Correspondence between spatial patterns in fish assemblages in ohio streams and aquatic ecoregions

Land classification systems can be useful for assessing aquatic ecosystems if relationships among them exist. Because the character of an aquatic ecosystem depends to a large extent upon the character of the landscape it drains, spatial patterns in aquatic ecosystems should correspond to patterns in the landscape. To test this hypothesis, the US state of Ohio was divided into four aquatic ecoregions based on an analysis of spatial patterns in the combination of land-surface form, land use, potential natural vegetation, and soil parent material. During the period July–October 1983, fish assemblages were sampled in 46 streams that were representative of the ecoregions, and that had watersheds relatively undisturbed by human activities. Spatial patterns of the fish assemblages were examined relative to the ecoregions; distinct regional differences were identified. The assemblages differed most between the Huron/Erie Lake Plain region and the Western Allegheny Plateau region; assemblages in the Eastern Corn Belt Plains and the Erie/Ontario Lake Plain-Interior Plateau regions were intermediate. This pattern also reflects the gradient in landscape character as one moves from the northwest to the southeast of Ohio.     

The use of terrestrial ecoregions as a regional-scale screen for selecting representative reference sites for water quality monitoring

A process has been developed to select watersheds that are representative of terrestrial ecoregions and that are relatively undisturbed by human activity. Using an existing land classification system at two hierarchical levels of resolution, representative subsets (ecodistricts) of large-scale ecoregions were selected, on the basis of their physiographic, biological, and climatological attributes, to represent the ecoregions. This was achieved using a frequency distribution analysis of existing attribute data and choosing the ecodistrict most closely resembling the most common set of conditions for that ecoregion. Within each ecodistrict, river basins were selected through a best-judgement evaluation of land use, coupled with an assessment of the size and location of each river basin, in order to meet the condition of minimal human impact. Preliminary assessment of water quality data collected from six watersheds selected in this way suggests that the process is effective in targeting regional scale river basins exhibiting the desired characteristics.     

The challenges and implications of collaborative management on a river basin scale

Collaboration has rapidly become the dominant paradigm in natural resource management, but there are many dilemmas about how it is applied effectively. In southwest Oregon, agencies, watershed councils and other stakeholders are developing a river basin approach to assess ecological health and set priorities for restoration. An analysis of this process reveals considerable progress in this innovative effort and it reveals several implications for collaboration at a regional scale, including: tensions between technical complexity and open participation, difficulties with information exchange for joint management, the relationships between technical issues and policy issues, the role of regional policy in supporting collaborative efforts, and the importance of institutional arrangements.     

METHODS AND DATA REQUIREMENTS FOR RIVER-QUALITY ASSESSMENT1

ABSTRACT: The U.S. Geological Survey is now (1975) conducting an intensive river-quality assessment of the Willamette River basin, Oregon. The objectives are to (1) define a practical framework for conducting comprehensive river-quality assessments, (2) develop and document methods for evaluating basin-development alternatives in terms of potential impacts on river quality, (3) determine the kinds and amounts of data required to adequately assess various types of river-quality problems, and (4) apply the framework, data, and methods to assess the existing or potential river-quality problems of the Willamette River basin. This paper covers objectives 2, 3, and 4 by examining the rationales behind the selection and application of methods and the design of data programs for assessing specific river-quality problems. The rationales are those developed for assessing (1) the effect of population and industrial growth and resulting waste discharges on river-dissolved oxygen, (2) the potentially harmful effects on land and river quality of accelerated erosion resulting from intensive land-use development, and (3) the potential for nuisance algal growth. The goal of the assessment program and, thus, the context of the rationales is to provide technically sound information that is appropriate and adequate for resource planning and management.     

Landscape-level ecological regions: Linking state-level ecoregion frameworks with stream habitat classifications

Regionalization is a form of spatial classification, where boundaries are drawn around areas that are relatively homogeneous in landscape characteristics. The process of delineating ecological regions, or ecoregions, includes the analysis of ecosystem structure. To date, ecoregions have been developed at national and state scales for research and resource management. Stream classification is another method to order the variability of aquatic habitats that spans spatial scales from microhabitat to valley segment. In this study, landscape-level ecoregions are developed for the upper Grande Ronde River basin in northeastern Oregon, 3000 sq km in area. The ecoregion framework presented here is proposed to bridge the gap between stream habitat and state-level ecoregion classifications. Classification at this scale is meant to address issues of management at local scales: to aid in sampling design, in extrapolation of the results of site-specific studies, and in the development of best management practices that are more predictive of ecosystem response than current methods.     

