Development of an integrated environmental data base

The ability to access information for use in decision making is a well-recognized need within the context of management sciences. A similar need exists in order to make effective technical decisions pertaining to environmental resource management. Data bases are the principle vehicle by which scientists, engineers, and resource managers store and access environmental information. An integrated data-base mechanism is essential in order for federal agencies to manage programs such as enforcement of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), state of the environment (SOE) reporting, and the environmental assessment and review process (EARP). A data-base structure and data dissemination mechanism under current development within Environment Canada, Conservation and Protection, Atlantic Region, is presented along with some of its operational benefits and constraints.     

Application of an Environmental Decision Support System to a Water Quality Trading Program Affected by Surface Water Diversions

Environmental decision support systems (EDSSs) are an emerging tool used to integrate the evaluation of highly complex and interrelated physicochemical, biological, hydrological, social, and economic aspects of environmental problems. An EDSS approach is developed to address hot-spot concerns for a water quality trading program intended to implement the total maximum daily load (TMDL) for phosphorus in the Non-Tidal Passaic River Basin of New Jersey. Twenty-two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) spread throughout the watershed are considered the major sources of phosphorus loading to the river system. Periodic surface water diversions to a major reservoir from the confluence of two key tributaries alter the natural hydrology of the watershed and must be considered in the development of a trading framework that ensures protection of water quality. An EDSS is applied that enables the selection of a water quality trading framework that protects the watershed from phosphorus-induced hot spots. The EDSS employs Simon’s (1960) three stages of the decision-making process: intelligence, design, and choice. The identification of two potential hot spots and three diversion scenarios enables the delineation of three management areas for buying and selling of phosphorus credits among WWTPs. The result shows that the most conservative option entails consideration of two possible diversion scenarios, and trading between management areas is restricted accordingly. The method described here is believed to be the first application of an EDSS to a water quality trading program that explicitly accounts for surface water diversions.     

Informing environmental health and risk priorities through local outreach and extension

Environment Systems and Decisions - Our society is currently facing an unprecedented number of environmental and societal challenges. Stakeholder and community engagement can help identify priority...     

Quantifying Florida Bay Habitat Suitability for Fishes and Invertebrates Under Climate Change Scenarios

The Florida Bay ecosystem supports a number of economically important ecosystem services, including several recreational fisheries, which may be affected by changing salinity and temperature due to climate change. In this paper, we use a combination of physical models and habitat suitability index models to quantify the effects of potential climate change scenarios on a variety of juvenile fish and lobster species in Florida Bay. The climate scenarios include alterations in sea level, evaporation and precipitation rates, coastal runoff, and water temperature. We find that the changes in habitat suitability vary in both magnitude and direction across the scenarios and species, but are on average small. Only one of the seven species we investigate (Lagodon rhomboides, i.e., pinfish) sees a sizable decrease in optimal habitat under any of the scenarios. This suggests that the estuarine fauna of Florida Bay may not be as vulnerable to climate change as other components of the ecosystem, such as those in the marine/terrestrial ecotone. However, these models are relatively simplistic, looking only at single species effects of physical drivers without considering the many interspecific interactions that may play a key role in the adjustment of the ecosystem as a whole. More complex models that capture the mechanistic links between physics and biology, as well as the complex dynamics of the estuarine food web, may be necessary to further understand the potential effects of climate change on the Florida Bay ecosystem.     

Characterizing long-term hydrologic-response and sediment-transport for the R-5 catchment

Recently there have been several calls to establish long-term data collection networks to monitor near-surface hydrologic response and landscape evolution. The focus of this paper is a long-term dataset from the International Hydrologic Decade (1965-1974). The small upland catchment, known as R-5, located near Chickasha, Olahoma, has been the subject of considerable attention within the event-based hydrologic modeling community for more than 30 yr. Here, for the first time, 8 yr of continuous near-surface hydrologic-response and sediment-transport data are analyzed to show trends in the catchment's long-term behavior. The datasets include precipitation, temperature, solar radiation, soil-water content, infiltration, water discharge, and sediment discharge. Potential and actual evapotranspiration rates were estimated and used to calculate an average annual water balance for the catchment. Findings include, for example, that rainfall intensity rarely exceeds the threshold for Horton-type runoff, soil-water content is both spatially and temporally variable, and the water and sediment discharge rates are positively correlated. The R-5 data provide a unique opportunity to test (and refine) process-based models of continuous hydrologic response and sediment transport at the catchment scale for applications in the emerging fields of hydroecology and hydrogeomorphology.     

Natural factors and human modifications contributing to marsh loss in Louisiana's Mississippi River Deltaic Plain

Natural factors and human modifications contribute to the estimated annual loss of 10,200 ha of coastal land in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain Region of south Louisiana. This paper combines information on regional geology and human-induced habitat alterations to evaluate the relative importance of human and natural factors to marsh loss. Data on marsh area and habitat type for 139 7.5-min quadrangles were calculated from maps based on aerial photographs from 1955/56 and 1978, and data on regional geology obtained from published maps were used to construct multivariate model relating initial marsh area, change in urban and agricultural area, change in canal and spoil area, canal area in 1978, depth of sediment overlying the Prairie terrace, and subdelta age to marsh loss. The model indicated that between 25.0% and 39.0% of the marsh loss that occurred during the 23-year period was related to canal and spoil construction, and between 9.5% and 12.7% was related to urban and agricultural development. These are minimal estimates of loss because they do not include many secondary effects (for example, canal orientation, saltwater intrusion, and eutrophication) that can also result in indirect loss. Depth of sediment, initial marsh area, delta lobe age by 1978 canal and spoil area interaction, and indirect effects not included in the model accounted for remaining marsh loss.     

The Problem of Common Land: Towards Stakeholder Governance

This paper examines the current governance of common land with the intention of updating a story last examined in detail in studies in the late 1980s. In addition, the paper draws on recent conceptualizations of stakeholders and governance. A brief history of common land shows that governance systems are highly localized and dependent on custom and practice. Such a dependence suggests the need for governance which is based on the incorporation of stakeholders using consensus building approaches. The paper suggests that local governance systems are crucial to the successful implementation of sustainable management practices but that this may be overlooked by land managers and policy makers. Consequently, comprehensive national legislation for common land is not a viable option but legislation can play a valuable role in particular circumstances. The need to give further consideration to the role of legislation and an appropriate policy framework for commons within the context of stakeholder governance is particularly important given the significance of common land for agriculture, nature conservation, landscape, heritage and recreation across England and Wales.