Landform Classification for Land Use Planning in Developed Areas: An Example in Segovia Province (Central Spain)

Landform-based physiographic maps, also called land systems inventories, have been widely and successfully used in undeveloped/rural areas in several locations, such as Australia, the western United States, Canada, and the British ex-colonies. This paper presents a case study of their application in a developed semi-urban/suburban area (Segovia, Spain) for land use planning purposes. The paper focuses in the information transfer process, showing how land use decision-makers, such as governments, planners, town managers, etc., can use the information developed from these maps to assist them. The paper also addresses several issues important to the development and use of this information, such as the goals of modern physiography, the types of landform-based mapping products, the problem of data management in developed areas, and the distinctions among data, interpretations, and decisions.     

Comparison of Hydrology of Wetlands in Pennsylvania and Oregon (USA) as an Indicator of Transferability of Hydrogeomorphic (HGM) Functional Models Between Regions

The hydrogeomorphic (HGM) approach to wetland classification and functional assessment is becoming more widespread in the United States but its use has been limited by the length of time needed to develop appropriate data sets and functional assessment models. One particularly difficult aspect is the transferability among geographic regions of specific models used to assess wetland function. Sharing of models could considerably shorten development and implementation of HGM throughout the United States and elsewhere. As hydrology is the driving force behind wetland functions, we assessed the comparability of hydrologic characteristics of three HGM subclasses (slope, headwater floodplain, mainstem floodplain) using comparable long-term hydrologic data sets from different regions of the United States (Ridge and Valley Province in Pennsylvania and the Willamette Valley in Oregon). If hydrology by HGM subclass were similar between different geographic regions, it might be possible to more readily transfer extant models between those regions. We found that slope wetlands (typically groundwater-driven) had similar hydrologic characteristics, even though absolute details (such as depth of water) differed. We did not find the floodplain subclasses to be comparable, likely due to effects of urbanization in Oregon, regional differences in soils and, perhaps, climate. Slight differences in hydrology can shift wetland functions from those mediated by aerobic processes to those dominated by anaerobic processes. Functions such as nutrient cycling can be noticeably altered as a result. Our data suggest considerable caution in the application of models outside of the region for which they were developed.     

Dams,Floodplain Land Use,and Riparian Forest Conservation in the Semiarid Upper Colorado River Basin,USA

Land and water resource development can independently eliminate riparian plant communities, including Fremont cottonwood forest (CF), a major contributor to ecosystem structure and functioning in semiarid portions of the American Southwest. We tested whether floodplain development was linked to river regulation in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) by relating the extent of five developed land-cover categories as well as CF and other natural vegetation to catchment reservoir capacity, changes in total annual and annual peak discharge, and overall level of mainstem hydrologic alteration (small, moderate, or large) in 26 fourth-order subbasins. We also asked whether CF appeared to be in jeopardy at a regional level. We classified 51% of the 57,000 ha of alluvial floodplain examined along >2600 km of mainstem rivers as CF and 36% as developed. The proportion developed was unrelated to the level of mainstem hydrologic alteration. The proportion classified as CF was also independent of the level of hydrologic alteration, a result we attribute to confounding effects from development, the presence of time lags, and contrasting effects from flow alteration in different subbasins. Most CF (68% by area) had a sparse canopy (50% canopy cover occupied <1% of the floodplain in 15 subbasins. We suggest that CF extent in the UCRB will decline markedly in the future, when the old trees on floodplains now disconnected from the river die and large areas change from CF to non-CF categories. Attention at a basinwide scale to the multiple factors affecting cottonwood patch dynamics is needed to assure conservation of these riparian forests.     

大型中心传动浓缩（刮泥）机的应用与发展

阐述了大型中心传动浓缩机与周边传动浓缩机的结构特点及国内外的应用现状,分析了周边传动浓缩机存在的结构性缺陷,介绍了中心传动浓缩机的分类、技术特点以及其在国内的推广应用前景。     

Relationships Between Major Ownerships, Forest Aboveground Biomass Distributions, and Landscape Dynamics in the New England Region of USA

