occupancy estimates in control streams were similar for each species and stage over 5 years. Urbanization was associated with decreases in survival probabilities of adult and larval two‐lined salamanders and decreases in colonization probabilities of larval dusky salamanders. Nevertheless, proportion of impervious surface and distance to nearest stream had little effect on probabilities of survival and colonization. Our results imply that in the evaluation of the effects of urbanization on species, such as amphibians, with complex life cycles, consideration of the effects of urbanization on both adult and larval stages is required.     

Effects of Urbanization on the Distribution and Abundance of Amphibians and Invasive Species in Southern California Streams

Abstract:  Urbanization negatively affects natural ecosystems in many ways, and aquatic systems in particular. Urbanization is also cited as one of the potential contributors to recent dramatic declines in amphibian populations. From 2000 to 2002 we determined the distribution and abundance of native amphibians and exotic predators and characterized stream habitat and invertebrate communities in 35 streams in an urbanized landscape north of Los Angeles (U.S.A.). We measured watershed development as the percentage of area within each watershed occupied by urban land uses. Streams in more developed watersheds often had exotic crayfish ( Procambarus clarkii ) and fish, and had fewer native species such as California newts ( Taricha torosa ) and California treefrogs ( Hyla cadaverina ). These effects seemed particularly evident above 8% development, a result coincident with other urban stream studies that show negative impacts beginning at 10–15% urbanization. For Pacific treefrogs ( H. regilla ), the most widespread native amphibian, abundance was lower in the presence of exotic crayfish, although direct urbanization effects were not found. Benthic macroinvertebrate communities were also less diverse in urban streams, especially for sensitive species. Faunal community changes in urban streams may be related to changes in physical stream habitat, such as fewer pool and more run habitats and increased water depth and flow, leading to more permanent streams. Variation in stream permanence was particularly evident in 2002, a dry year when many natural streams were dry but urban streams were relatively unchanged. Urbanization has significantly altered stream habitat in this region and may enhance invasion by exotic species and negatively affect diversity and abundance of native amphibians.     

Simulating the impacts of land-use changes on non-point source pollution in Lugu Lake watershed

Protection of the water quality of Lugu Lake is important because it is a unique geographic and cultural resource. Not only point source pollution but also non-point source pollution contribute to degradation of water quality. A GIS-NPS model, with long-term hydrologic impact assessment (L-THIA), was used to evaluate long-term implications of land-use change impacts on non-point source (NPS) pollution. The land-use patterns of 1995 and 2005 were analysed to determine the changes in Lugu Lake watershed. A 30-year (1974–2003) precipitation dataset was used to estimate mean annual surface runoff and NPS pollutant loads. The contributions of different land-use categories to average annual runoff and NPS pollutant production were assessed with a unit contribution index (UCI). Results show loss of agricultural land (by 44.9%), while forest, grass/pasture and residential land increased to different degrees from 1995 to 2005. At the same time, annual average NPS pollutants, TN, TP, TSS and BOD loads all decreased, while heavy metal lead increased by 6.87%. The UCI formulated in this research was a more useful method to assess land-use impact on NPS pollutants than simple investigations of the percentage land-use change. Agricultural and residential land changes had more impact on NPS pollutants and were identified as the main source types. Suggestions on regulating land uses and management proposals for protecting lake water quality in Lugu Lake watershed are made.     

水文变异下东江流域枯水径流风险率分析

探求人类活动与气候变化对径流枯水风险的影响,对实现区域经济与环境的可持续发展有着重要的意义。以东江流域为例,通过对相对关联距离熵Hd辨识水文系统状态的跳跃,识别水文变异点,采用信息扩散风险分析模型评估径流的枯水风险率,分析径流枯水风险率在水文变异前后的变化趋势及演变情势。研究结果表明：东江流域在1972-1973年发生水文变异,与东江上游枫树坝建设运行时间基本一致。枯水风险率大于0.8的年份皆发生强厄尔尼诺事件,表明了厄尔尼诺现象出现时,当年东江流域月径流量普遍发生减少。在水文变异后,径流的枯水风险率降低,但变化幅度更加剧烈,同时枯水径流的风险率与降雨的相关性减弱,但与降雨的相关性还是超过0.9,这些都揭示了径流在水文变异后在主要受到气候变化影响的同时,越来越受到水利工程的调节作用的影响。研究成果可为流域综合管理部门决策提供参考。     

Management of nutrient emissions of Axios River catchment: Their effect in the coastal zone of Thermaikos Gulf,Greece

The estimation of nutrient fluxes, the determination of spatial and temporal response and the understanding of biogeochemical changes in the past, present and future in the Axios River catchment, in Greece, as well as the impacts to the coastal zone of Thermaikos Gulf were accomplished by the use of harmonized watershed and coastal zone models. The mathematical model MONERIS was the watershed management model that was used to model the export loads of nutrients in Axios River. MONERIS was developed to estimate the nutrient inputs into river basins by point sources and various diffuse pathways. Watershed hydrologic and water quality data were collected and synthesized to develop input data sets for the simulation of Axios River catchment. The model was modified to better assess organic nitrogen export loads in Mediterranean watersheds. The results showed the importance of agricultural and livestock activities, concerning their nutrients emissions in the River. MONERIS was integrated with the coastal zone model WASP 6.0 to assess the impacts of the nutrient loads to the eutrophication status of the coastal zone. Several management scenarios were assessed. Management scenarios included measures for reduction in the emissions from the fertilizer plant of Veles, removal of phosphorous from the detergents in FYROM, treatment of urban wastes to EU Standards, reduction in N-fertilizer input, reduction in erosion and the green scenario that represented the maximum reduction scenario of all the measures together. The model simulations indicated that the coastal zone of Axios mouth will be eutrophic for nitrate (2.69–3.34 μM) and phosphate (0.2–0.68 μM) and upper mesotrophic for chlorophyll-a (0.74–1.45 μg/l) for the scenarios tested. The results suggest that the impact of the management scenarios will be largely negligible (no change in trophic status) for the Thermaikos Gulf sector nearby the Axios River due to additional sources such as the loads from Thessaloniki's waste water treatment plant which appear to affect the region to a greater extent. The integration of watershed and coastal zone models can be used to assess management scenarios in order to illustrate the significance of various land use practices to the eutrophication of the Gulf.     