Ecoregions in the Southern Balkans: Should Their Boundaries Be Revised?

Ecoregion delineations have gained increased attention in Europe, especially following the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD), which provides the European Union’s first policy-relevant ecoregion map. However, the WFD’s ecoregions were created through a minor adaptation of Illies’ (Limnofauna Europaea. Gustav Fisher Verlag, Stuttgart, 1967/1978) freshwater zoogeographic regions, and the map’s specific boundaries have not been widely evaluated with respect to the WFD’s uses or their biogeographic accuracy. We examined the WFD ecoregion boundaries in Greece and its neighboring Balkan states by comparing them with the most prominent freshwater biogeographic boundaries as shown by riverine freshwater fish assemblages. Classification and ordination analyses of 23 river basin fish assemblages helped delineate natural faunal break boundaries in freshwater species assemblage distributions depicting major biogeographic barriers to aquatic biota dispersal. However, these biogeographic boundaries differ from those delineated in the WFD map, suggesting boundary errors and inconsistencies in the delineation method of the WFD ecoregions. We reviewed specific boundary disagreements and produced a map showing the region’s most prominent freshwater biogeographic boundaries by charting them on watershed borders among the four biotically dissimilar river basin groups in the southern Balkans. This regional evaluation reveals both a need to reconcile disparate approaches to ecoregion mapping and to promote the development of a new policy-relevant inland waters ecoregion framework that would support broad-scale water management and aquatic conservation.     

The Use of an Ecologic Classification to Improve Water Resource Planning in New Zealand

The Resource Management Act (RMA) legislates the management of most natural resources in New Zealand. The RMA invokes ecosystem-based management by requiring that regulation be based on managing the effects of resource according to “the life supporting capacity” of the environment. The management of water resources under the RMA is carried out at the regional level by regional councils. Regional councils can develop regional water plans to establish objectives and criteria for water management. Regional water planning under the RMA has been problematic, and regional plan objectives developed under the RMA have been criticized as too broad and not sufficiently quantified. As a consequence, many resource users are unconvinced of the need for the regulatory criteria promulgated by plans, whereas other groups are concerned that the environment is inadequately protected. This article proposes that a lack of ecologically relevant management units has prevented regional water plans from fulfilling their intended function under the RMA. Then it introduces the use of River Environment Classification as a means of defining units for assessment and management, and provides three case studies that demonstrate its potential to support regional water management planning. The discussion shows that the specificity of regional assessments can be increased if ecologic variation is stratified into distinctive units (i.e., units within which variation in the characteristics of interest is reduced) as part of the assessment process. The increased specificity of the assessments increases the possibility that regional objectives and criteria for water management can be derived that are quantitative and justifiable and that provide certainty for stakeholders. The authors conclude that greater choice and meaning can be generated in regional planning processes if regional variation in ecologic characteristics is stratified using a classification, and if classes are used as units for assessment and management.     

Oregon Hydrologic Landscapes: A Classification Framework1

Wigington, Parker J., Jr., Scott G. Leibowitz, Randy L. Comeleo, and Joseph L. Ebersole, 2012. Oregon Hydrologic Landscapes: A Classification Framework. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 1‐20. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12009 Abstract: There is a growing need for hydrologic classification systems that can provide a basis for broad‐scale assessments of the hydrologic functions of landscapes and watersheds and their responses to stressors such as climate change. We developed a hydrologic landscape (HL) classification approach that describes factors of climate‐watershed systems that control the hydrologic characteristics of watersheds. Our assessment units are incremental watersheds (i.e., headwater watersheds or areas draining directly into stream reaches). Major components of the classification include indices of annual climate, climate seasonality, aquifer permeability, terrain, and soil permeability. To evaluate the usefulness of our approach, we identified 30 rivers with long‐term streamflow‐gauging records and without major diversions and impoundments. We used statistical clustering to group the streams based on the shapes of their annual hydrographs. Comparison of the streamflow clusters and HL distributions within river basin clusters shows that the Oregon HL approach has the ability to provide insights about the expected hydrologic behavior of HLs and larger river basins. The Oregon HL approach has potential to be a useful framework for comparing hydrologic attributes of streams and rivers in the Pacific Northwest.     

