Hydromorphological and socio-cultural assessment of urban rivers to promote nature-based solutions in Jarabacoa,Dominican Republic

In Latin America and the Caribbean, river restoration projects are increasing, but many lack strategic planning and monitoring. We tested the applicability of a rapid visual social–ecological stream assessment method for restoration planning, complemented by a citizen survey on perceptions and uses of blue and green infrastructure. We applied the method at three urban streams in Jarabacoa (Dominican Republic) to identify and prioritize preferred areas for nature-based solutions. The method provides spatially explicit information for strategic river restoration planning, and its efficiency makes it suitable for use in data-poor contexts. It identifies well-preserved, moderately altered, and critically impaired areas regarding their hydromorphological and socio-cultural conditions, as well as demands on green and blue infrastructure. The transferability of the method can be improved by defining reference states for assessing the hydromorphology of tropical rivers, refining socio-cultural parameters to better address river services and widespread urban challenges, and balancing trade-offs between ecological and social restoration goals.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-021-01565-3.     

大型底栖动物生物评价指数比较与应用

采用不同生物指数评价河流健康,结果往往有差异,如何识别各种生物指数的关系和适用性成为亟待解决的问题.基于太子河流域大型底栖动物群落研究,比较了5种大型底栖动物生物指数评价结果的差异.结果表明,5种指数具有极显著的相关性,但由于健康等级划分标准差异,造成不同指数的健康评价等级存在一定差异.同时分析了不同指数对不同类型人为活动影响的敏感性,研究其在河流健康评价中的适用性.结果表明在太子河流域中,BI指数与土地利用类型和溶氧具有较好的相关关系,对这两类的干扰具有较好的指示作用;FBI指数对酸污染和氨氮污染具有较强的指示作用;ASPT指数与耗氧相关的水质指标有较强的负相关;B-IBI指数与总氮呈显著的负相关关系,可较好指示氮污染,而且B-IBI指数与其他类型人为干扰活动均呈显著的相关关系,对土地利用和水质污染也具有较好的指示作用.综上所述,大型底栖动物BI指数和ASPT指数应该分别适用于评价流域土地利用和水化学指标对河流生态系统的影响,而B-IBI可用于评估多种类型人为干扰活动.     

温榆河氨氮污染控制措施的效果模拟

以城市退水为主要补给水源的北京市温榆河呈现以氨氮(18.68 mg·L-1)污染为主的特征.针对温榆河的水质改善需求,本研究以氨氮为目标污染物,采用QUAL2K河流水质模型和情景分析方法,对温榆河污染防治与水质改善措施的效果进行量化评估.模拟结果表明,提高污水厂的处理量和排放标准是改善温榆河水质的关键,可降低温榆河北关闸断面氨氮浓度29.66％;建设旁路离线河流净化器可削减5.57％的氨氮污染,是温榆河水质改善的有效措施.本研究提出的包括改善上游来水水质、干流截污、支流污染控制、污水厂提标改造、建设旁路离线河流净化器和生态河道等措施在内的综合实施方案,可使得温榆河的水质全程达到地表水V类标准.     

合肥城郊典型源头溪流不同渠道形态的氮磷滞留特征

为揭示源头溪流中深潭和曲折沟渠两种典型渠道形态的氮磷养分滞留特征,在合肥城郊二十埠河的某一级支流上,以NH4Cl和KH2PO4为添加营养盐,以NaCl为保守型示踪剂,开展现场示踪实验.在此基础上,利用OTIS模型软件、暂态存储参数和养分螺旋原理,解析深潭和曲折沟渠氮磷滞留特征.结果表明:1深潭的As值较曲折沟渠大,但其α值则较弯曲沟渠小1个数量级,而且As和α值随水文条件变化均不显著;2深潭中主渠道流动水体的NH+4-λ较其暂态存储区的NH+4-λs高2~3个数量级,曲折沟渠的NH+4-λ与NH+4-λs数值较为接近;3深潭中NH+4-Vf较SRP-Vf高1~2个数量级,而在曲折沟渠中,不仅NH+4-Vf与SRP-Vf数值较为相近,NH+4-Sw与SRP-Sw也基本相当;4深潭的NH+4-U较SRP-U高出2~3个数量级,曲折沟渠NH+4-U则较SRP-U高出1~2个数量级;5总的来说,在对NH+4和SRP滞留影响方面,深潭和曲折沟渠存在较大的差异性,且在深潭中NH+4的滞留效应显著超过SRP.     

