Situational Waste in Landscape Watering: Residential and Business Water Use in an Urban Utah Community1

Abstract: Landscape water conservation is an important issue for municipalities throughout the Western United States, and especially in Utah as rapid growth strains existing water supplies. We conducted interdisciplinary research in Layton, Utah, that aimed at understanding patterns of landscape water use among households and businesses. The research project involved three basic tasks. First, a landscape “water budget” was developed by producing a calibrated and classified mosaic of landscape type and area from airborne multispectral digital imagery, integrating this information with Layton City parcel boundary data to determine landscape vegetated areas per lot, and estimating irrigation needs derived from reference evapotranspiration (ETo) obtained using weather data for the Salt Lake City metropolitan region. Second, utilizing Layton water billing data, water use for each household and business was identified and categorized as “conserving,”“acceptable” or “wasteful” by determining how much the water applied varied from actual landscape plant need. Third, surveys were administered to a random stratified sample of households and businesses in the study area to investigate various factors that were hypothesized to be predictive of wasteful watering practices. This paper primarily focuses on analysis of the household and business survey data, which explores factors affecting urban landscape water use from a human behavioral perspective. We found that the most significant factors predicting actual water use were the type of irrigation system and whether the location was a household or business. Attitudinal and motivational characteristics were not consistently associated with water use. We found that wasteful watering is the result of many factors embedded in the complex context of urban landscapes. This implies that water conservation programs should identify potential wasteful users through analyses of water billing data and direct water conservation measures at these users by focusing on site‐specific evaluations and recommendations. Water audits or water checks are one such tool that some communities have employed to help people understand and assess the quantity of water needed by and applied to their landscapes. This approach provides an opportunity to evaluate situational constraints at particular locations and design appropriate strategies for reducing water waste.     

Reducing Fertilizer‐Nitrogen Losses from Rowcrop Landscapes: Insights and Implications from a Spatially Explicit Watershed Model

We present conceptual and quantitative models that predict changes in fertilizer‐derived nitrogen delivery from rowcrop landscapes caused by agricultural conservation efforts implemented to reduce nutrient inputs and transport and increase nutrient retention in the landscape. To evaluate the relative importance of changes in the sources, transport, and sinks of fertilizer‐derived nitrogen across a region, we use the spatially explicit SPAtially Referenced Regression On Watershed attributes watershed model to map the distribution, at the small watershed scale within the Upper Mississippi‐Ohio River Basin (UMORB), of: (1) fertilizer inputs; (2) nutrient attenuation during delivery of those inputs to the UMORB outlet; and (3) nitrogen export from the UMORB outlet. Comparing these spatial distributions suggests that the amount of fertilizer input and degree of nutrient attenuation are both important in determining the extent of nitrogen export. From a management perspective, this means that agricultural conservation efforts to reduce nitrogen export would benefit by: (1) expanding their focus to include activities that restore and enhance nutrient processing in these highly altered landscapes; and (2) targeting specific types of best management practices to watersheds where they will be most valuable. Doing so successfully may result in a shift in current approaches to conservation planning, outreach, and funding.     

Agricultural landscapes as multi-scale public good and the role of the Common Agricultural Policy

During the last 50 years, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has impacted the evolution of European agricultural landscapes by driving changes in land use and farming practices. We propose a typology characterising the scales relevant for agricultural landscapes management and argue that action is required on three scales: (1) a landscape oriented management at the farm level; (2) the coordination of land managers’ actions at the landscape level; and (3) the conservation of the diversity of agricultural landscapes in the EU. We provide evidence that until now the CAP has mainly focused on the first scale. We also illustrate how agricultural policy could encourage coordinated actions at the landscape- and EU-scales. In particular, we propose policy instruments to coordinate actions of individual land owners (e.g. collective bonus in agro-environmental contracts or support to environmental cooperatives (scale 2)). We also analyse how the recognition and transposition of the European Landscape Convention could promote trans-frontier landscape cooperation in order, not only to conserve high-quality rural landscapes, but also to ensure the conservation of the diversity of EU landscapes (scale 3). This paper provides a knowledge base to support an integrated CAP design in the direction of improved landscape management, as an important component of the EU project towards more sustainable agriculture.     