RIVER-QUALITY ASSESSMENTS1

ABSTRACT: In 1972, the U.S. Geological Survey began a pilot program of river-quality assessments. The objectives of the program are (1) to define the character, interrelationships, and apparent causes of existing river-quality problems, and (2) to devise and demonstrate the analytical approaches and the tools and methodologies needed for developing water-quality information that will provide a sound technical basis for planners and managers to use in assessing river-quality problems and evaluating management alternatives. The most noteworthy finding of a pilot assessment of the Willamette River basin, Oregon, was that across-the-board advanced waste treatment was not the answer to the problem of meeting stringent water-quality standards established for the river. The assessment also found that existing water-quality data generally are inadequate for defining the critical cause-effect relationships that control river-quality problems and that intensive, synoptic surveys keyed to local problems and conditions would be required in most river basins to develop an adequate information base for managing important river-quality problems. The study illustrated that rigid nationwide standards and regulations are likely to result in unneeded expenditures in some river basins and in undesirable quality in others.     

Model for Prioritizing Best Management Practice Implementation: Sediment Load Reduction

Understanding the best way to allocate limited resources is a constant challenge for water quality improvement efforts. The synoptic approach is a tool for geographic prioritization of these efforts. It uses a benefit-cost framework to calculate indices for functional criteria in subunits (watersheds, counties) of a region and then rank the subunits. The synoptic approach was specifically designed to incorporate best professional judgment in cases where information and resources are limited. To date, the synoptic approach has been applied primarily to local or regional wetland restoration prioritization projects. The goal of this work was to develop a synoptic model for prioritizing watersheds within which suites of agricultural best management practices (BMPs) can be implemented to reduce sediment load at the watershed outlets. The model ranks candidate watersheds within an ecoregion or river basin so that BMP implementation within the highest ranked watersheds will result in the most sediment load reduction per conservation dollar invested. The model can be applied anywhere and at many scales provided that the selected suite of BMPs is appropriate for the evaluation area’s biophysical and climatic conditions. The model was specifically developed as a tool for prioritizing BMP implementation efforts in ecoregions containing watersheds associated with the USDA-NRCS conservation effects assessment project (CEAP). This paper presents the testing of the model in the little river experimental watershed (LREW) which is located near Tifton, Georgia, USA and is the CEAP watershed representing the southeastern coastal plain. The application of the model to the LREW demonstrated that the model represents the physical drivers of erosion and sediment loading well. The application also showed that the model is quite responsive to social and economic drivers and is, therefore, best applied at a scale large enough to ensure differences in social and economic drivers across the candidate watersheds. The prioritization model will be used for planning purposes. Its results are visualized as maps which enable resource managers to identify watersheds within which BMP implementation would result in the most water quality improvement per conservation dollar invested.     

流域水体生态修复技术探讨

针对河道等自然流域的水体污染物进行生态治理,作者提出运用三个独立步骤而形成一道自然水体修复功能：第一步,优选良性微生物株群并持续发展与供给;第二步,运用河道功能增加水中的溶解氧;第三步,建立流域水体生物链,从而达到流域水体消纳污染物的自净效果。     

Recent experiences with river basin development in the tropics and subtropics

This paper utilizes experiences gained since the first United Nations studies were prepared on river basin planning and development in 1958. The author's experiences, mainly in the tropical and subtropical areas of Africa and Asia, set the stage for a brief consideration of the role of institutions in achieving a process of integrated river basin development. In emphasizing these experiences, this paper has three purposes. First, the author assesses the influence and adequacy of the vision expressed in the earlier United Nations reports. Second, he examines the experience with attempts to implement river basin development, including resettlement problems. Third, he suggests ways in which lessons learned can be applied to future development. The case studies utilized in this paper draw more on the author's experience than on the literature. While the focus is on transnational river basin development, experiences within states are also included when they provide relevant insights.     

Criteria for the Assessment of Sustainable Water Management

Pressure on the world’s water resources is increasing, restraining social and economic development in many countries, and threatening ecological values in others. In order to manage water resources in a more sustainable manner, new planning methodologies/processes for river basin management need to be developed. This study attempts to construct a set of useable normative criteria for the analysis and evaluation of such processes. The criteria were designed as a response to the lack of deductive approaches in the evaluation of methodologies and working procedures used in the context of river basin management, making it possible to highlight their potential for sustainable development. The criteria are based on the twin concepts of participation and integration. These concepts function as well-established dimensions of both sustainable development and sustainable river basin management, and they are of significant methodological relevance. A synthesis of the key aspects connected to the two concepts is undertaken, based on a broad literature review. Focus is laid on how in methodological terms, and in relation to regional water management, to achieve participation and integration in a decision-making or planning process. The criteria are concerned with how knowledge and values are integrated into the planning process and how commitment, legitimacy, or acceptance for the resulting plan is generated.     