This study utilizes remote sensing derived forest aboveground biomass (AGB) estimates and ownership information obtained from the Protected Areas Database (PAD), combining landscape analyses and GIS techniques to demonstrate how different ownerships (public, regulated private, and other private) relate to the spatial distribution of AGB in New England states of the USA. “Regulated private” lands were dominated by lands in Maine covered by a Land Use Regulatory Commission. The AGB means between all pairs of the identified ownership categories were significantly different (P < 0.05). Mean AGB observed in public lands (156 Mg/ha) was 43% higher than that in regulated private lands (109 Mg/ha), or 30% higher than that of private lands as a whole. Seventy-seven percent of the regional forests (or about 9,300 km²) with AGB >200 Mg/ha were located outside the area designated in the PAD and concentrated in western MA, southern VT, southwestern NH, and northwestern CT. While relatively unfragmented and high-AGB forests (>200 Mg/ha) accounted for about 8% of total forested land, they were unevenly proportioned among the three major ownership groups across the region: 19.6% of the public land, 0.8% of the regulated private land, and 11.0% of the other private land. Mean disturbance rates (in absolute value) between 1992 and 2001 were 16, 66, and 19 percent, respectively, on public, regulated private, and other private land. This indicates that management practices from different ownerships have a strong impact on dynamic changes of landscape structures and AGB distributions. Our results may provide insight information for policy makers on issues regarding forest carbon management, conservation biology, and biodiversity studies at regional level.     

Forest planning in an Oregon case study: Defining the problem and attempting to meet goals with a spatial-analysis technique

Five major management goals were identified for the upper Grande Ronde River Basin on the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest in northeastern Oregon: to produce high-quality fish habitat, to maintain elk habitat, to restore and maintain forest conditions within the natural range of viability, and to contribute to community economic stability. From the broad goals, specific goals for stream temperature, habitat effectiveness index (HEI), habitat corridors, maintenance of land in late or old seral stages, and a nondeclining even flow of timber were selected. A case study was undertaken in a small watershed that is under typical societal constraints to determine whether one decisionsupport tool, SNAP II+, could evaluate the selected goals in a single planning exercise. Three riparian management strategies and two forest road scenarios were used. The exclusion of harvest and road-building from riparian zones in order to increase habitat protection decreased harvest levels and net present value but maintained preactivity stream temperatures. Other resources were generally maintained within prescribed management levels. Although the technique has limitations (e.g., it does not account for riparian zones in calculations of forage and cover for HEI, and it can use the maximum but not minimum acreage goal for some resources), it shows promise for evaluating management tradeoffs in watershed analysis.This is Paper 3069 of the Forest Research Laboratory, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.     

Vulnerability of Water Systems to the Effects of Climate Change and Urbanization: A Comparison of Phoenix, Arizona and Portland, Oregon (USA)

The coupled processes of climate change and urbanization pose challenges for water resource management in cities worldwide. Comparing the vulnerabilities of water systems in Phoenix, Arizona and Portland, Oregon, this paper examines (1) exposures to these stressors, (2) sensitivities to the associated impacts, and (3) adaptive capacities for responding to realized or anticipated impacts. Based on a case study and survey-based approach, common points of vulnerability include: rising exposures to drier, warmer summers, and suburban growth; increasing sensitivities based on demand hardening; and limited capacities due to institutional and pro-growth pressures. Yet each region also exhibits unique vulnerabilities. Comparatively, Portland shows: amplified exposures to seasonal climatic extremes, heightened sensitivity based on less diversified municipal water sources and policies that favor more trees and other irrigated vegetation, and diminished adaptive capacities because of limited attention to demand management and climate planning for water resources. Phoenix exhibits elevated exposure from rapid growth, heightened sensitivities due to high water demands and widespread increases in residential and commercial uses, and limited adaptive capacities due to weak land use planning and “smart growth” strategies. Unique points of vulnerability suggest pathways for adapting to urban-environmental change, whether through water management or land planning. Greater coordination between the land and water sectors would substantially reduce vulnerabilities in the study regions and beyond.     

Agricultural Land Use Effects on Sediment Loading and Fish Assemblages in Two Minnesota (USA) Watersheds