Scale Effects on Spatially Varying Relationships Between Urban Landscape Patterns and Water Quality

Scientific interpretation of the relationships between urban landscape patterns and water quality is important for sustainable urban planning and watershed environmental protection. This study applied the ordinary least squares regression model and the geographically weighted regression model to examine the spatially varying relationships between 12 explanatory variables (including three topographical factors, four land use parameters, and five landscape metrics) and 15 water quality indicators in watersheds of Yundang Lake, Maluan Bay, and Xinglin Bay with varying levels of urbanization in Xiamen City, China. A local and global investigation was carried out at the watershed-level, with 50 and 200 m riparian buffer scales. This study found that topographical features and landscape metrics are the dominant factors of water quality, while land uses are too weak to be considered as a strong influential factor on water quality. Such statistical results may be related with the characteristics of land use compositions in our study area. Water quality variations in the 50 m buffer were dominated by topographical variables. The impact of landscape metrics on water quality gradually strengthen with expanding buffer zones. The strongest relationships are obtained in entire watersheds, rather than in 50 and 200 m buffer zones. Spatially varying relationships and effective buffer zones were verified in this study. Spatially varying relationships between explanatory variables and water quality parameters are more diversified and complex in less urbanized areas than in highly urbanized areas. This study hypothesizes that all these varying relationships may be attributed to the heterogeneity of landscape patterns in different urban regions. Adjustment of landscape patterns in an entire watershed should be the key measure to successfully improving urban lake water quality.     

A MONTHLY TIME SERIES MODEL OF MUNICIPAL WATER DEMAND1

A multivariate time series model is formulated to study monthly variations in municipal water demand. The left hand side variable in the multivariate regression model is municipal water demand (gallons per connection per day) and the right hand side contains (explanatory) variables which include price (constant dollars), average temperature, total precipitation, and percentage of daylight hours. The application of the regression model to Salt Lake City Water Department data produced a high multiple correlation coefficient and F-statistic. The regression coefficients for the right hand side variables all have the appropriate sign. In an ex post forecast, the model accurately predicts monthly variations in municipal water demand. The proposed monthly multivariate model is not only found useful for forecasting water demand, but also useful for predicting and studying the impact of nonstructural management decisions such as the effect of price changes, peak load pricing methods, and other water conservation programs.     

QUANTIFYING URBAN INTENSITY IN DRAINAGE BASINS FOR ASSESSING STREAM ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS1

ABSTRACT: Three investigations are underway, as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water‐Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, to study the relation between varying levels of urban intensity in drainage basins and in‐stream water quality, measured by physical, chemical, and biological factors. These studies are being conducted in the vicinities of Boston (Massachusetts), Salt Lake City (Utah), and Birmingham (Alabama), areas where rapid urbanization is occurring. For each study, water quality will be sampled in approximately 30 drainage basins that represent a gradient of urban intensity. This paper focuses on the methods used to characterize and select the basins used in the studies. It presents a methodology for limiting the variability of natural landscape characteristics in the potential study drainage basins and for ranking the magnitude of human influence, or urbanization, based on land cover, infrastructure, and socioeconomic data in potential study basins. Basin characterization efforts associated with the Boston study are described for illustrative purposes.     

Effects of Lawn Maintenance on Nutrient Losses Via Overland Flow During Natural Rainfall Events1

Spence, Porchè L., Deanna L. Osmond, Wesley Childres, Joshua L. Heitman, and Wayne P. Robarge, 2012. Effects of Lawn Maintenance on Nutrient Losses Via Overland Flow During Natural Rainfall Events. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 909‐924. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00658.x Abstract: A sampling system was used to evaluate the effect of residential lawn management on nutrient losses via overland flow generated during natural rainfall events from three residential landscapes: a high maintenance fescue lawn (HMFL), a low maintenance fescue lawn (LMFL), and a mixed forested residential landscape (FRL). A sampling system was located in designated areas within each landscape such that 100% of the runoff follows natural flow paths to the outlet ports and collects in sterile Nalgene^® B³ media bags (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Rochester, NY). A rainfall event was defined as producing ≥2.54 mm of water. A total of 87 rainfall events occurred during a 20‐month monitoring period. The total runoff volume collected from the LMFL was higher than from the HMFL and FRL, but on average <1% of the total rainfall was collected from the three landscapes. Mean nitrate concentrations from each lawn did not exceed 0.6 mg N/l. Nutrient unit area losses from the HMFL, LMFL, and FRL were 1,000 times less than fertilizer and throughfall inputs, which were due to the presence of well‐structured soils (low bulk densities) with high infiltration rates. This study demonstrated that the frequency of runoff, total runoff volumes, and nutrient losses during natural rainfall events are lower from highly maintained (i.e., irrigation, fertilizer application, and reseeding) densely uniform manicured lawns than low maintenance lawns and forested residential landscapes.     