Recent Changes in Stream Flashiness and Flooding,and Effects of Flood Management in North Carolina and Virginia

The southeastern United States has undergone anthropogenic changes in landscape structure, with the potential to increase (e.g., urbanization) and decrease (e.g., reservoir construction) stream flashiness and flooding. Assessment of the outcome of such change can provide insight into the efficacy of current strategies and policies to manage water resources. We (1) examined trends in precipitation, floods, and stream flashiness and (2) assessed the relative influence of land cover and flow‐regulating features (e.g., best management practices and artificial water bodies) on stream flashiness from 1991 to 2013. We found mean annual precipitation decreased, which coincided with decreasing trends in floods. In contrast, stream flashiness, overall, showed an increasing trend during the period of study. However, upon closer examination, 20 watersheds showed stable stream flashiness, whereas 5 increased and 6 decreased in flashiness. Urban watersheds were among those that increased or decreased in flashiness. Watersheds that increased in stream flashiness gained more urban cover, lost more forested cover and had fewer best management practices installed than urban watersheds that decreased in stream flashiness. We found best management practices are more effective than artificial water bodies in regulating flashy floods. Flashiness index is a valuable and straightforward metric to characterize changes in streamflow and help to assess the efficacy of management interventions.     

How Green is Too Green? Public Opinion of What Constitutes Undesirable Algae Levels in Streams1

Abstract: A public opinion survey was carried out in Montana to ascertain if the public identifies a level of benthic (bottom‐attached) river and stream algae that is undesirable for recreation. The survey had two parts; an On‐River survey and a By‐Mail survey. The On‐River survey was conducted via 44 trips randomly scheduled throughout the state during which recreators were interviewed in‐person at the stream. Selection of stream segments and survey dates/times was based on known, statewide recreational use patterns. By‐Mail survey forms were sent to 2,000 individuals randomly selected from Montana’s Centralized Voter File (CVF) available from the Montana Secretary of State. The CVF was current through 2004 and represented over 85% of the state’s eligible voting population. In both surveys, eight randomly ordered photographs depicting varying levels of stream benthic algae were presented, and participants were asked if the algae level shown was desirable or undesirable for recreation. Survey form design, selection of photographs, and pretesting followed acceptable protocols that limited unintentional bias through survey execution. There were 433 returned forms (389 complete) for the By‐Mail survey, while the On‐River survey documented 563 interviews. In both surveys, as benthic algal chlorophyll a (Chl a) levels increased, desirability for recreation decreased. (Other measures of benthic algae biomass are presented as well.) For the public majority, mean benthic Chl a levels ≥200 mg/m² were determined to be undesirable for recreation, whereas mean levels ≤150 mg Chl a/m² were found to be desirable. Error rates were within the survey’s statistical design criteria (≤5%). The largest potential error source was nonresponse in the By‐Mail survey; however, the population represented by nonrespondents would have to exhibit profoundly different perceptions of river and stream algae to meaningfully alter the results. Results support earlier work in the literature suggesting 150 mg Chl a/m² represents a benthic algae nuisance threshold.     

Assessment Tools for Urban Catchments: Defining Observable Biological Potential1

Abstract: Urbanization represents a strong and increasingly more prevalent impact on stream quality worldwide. One of the characteristic effects of increased urbanization is a consistent decline in biological stream condition. The characterization of this biological degradation with increasing urbanization presents a number of advantages for the study and management of urban streams and catchments. In this paper, the limitation of biological condition with urbanization, called observed biological potential, is characterized. Using an urban intensity index and a biological index developed specifically for urban systems in the Baltimore, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio; and San Jose, California regions, two principal techniques were compared (quantile regression and bin regression) to define observed biological potential along urban gradients. Quantile regression was selected as the preferable tool for describing observed biological potential given the consistency with which it can be applied and its statistical efficiency, however, bin quantile regression performed similarly. Having identified a numeric approximation of observed biological potential, two methods for identifying factors related to distance from potential as a way of identifying critical environmental factors affecting biological condition in urban areas were explored. The results of this work can be used for identifying benchmarks for urban stream biological condition, identifying limiting catchment characteristics, and prioritizing urban stream management efforts.     