We examined the relationship between water quality and fish communities within two agricultural areas using a computer simulation model. Our analyses focused on a coolwater stream, Wells Creek in southeastern Minnesota, and a warmwater stream, the Chippewa River in western Minnesota. We used the Agricultural Drainage and Pesticide Transport (ADAPT) model in relation to land use to calculate instream suspended sediment concentrations using estimates of sediment delivery, runoff, baseflow and streambank erosion, and quantified the effects of suspended sediment exposure on fish communities. We predicted the effects of agricultural practices on stream fish communities under several possible land use scenarios, with reference to current conditions. Land use changes led to reductions in sediment loading of up to 84% in Wells Creek and 49% in the Chippewa River. The reduction in sediment loading across scenarios may be directly related to a reduction in runoff by about 35% in both study areas. We found a 98% decrease in lethal concentrations of suspended sediment on fish in Wells Creek with an increase in conservation tillage, riparian buffers, and permanent vegetative cover. However, the effects of suspended sediment did not significantly decrease in the Chippewa River. This difference between study areas was likely due to differences in tolerance to suspended sediment between coolwater and warmwater fish communities and differences in topography, runoff and bank erosion between the two streams. The Minnesota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit is jointly sponsored by the US Geological Survey, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Wildlife Management Institute.     

Spatial and temporal trends of nitrate,chloride, and bromide concentration in an alluvial aquifer,North‐Central Texas,USA

The Seymour aquifer consists of unconfined outcrops of sand and gravel in a semiarid, agricultural region of north‐central Texas in the United States of America. Most water samples collected from the aquifer in 2015 had nitrate concentrations above the drinking water standard of 44.3 milligrams per liter (mg/L). Generally, areas with high nitrate concentration in 2010 remained high in 2015, although the median dropped by 3.9 mg/L. The largest decreases in nitrate concentration—up to 97 mg/L (60%)—were observed in wells with depths less than the median of 13.1 meters (m). However, other wells, including depths above and below the median, showed increases in nitrate concentration of up to 40 mg/L (42%). In 2015, chloride concentrations in six wells exceeded the secondary contaminant level of 250 mg/L, and one well had a chloride concentration of 1,810 mg/L. Past and ongoing agricultural practices, including cultivation of native grassland, application of fertilizer, and irrigation with nitrate‐contaminated groundwater, help sustain overall high nitrate concentrations within the aquifer. Local conditions governing nitrogen inputs and dilution result in significant improvement or worsening of the nitrate problem over relatively short timeframes. The pumping of groundwater from the aquifer may facilitate mixing with groundwater of increased salinity that has been affected by the dissolution of evaporites in underlying Permian bedrock.     

Development of Regional Curves for Hydrologic Landscape Regions (HLR) in the Contiguous United States

Regional curves relate drainage area to the bankfull channel characteristics discharge, cross‐sectional area, width, and mean depth. These curves are used for a variety of purposes, including aiding in the field identification of bankfull elevation and in the natural channel design process. When developing regional curves, the degree to which landform, geology, climate, and vegetation influence stream systems within a single physiographic province may not be fully considered. This study examined the use of the U.S. Geological Survey's Hydrologic Landscape Regions (HLR), as well as data from 2,856 independent sites throughout the contiguous United States (U.S.), to develop a set of regional curves (bankfull discharge, cross‐sectional area, width, and mean depth) for (1) the contiguous U.S., (2) each of the 20 HLRs, (3) each of the eight physiographic divisions, (4) 22 of the 25 physiographic provinces, and (5) individual HLRs within the physiographic provinces. These regional curves were then compared to each other, as well as those from the literature. Regional curves developed for individual HLRs, physiographic divisions, and physiographic provinces tended to outperform the contiguous U.S. indicating increased stratification was beneficial. Further stratifying physiographic provinces by HLR markedly improved regional curve reliability. Use of HLR as a basis of regional curve development, rather than physiographic region alone, may allow for the development of more robust regional curves.     

A Simple Model that Identifies Potential Effects of Sea-Level Rise on Estuarine and Estuary-Ecotone Habitat Locations for Salmonids in Oregon, USA

Diadromous aquatic species that cross a diverse range of habitats (including marine, estuarine, and freshwater) face different effects of climate change in each environment. One such group of species is the anadromous Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.). Studies of the potential effects of climate change on salmonids have focused on both marine and freshwater environments. Access to a variety of estuarine habitat has been shown to enhance juvenile life-history diversity, thereby contributing to the resilience of many salmonid species. Our study is focused on the effect of sea-level rise on the availability, complexity, and distribution of estuarine, and low-freshwater habitat for Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), steelhead (anadromous O. mykiss), and coho salmon (O. kisutch) along the Oregon Coast under future climate change scenarios. Using LiDAR, we modeled the geomorphologies of five Oregon estuaries and estimated a contour associated with the current mean high tide. Contour intervals at 1- and 2-m increments above the current mean high tide were generated, and changes in the estuary morphology were assessed. Because our analysis relied on digital data, we compared three types of digital data in one estuary to assess the utility of different data sets in predicting the changes in estuary shape. For each salmonid species, changes in the amount and complexity of estuarine edge habitats varied by estuary. The simple modeling approach we applied can also be used to identify areas that may be most amenable to pre-emptive restoration actions to mitigate or enhance salmonid habitat under future climatic conditions.     