Landscape Metrics for Assessment of Landscape Destruction and Rehabilitation

This investigation tested the usefulness of geometry-based landscape metrics for monitoring landscapes in a heavily disturbed environment. Research was carried out in a 75 sq km study area in Saxony, eastern Germany, where the landscape has been affected by surface mining and agricultural intensification. Landscape metrics were calculated from digital maps (1912, 1944, 1973, 1989) for the entire study area and for subregions (river valleys, plains), which were defined using the original geology and topography of the region. Correlation and factor analyses were used to select a set of landscape metrics suitable for landscape monitoring. Little land-use change occurred in the first half of the century, but political decisions and technological developments led to considerable change later. Metrics showed a similar pattern with almost no change between 1912 and 1944, but dramatic changes after 1944. Nonparametric statistical methods were used to test whether metrics differed between river valleys and plains. Significant differences in the metrics for these regions were found in the early maps (1912, 1944), but these differences were not significant in 1973 or 1989. These findings indicate that anthropogenic influences created a more homogeneous landscape.     

Landscape and Agricultural Patterns in Rural Areas: a Case Study in the Brionne Basin, Normandy, France

Landscape changes over a period of 25 years were assessed for a catchment basin in Normandy, France. Landscape attributes, i.e. land use, land cover and natural habitat, were obtained from aerial photographs (1964, 1989) and soil maps, to define a landscape typology. Data were aggregated on a 500 m×500 m grid system and treated by multivariate analysis. Results of these analysis show that this rural landscape has undergone changes in landcover (mainly grassland receding to crop) as well as changes in spatial structure (mainly increase of plot size and uniformisation). These changes were related to a typology of farms (realised by multivariate analysis of a field survey on the 38 registered farms of the site). Results suggest that (i) farms with a narrow range of production, i.e. specialised farms, are located on a narrow range of environmental conditions and are associated with stable landscapes, while (ii) farms with a broader range of production (i.e. polyculture) are distributed more widely throughout the landscape, and are mostly associated with the landscape changes.     

FEASIBILITY OF SEASONAL WATER PRICING CONSIDERING METERING COSTS1

ABSTRACT: Efficiency implications of seasonal pricing, uniform pricing, and optimal seasonal pricing with metering costs are analyzed qualitatively using classical optimization technique. The first two schemes are special cases of the last pricing scheme. A nonlinear-integer programming model is formulated for a case study application to Salt Lake City to examine the feasibility of seasonal pricing. The analysis indicates that uniform pricing is preferable unless metering costs are substantially lower than present levels.     

THE CONCEPT OF HYDROLOGIC LANDSCAPES1

ABSTRACT: Hydrologic landscapes are multiples or variations of fundamental hydrologic landscape units. A fundamental hydrologic landscape unit is defined on the basis of land‐surface form, geology, and climate. The basic land‐surface form of a fundamental hydrologic landscape unit is an upland separated from a lowland by an intervening steeper slope. Fundamental hydrologic landscape units have a complete hydrologic system consisting of surface runoff, ground‐water flow, and interaction with atmospheric water. By describing actual landscapes in terms of land‐surface slope, hydraulic properties of soils and geologic framework, and the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration, the hydrologic system of actual landscapes can be conceptualized in a uniform way. This conceptual framework can then be the foundation for design of studies and data networks, syntheses of information on local to national scales, and comparison of process research across small study units in a variety of settings. The Crow Wing River watershed in central Minnesota is used as an example of evaluating stream discharge in the context of hydrologic landscapes. Lake‐research watersheds in Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska are used as an example of using the hydrologic‐land‐scapes concept to evaluate the effect of ground water on the degree of mineralization and major‐ion chemistry of lakes that lie within ground‐water flow systems.     

