A regional framework for establishing recovery criteria |
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Authors: | Robert M Hughes Thomas R Whittier Christina M Rohm David P Larsen |
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Institution: | (1) NSI Technology Services Corporation, US EPA Environmental Research Laboratory, 200 S.W. 35th Street, 97333 Corvallis, Oregon, USA;(2) Environmental Research Laboratory, US EPA, 97333 Corvallis, Oregon, USA |
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Abstract: | Effective assessments of aquatic ecosystem recovery require ecologically sound endpoints against which progress can be measured.
Site-by-site assessments of end points and potential recovery trajectories are impractical for water resource agencies. Because
of the natural variation among ecosystems, applying a single set of criteria nationwide is not appropriate either. This article
demonstrates the use of a regional framework for stratifying natural variation and for determining realistic biological criteria.
A map of ecoregions, drawn from landscape characteristics, formed the framework for three statewide case studies and three
separate studies at the river basin scale. Statewide studies of Arkansas, Ohio, and Oregon, USA, streams demonstrated patterns
in fish assemblages corresponding to ecoregions. The river basin study in Oregon revealed a distinct change at the ecoregion
boundary; those in Ohio and Montana demonstrated the value of regional reference sites for assessing recovery. Ecoregions
can be used to facilitate the application of ecological theory and to set recovery criteria for various regions of states
or of the country. Such a framework provides an important alternative between site-specific and national approaches for assessing
recovery rates and conditions. |
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Keywords: | Aquatic ecosystems Fish assemblages Landscape ecology Biological criteria Biological integrity Ecoregions Biocriteria |
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