Linking Models of Land Use,Resources, and Economy to Simulate the Development of Mountain Regions (ALPSCAPE)

We present a framework of a scenario-based model that simulates the development of the municipality of Davos (Swiss Alps). We illustrate our method with the calculation of the scenario for 2050 “Decrease in subsidies for mountain agriculture and liberalization of markets.” The main objective was to link submodels of land-use allocation (regression-based approach), material and energy flows submodels (Material and Energy Flux Analysis), and economic submodels (Input–Output Analysis). Letting qualitative and quantitative information flow from one submodel to the next, following the storyline describing a scenario, has proven to be suitable for linking submodels. The succession of the submodels is then strongly dependent on the scenario. Qualitative information flows are simulated with microsimulations of actor choices. Links between the submodels show different degrees of robustness: although the links involving microsimulations are the weakest, the uncertainty introduced by the land-use allocation model is actually advantageous because it allows one possible change in the landscape in the future to be simulated. The modeling results for the scenario here presented show that the disappearance of agriculture only marginally affects the region’s factor income, but that the consequences for the self-sufficiency rate, for various landscape-related indicators and ecosystem services, and for the economy in the long term may be considerable. These benefits compensate for agriculture’s modest direct economic value. The framework presented can potentially be applied to any region and scenario. This framework provides a basis for a learning package that allows potential detrimental consequences of regional development to be anticipated at an early stage.     

Influence of Catchment-Scale Military Land Use on Stream Physical and Organic Matter Variables in Small Southeastern Plains Catchments (USA)

We conducted a 3-year study designed to examine the relationship between disturbance from military land use and stream physical and organic matter variables within 12 small (<5.5 km2) Southeastern Plains catchments at the Fort Benning Military Installation, Georgia, USA. Primary land-use categories were based on percentages of bare ground and road cover and nonforested land (grasslands, sparse vegetation, shrublands, fields) in catchments and natural catchments features, including soils (% sandy soils) and catchment size (area). We quantified stream flashiness (determined by slope of recession limbs of storm hydrographs), streambed instability (measured by relative changes in bed height over time), organic matter storage [coarse wood debris (CWD) relative abundance, benthic particulate organic matter (BPOM)] and stream-water dissolved organic carbon concentration (DOC). Stream flashiness was positively correlated with average storm magnitude and percent of the catchment with sandy soil, whereas streambed instability was related to percent of the catchment containing nonforested (disturbed) land. The proportions of in-stream CWD and sediment BPOM, and stream-water DOC were negatively related to the percent of bare ground and road cover in catchments. Collectively, our results suggest that the amount of catchment disturbance causing denuded vegetation and exposed, mobile soil is (1) a key terrestrial influence on stream geomorphology and hydrology and (2) a greater determinant of in-stream organic matter conditions than is natural geomorphic or topographic variation (catchment size, soil type) in these systems.     

Spatial Variations in the Relationships between Land Use and Water Quality across an Urbanization Gradient in the Watersheds of Northern Georgia, USA

A spatial statistical technique, Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) is applied to study the spatial variations in the relationships between four land use indicators, including percentages of urban land, forest, agricultural land, and wetland, and eight water quality indicators including specific conductance (SC), dissolved oxygen, dissolved nutrients, and dissolved organic carbon, in the watersheds of northern Georgia, USA. The results show that GWR has better model performance than ordinary least squares regression (OLS) to analyze the relationships between land use and water quality. There are great spatial variations in the relationships affected by the urbanization level of watersheds. The relationships between urban land and SC are stronger in less-urbanized watersheds, while those between urban land and dissolved nutrients are stronger in highly-urbanized watersheds. Percentage of forest is an indicator of good water quality. Agricultural land is usually associated with good water quality in highly-urbanized watersheds, but might be related to water pollution in less-urbanized watersheds. This study confirms the results obtained from a similar study in eastern Massachusetts, and so suggest that GWR technique is a very useful tool in water environmental research and also has the potential to be applied to other fields of environmental studies and management in other regions.     