基于高分辨率遥感影像的城市土地利用景观格局分析

以IKONOS卫星遥感影像为基础数据源,在GIS技术的支持下,获取了泸州市区的土地利用类型。借鉴景观生态学的基本原理和方法,基于Fragstats 3.3软件,用景观格局指数定量分析了泸州市区土地利用景观格局的特征。分析结果表明,泸州市区土地利用景观类型丰富,景观多样性程渡高,景观类型均匀程度也较高,但优势景观类型不明显;由于人类干扰程度较大,土地利用景观破碎,稳定性较差。     

The Influence of Landscape Features on Road Development in a Loess Region,China

Many ecologists focus on the effects of roads on landscapes, yet few consider how landscapes affect road systems. In this study, therefore, we quantitatively evaluated how land cover, topography, and building density affected the length density, node density, spatial pattern, and location of roads in Dongzhi Yuan, a typical loess region in China. Landscape factors and roads were mapped using images from SPOT satellite (Système Probatoire d’Observation de la Terre), initiated by the French space agency and a digital elevation model (DEM). Detrended canonical correspondence analysis (DCCA), a useful ordination technique to explain species–environment relations in community ecology, was applied to evaluate the ways in which landscapes may influence roads. The results showed that both farmland area and building density were positively correlated with road variables, whereas gully density and the coefficient of variation (CV of DEM) showed negative correlations. The CV of DEM, farmland area, grassland area, and building density explained variation in node density, length density, and the spatial pattern of roads, whereas gully density and building density explained variation in variables representing road location. In addition, node density, rather than length density, was the primary road variable affected by landscape variables. The results showed that the DCCA was effective in explaining road–landscape relations. Understanding these relations can provide information for landscape managers and transportation planners.     

WATER USE RELATIONSHIPS AND PROJECTION CORRESPONDING WITH REGIONAL GROWTH,SEATTLE REGION1

ABSTRACT: The paper outlines both the methods used and the results obtained in a study of the demand for municipal and industrial water for the Seattle region. The study was made as part of a regional water management study program, one objective of which is to “… identify, quantify, and set priorities for all current and future water uses …”. A basic concept in the study of municipal and industrial water use is that the demand for water is derived from the demand for output and the direct services that water provides. Principal characteristics of the study are: (1) Water use is studied by type - residential, commercial, industrial and public -with identification of factors affecting each; (2) Water demands are studied by season as well as on an annual basis; (3) Projections of future water use are tied directly to projections of economic change in the service area; and (4) The effects of alternative policies on water use are estimated. Water use levels are projected under alternative regional growth assumptions provided by the Puget Sound Governmental Conference, a regional planning agency. Thus, the water use planning is consistent with other regional planning programs in this respect. The results can be varied according to changes in specific factors affecting water use. The factors considered in the present study include: single-family residential lot size, distribution of population between single- and multi-family units, per capita water use by multi-family unit residents, and industrial and commercial water use per employee. An income elasticity of demand was estimated for single-family residential water use.     

MONITORING AND CONTROL OF CENTER PIVOT SYSTEMS WITH MICROCOMPUTERS1

A computerized water-energy-management system (WEMS) can be used by center pivot operators to reduce pumping fuel costs and monitoring expenses. Irrigation costs are lowered primarily because the system used climatic data and plant growth models to derive water schedules that considerably lowers the use of water compared with conventional irrigation practices. A capital budget analysis of a hypothetical, but representative farm growing corn, shows that cost savings are from three sources: 61 percent from pumping less water, 28 percent from labor savings, and 11 percent from savings on truck fuel, maintenance, and oiL The analysis illustrates that only a 4 percent water savings from irrigation scheduling over a 10-year period is required for the investment to be profitable for many central High Plains’ irrigators. The water savings required are relatively small compared with the potentials shown by irrigation scheduling research. WEMS is cost effective and can extend the life of the ground water source.     