Scenario analysis of water pollution control in the typical peri-urban river using a coupled hydrodynamic-water quality model

The water quality pollution and ecological deterioration in peri-urban rivers are usually serious under rapid urbanization and economic growth. In the study, a typical peri-urban river, Nansha River, was selected as a case study to discuss the scheme of peri-urban river rehabilitation. Located in the north part of the Beijing central region, the Nansha River watershed has been designated as an ecologically friendly garden-style area with high-tech industry parks and upscale residential zones. However, the Nansha River is currently seriously contaminated by urban and rural pollutants from both nonpoint sources (NPS) and point sources (PS). In this study, the pollutant loads from point sources and nonpoint sources in the Nansha River watershed were first assessed. A coupled model, derived from the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code and Water Quality Analysis Simulation Program, was developed to simulate the hydrodynamics and water quality in the Nansha River. According to the characteristics of the typical peri-urban river, three different PS and NPS control scenarios were designed and examined by modeling analyses. Based on the results of the scenario analysis, a river rehabilitation scheme was recommended for implementation.     

Watershed land use as a determinant of metal concentrations in freshwater systems

Concentrations of Fe, Mn, Cu, dissolved organic matter (DOM), and pH were synthesized from 30 publications to determine the factors regulating concentrations and behavior of metals in freshwater systems. Results from the review suggest that contrasting watershed land use can directly (erosion and runoff) and indirectly (in-lake processes including metal–DOM–pH interactions) affect the metal concentrations in freshwater systems. Among the watershed land uses considered here, concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Cu were observed in the following order: arctic lakes < forested < agricultural < urbanized < mined. A drastic difference in mean metal concentrations has been observed when undisturbed or low impact watersheds (arctic and forested) were changed by agricultural, urban, and mining developments. Relationships between metal concentrations and pH revealed that metals precipitate at high pH (pH > 5). Additionally, at pH < 5, metal concentrations were significantly correlated with DOM due to metal–DOM complexation. High ratios of metal: DOM occur only at low DOM concentrations. Collectively, two general conclusions can be drawn from this review. First, lakes, rivers, and streams with urbanized watersheds are the most susceptible to increased concentrations of metals. Secondly, these results also suggest that regardless of high or low DOM in the water column, pH would affect metal concentrations in freshwater systems. Nonetheless, free metal ions would be higher in freshwater systems with acidic water and low DOM.     

A multi-scale approach to modelling spatial and dynamic ecological patterns for reservoir's water quality management

With growing levels of urbanization and agriculture throughout the world, it is increasingly important that both research and management efforts take into account the effects of this widespread landscape alteration and its consequences for natural systems. Freshwater ecosystems, namely reservoirs, are particularly sensitive to land use changes. In this context, modelling can be very useful, for decision support, as an investigative tool to forecast the outcome of various scenarios, to guide current management in order to meet future targets and to develop integrated frameworks for management accordingly to the Water Framework Directive (WFD). The present paper examined the applicability of a holistic Stochastic-Dynamic Methodology (StDM), coupled with a Cellular Automata (CA) model, in capturing how expected changes at land use level will alter the ecological status of lentic ecosystems, namely at physicochemical and biological levels. The methodology was applied to Portuguese reservoirs located in the Douro's basin and illustrated with a series of stochastic-dynamic and spatial outputs taking into account expected scenarios regarding land use changes. Overall, the simulation results are encouraging since they seem to demonstrate the tool reliability in capturing the stochastic environmental dynamics of the selected metrics facing spatial explicit scenarios. The ultimate goal was to couple monitoring assessment and the described modelling techniques to ease management and decision making regarding the practical implementation of the WFD, both at the scale of the reservoir body and at the scale of the respective river watershed dynamics.     

官厅流域农田地表径流磷流失初探

农田径流和侵蚀泥沙是磷进入官厅水库的主要非点污染源。针对该流域夏季农田暴雨径流发生的典型情景进行模拟降雨径流试验，对该流域农田地表径流泥沙和磷流失进行了初步的研究，结果表明，本降雨过程径流累积泥沙产量为30．5l～2493．34g／m^2，受雨强、坡度和作物覆盖的影响明显；径流溶解态磷(DP)中绝大部分是生物可利用性磷(DRP)，径流平均DP、DRP浓度都远大于水体允许临界值0．02mg／L，对官厅水体存在直接污染危害。径流累积全磷(TP)流失达O．0439～2．0798g/m^2；估算的流域农田径流全磷(TP)流失水平达2．67kg／(hm^2．a)以上，其颗粒态占969，0以上，可能成为官厅水库浮游生物长期丰富的潜在可利用磷源。降低农田土壤速效磷水平、减少水土侵蚀，是控制库区水华季节性发生和复原库区水体富营养化状态的关键。