Full Water‐Cycle Monitoring in an Urban Catchment Reveals Unexpected Water Transfers (Detroit MI,USA)

A goal in urban water management is to reduce the volume of stormwater runoff in urban systems and the effect of combined sewer overflows into receiving waters. Effective management of stormwater runoff in urban systems requires an accounting of various components of the urban water balance. To that end, precipitation, evapotranspiration (ET), sewer flow, and groundwater in a 3.40‐hectare sewershed in Detroit, Michigan were monitored to capture the response of the sewershed to stormwater flow prior to implementation of stormwater control measures. Monitoring results indicate that stormflow in sewers was not initiated unless rain depth was 3.6 mm or greater. ET removed more than 40% of the precipitation in the sewershed, whereas pipe flow accounted for 19%–85% of the losses. Flows within the sewer that could not be associated with direct precipitation indicate an unexpected exchange of water between the leaky sewer and the groundwater system, pathways through abandoned or failing residential infrastructure, or a combination of both. Groundwater data indicate that groundwater flows into the leaky combined sewer rather than out. This research demonstrates that urban hydrologic fluxes can modulate the local water cycle in complex ways which affect the efficiency of the wastewater system, effectiveness of stormwater management, and, ultimately, public health.     

Use of Radar Remote Sensing (RADARSAT) to Map Winter Wetland Habitat for Shorebirds in an Agricultural Landscape

Many of todays agricultural landscapes once held vast amounts of wetland habitat for waterbirds and other wildlife. Successful restoration of these landscapes relies on access to accurate maps of the wetlands that remain. We used C-band (5.6-cm-wavelength), HH-polarized radar remote sensing (RADARSAT) at a 38° incidence angle (8-m resolution) to map the distribution of winter shorebird (Charadriiformes) habitat on agricultural lands in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. We acquired imagery on three dates (10 December 1999, 27 January 2000, and 15 March 2000) and simultaneously collected ground reference data to classify radar signatures and evaluate map accuracy of four habitat classes: (1) wet with 50% vegetation (considered optimal shorebird habitat), (2) wet with > 50% vegetation, (3) dry with 50% vegetation, and (4) dry with > 50% vegetation. Overall accuracy varied from 45 to 60% among the three images, but the accuracy of focal class 1 was greater, ranging from 72 to 80%. Class 4 coverage was stable and dominated maps (40% of mapped study area) for all three dates, while class 3 coverage decreased slightly throughout the study period. Among wet classes, class 1 was most abundant (30% coverage) in December and January, decreasing in March by 15%. Conversely, class 2 increased dramatically from January to March, likely due to transition from class 1 as vegetation grew. This approach was successful in detecting optimal habitat for shorebirds on agricultural lands. For modest classification schemes, radar remote sensing is a valuable option for wetland mapping in areas where cloud cover is persistent. Also, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA     

Use of Radar Remote Sensing (RADARSAT) to Map Winter Wetland Habitat for Shorebirds in an Agricultural Landscape

Many of todays agricultural landscapes once held vast amounts of wetland habitat for waterbirds and other wildlife. Successful restoration of these landscapes relies on access to accurate maps of the wetlands that remain. We used C-band (5.6-cm-wavelength), HH-polarized radar remote sensing (RADARSAT) at a 38° incidence angle (8-m resolution) to map the distribution of winter shorebird (Charadriiformes) habitat on agricultural lands in the Willamette Valley of western Oregon. We acquired imagery on three dates (10 December 1999, 27 January 2000, and 15 March 2000) and simultaneously collected ground reference data to classify radar signatures and evaluate map accuracy of four habitat classes: (1) wet with 50% vegetation (considered optimal shorebird habitat), (2) wet with > 50% vegetation, (3) dry with 50% vegetation, and (4) dry with > 50% vegetation. Overall accuracy varied from 45 to 60% among the three images, but the accuracy of focal class 1 was greater, ranging from 72 to 80%. Class 4 coverage was stable and dominated maps (40% of mapped study area) for all three dates, while coverage of class 3 decreased slightly throughout the study period. Among wet classes, class 1 was most abundant (about 30% coverage) in December and January, decreasing in March to approximately 15%. Conversely, class 2 increased dramatically from January to March, likely due to transition from class 1 as vegetation grew. This approach was successful in detecting optimal habitat for shorebirds on agricultural lands. For modest classification schemes, radar remote sensing is a valuable option for wetland mapping in areas where cloud cover is persistent. Also, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, USA