Water Balances of Two Piedmont Headwater Catchments: Implications for Regional Hydrologic Landscape Classification

In the Piedmont of North Carolina, a traditionally water‐rich region, reservoirs that serve over 1 million people are under increasing pressure due to naturally occurring droughts and increasing land development. Innovative development approaches aim to maintain hydrologic conditions of the undisturbed landscape, but are based on insufficient target information. This study uses the hydrologic landscape concept to evaluate reference hydrology in small headwater catchments surrounding Falls Lake, a reservoir serving Raleigh and the greater Triangle area. Researchers collected one year of detailed data on water balance components, including precipitation, evapotranspiration, streamflow, and shallow subsurface storage from two headwater catchments representative of two hydrologic landscapes defined by differences in soils and topographic characteristics. The two catchments are similar in size and lie within the same physiographic region, and during the study period they showed similar water balances of 26‐30% Q, ?4 to 5% ΔS, 59‐65% evapotranspiration, and 9‐10% G. However, the steeper, more elevated catchment exhibited perennial streamflow and nongrowing season runoff ratios (Q/P) of 33%, whereas the flat, low‐lying stream was drier during the growing season and exhibited Q/P ratios of 52% during the nongrowing season. A hydrologic landscape defined by topography and soil characteristics helps characterize local‐scale reference hydrology and may contribute to better land management decisions.     

ESTIMATING EVAPORATION FROM UTAH'S GREAT SALT LAKE USING THERMAL INFRARED SATELLITE IMAGERY1

ABSTRACT: Water surface temperatures can be obtained from satellite thermal remote sensing. Landsat and other satellites sense emitted thermal infrared radiation on a regular basis over much of the earth's surface. Evaporation is accomplished by the net transport of mass from the water surface to the atmosphere. The evaporative transfer predominantly determines the water surface temperature. Hence, there should be good correlations between evaporation and surface temperatures. Previous investigations on Utah Lake with satellite-derived temperatures and pan- and model-derived evaporation values have produced good correlations. However, more study was required with additional satellite data and evaporation measurements for saltwater conditions. The applicability of this method for estimating evaporation on Utah's Great Salt Lake was of particular interest at this time because of the unprecedented rise of this terminal lake. Satellite thermal data and evaporation data from four different years were obtained for the Great Salt Lake and the surrounding region. More than 350 correlation and linear regression analyses were performed on the temperature and evaporation data. The lake salt concentrations were also factored into the analyses in several different ways. The correlation results were generally very good and a methodology for using satellite-derived water surface temperatures along with salt concentrations was developed to estimate evaporation.     

Land Use-Based Landscape Planning and Restoration in Mine Closure Areas

Landscape planning and restoration in mine closure areas is not only an inevitable choice to sustain mining areas but also an important path to maximize landscape resources and to improve ecological function in mine closure areas. The analysis of the present mine development shows that many mines are unavoidably facing closures in China. This paper analyzes the periodic impact of mining activities on landscapes and then proposes planning concepts and principles. According to the landscape characteristics in mine closure areas, this paper classifies available landscape resources in mine closure areas into the landscape for restoration, for limited restoration and for protection, and then summarizes directions for their uses. This paper establishes the framework of spatial control planning and design of landscape elements from “macro control, medium allocation and micro optimization” for the purpose of managing and using this kind of special landscape resources. Finally, this paper applies the theories and methods to a case study in Wu’an from two aspects: the construction of a sustainable land-use pattern on a large scale and the optimized allocation of typical mine landscape resources on a small scale.     

Impacts of Multiple Stresses on Water Demand and Supply Across the Southeastern United States1

Abstract: Assessment of long‐term impacts of projected changes in climate, population, and land use and land cover on regional water resource is critical to the sustainable development of the southeastern United States. The objective of this study was to fully budget annual water availability for water supply (precipitation ? evapotranspiration + groundwater supply + return flow) and demand from commercial, domestic, industrial, irrigation, livestock, mining, and thermoelectric uses. The Water Supply Stress Index and Water Supply Stress Index Ratio were developed to evaluate water stress conditions over time and across the 666 eight‐digit Hydrologic Unit Code basins in the 13 southeastern states. Predictions from two Global Circulation Models (CGC1 and HadCM2Sul), one land use change model, and one human population model, were integrated to project future water supply stress in 2020. We found that population increase greatly stressed water supply in metropolitan areas located in the Piedmont region and Florida. Predicted land use and land cover changes will have little effect on water quantity and water supply‐water demand relationship. In contrast, climate changes had the most pronounced effects on regional water supply and demand, especially in western Texas where water stress was historically highest in the study region. The simulation system developed by this study is useful for water resource planners to address water shortage problems such as those experienced during 2007 in the study region. Future studies should focus on refining the water supply term to include flow exchanges between watersheds and constraints of water quality and environmental flows to water availability for human use.