Invasion versus Isolation: Trade-Offs in Managing Native Salmonids with Barriers to Upstream Movement

Abstract: Conservation biologists often face the trade‐off that increasing connectivity in fragmented landscapes to reduce extinction risk of native species can foster invasion by non‐native species that enter via the corridors created, which can then increase extinction risk. This dilemma is acute for stream fishes, especially native salmonids, because their populations are frequently relegated to fragments of headwater habitat threatened by invasion from downstream by 3 cosmopolitan non‐native salmonids. Managers often block these upstream invasions with movement barriers, but isolation of native salmonids in small headwater streams can increase the threat of local extinction. We propose a conceptual framework to address this worldwide problem that focuses on 4 main questions. First, are populations of conservation value present (considering evolutionary legacies, ecological functions, and socioeconomic benefits as distinct values)? Second, are populations vulnerable to invasion and displacement by non‐native salmonids? Third, would these populations be threatened with local extinction if isolated with barriers? And, fourth, how should management be prioritized among multiple populations? We also developed a conceptual model of the joint trade‐off of invasion and isolation threats that considers the opportunities for managers to make strategic decisions. We illustrated use of this framework in an analysis of the invasion‐isolation trade‐off for native cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) in 2 contrasting basins in western North America where invasion and isolation are either present and strong or farther away and apparently weak. These cases demonstrate that decisions to install or remove barriers to conserve native salmonids are often complex and depend on conservation values, environmental context (which influences the threat of invasion and isolation), and additional socioeconomic factors. Explicit analysis with tools such as those we propose can help managers make sound decisions in such complex circumstances.     

Eichhornia crassipes capability to remove naphthalene from wastewater in the absence of bacteria

The aim of the current study was to investigate the potential of an aquatic plant, the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) devoid rhizospheric bacteria, to reduce naphthalene (a polyaromatic hydrocarbon) present in wastewater and wetlands.The capability of sterile water hyacinth plants to remove naphthalene from water and wastewater was studied in batch systems. Water hyacinths enhance the removal of pollutants through their consumption as nutrients and also through microbial activity of their rhizospheric bacteria.Experimental kinetics of naphthalene removal by water hyacinth coupled with natural rhizospheric bacteria was 100% after 9 d. Plants, decoupled of rhizospheric bacteria, reduced naphthalene concentration up to 45% during 7 d. Additionally, naphthalene uptake by water hyacinth revealed a biphasic behavior: a rapid first phase completed after 2.5 h, and a second, considerably slower rate, phase (2.5-225 h). In conclusion, water hyacinth devoid rhizospheric bacteria reduced significantly naphthalene concentration in water, revealing a considerable plant contribution in the biodegradation process of this pollutant.     

EXAMINING LAND USE INFLUENCES ON STREAM HABITATS AND MACROINVERTEBRATES: A GIS APPROACH1

ABSTRACT: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to assess the relationships between land use patterns and the physical habitat and macroinvertebrate fauna of streams within similar sized watersheds. Eleven second or third order watersheds ranging from highly urbanized to heavily forested were selected along Lake Superior's North Shore. Land use patterns within the watersheds were quantified using readily available digital land use/land cover information, with a minimum mapping resolution of 16 ha. Physical habitat features, describing substrate characteristics and stream morphology, were characterized at sample points within each stream. Principle component and correlation analyses were used to identify relationships between macroinvertebrates and stream physical habitat, and between habitat and land use patterns. Substrate characteristics and presence of coarse woody debris were found to have the strongest correlations with macreinvertebrate assemblage richness and composition. Agricultural and urban land use was correlated with substrate characteristics. Algal abundance, associated with macroinvertebrate compositional differences, was correlated with housing density and non-forest land covers. The use of readily available spatial data, even at this relatively coarse scale, provides a means to detect the primary relationships between land use and stream habitat quality; finer-resolution GIS databases are needed to assess more subtle influences, such as those due to riparian conditions.