Multinational,Freshwater Biomonitoring Programs in the Developing World: Lessons Learned from African and Southeast Asian River Surveys

Biomonitoring programs are widely used in developed countries. They also offer many advantages in assessing ecological consequences of perturbations in developing countries, including reducing the equipment-operation, maintenance, and training costs associated with physicochemical monitoring. Three case histories of river biomonitoring using freshwater organisms (fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, diatoms, zooplankton) are described that involve (1) documentation of environmental effects from long-term, large-scale applications of insecticides to control insect-vectors of river blindness (onchocerciasis) in 11 West African countries; (2) water quality assessments and restoration planning in and around national parks in three East African countries; and (3) evaluation of overall ecological health of the Lower Mekong River in four Southeast Asian countries. As in developed countries, benthic macroinvertebrates are the organisms most widely used in biomonitoring in developing countries. Conflicting opinions of system resilience and whether expected changes are within natural variation may result in differences in underlying hypotheses proposed, study designs implemented, and study execution; each may lead to uncorrectable bias. Direct transfers of approaches used from developed to developing countries are often appropriate; however, techniques dependent on pollution-tolerance values are often region specific and not transferable. Typically expressed concerns about applications of biomonitoring in developing countries include poor coordination among agencies; lack of legislation, identification keys, and trained personnel; and incomplete information on how tropical rivers function. Problems are real but solvable, as evident from accomplishments in several multicountry programs in developing countries. Developed countries requiring coordinated monitoring of international rivers may benefit from examining successful programs under way in developing countries.     

Spatial Calibration and Temporal Validation of Flow for Regional Scale Hydrologic Modeling1

Abstract: Physically based regional scale hydrologic modeling is gaining importance for planning and management of water resources. Calibration and validation of such regional scale model is necessary before applying it for scenario assessment. However, in most regional scale hydrologic modeling, flow validation is performed at the river basin outlet without accounting for spatial variations in hydrological parameters within the subunits. In this study, we calibrated the model to capture the spatial variations in runoff at subwatershed level to assure local water balance, and validated the streamflow at key gaging stations along the river to assure temporal variability. Ohio and Arkansas‐White‐Red River Basins of the United States were modeled using Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) for the period from 1961 to 1990. R² values of average annual runoff at subwatersheds were 0.78 and 0.99 for the Ohio and Arkansas Basins. Observed and simulated annual and monthly streamflow from 1961 to 1990 is used for temporal validation at the gages. R² values estimated were greater than 0.6. In summary, spatially distributed calibration at subwatersheds and temporal validation at the stream gages accounted for the spatial and temporal hydrological patterns reasonably well in the two river basins. This study highlights the importance of spatially distributed calibration and validation in large river basins.     

Variability of Lotic Macroinvertebrate Assemblages and Stream Habitat Characteristics Across Hierarchical Landscape Classifications

Streams are naturally hierarchical systems, and their biota are affected by factors effective at regional to local scales. However, there have been only a few attempts to quantify variation in ecological attributes across multiple spatial scales. We examined the variation in several macroinvertebrate metrics and environmental variables at three hierarchical scales (ecoregions, drainage systems, streams) in boreal headwater streams. In nested analyses of variance, significant spatial variability was observed for most of the macroinvertebrate metrics and environmental variables examined. For most metrics, ecoregions explained more variation than did drainage systems. There was, however, much variation attributable to residuals, suggesting high among-stream variation in macroinvertebrate assemblage characteristics. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and multiresponse permutation procedure (MRPP) showed that assemblage composition differed significantly among both drainage systems and ecoregions. The associated R-statistics were, however, very low, indicating wide variation among sites within the defined landscape classifications. Regional delineations explained most of the variation in stream water chemistry, ecoregions being clearly more influential than drainage systems. For physical habitat characteristics, by contrast, the among-stream component was the major source of variation. Distinct differences attributable to stream size were observed for several metrics, especially total number of taxa and abundance of algae-scraping invertebrates. Although ecoregions clearly account for a considerable amount of variation in macroinvertebrate assemblage characteristics, we suggest that a three-tiered classification system (stratification through ecoregion and habitat type, followed by assemblage prediction within these ecologically meaningful units) will be needed for effective bioassessment of boreal running waters.