潮沟对黄河三角洲湿地典型景观格局的影响

为揭示潮沟发育对黄河三角洲典型湿地景观类型空间分布格局的影响,通过对1989-2016年黄河三角洲7期遥感影像进行目视解译,在获取潮沟及湿地景观类型空间分布基础上,通过冗余分析识别影响黄河三角洲典型湿地景观特征的主要潮沟指标。结果表明：光滩面积占比的变化趋势与芦苇（Phragmites australis）、碱蓬（Suaeda salsa）相反;黄河三角洲北部区域湿地景观的斑块密度整体上大于南部,景观破碎化程度相对较高;RDA结果显示前两个排序轴能够解释潮沟发育指标与景观格局指数关系的85.7%,较好地反映了两者的相关关系;潮沟长度、数量、网络连通度和曲率对区域景观格局的影响程度较大;潮沟分维值对景观格局影响程度最小;潮沟长度、数量、分维值与芦苇和碱蓬的面积占比及斑块密度呈负相关关系,与光滩面积占比呈正相关关系。     

The On-Ranch Economics of Riparian Zone Cattle Grazing Management

A simulation model of a cattle ranch based in southern Alberta, Canada was developed to evaluate the on-ranch economics of adopting different grazing management strategies to improve riparian grazing capacity in natural grass rangeland. Under low-cost scenarios, there are positive economic incentives to adopt strategies to maintain riparian zones that already have high grazing capacity. However, riparian zones that have declined to moderate or low grazing capacity may require additional economic incentives to encourage ranches to adopt more costly management strategies to improve the grazing capacity. The economic incentives to adopt costly management strategies are highly sensitive to the size and shape of the riparian zone and rates of grazing capacity decline or improvement.     

Assessing the Restoration Success of River Widenings: A Landscape Approach

During the last 200 years, many rivers in industrialized countries have been modified by canalization. In the last two decades, the philosophy of river management has changed considerably, and restoration of ecological integrity has become an important management goal. One appealing restoration approach is to create “river widenings” that permit braiding within a limited area. This study presents a new and efficient framework for rapidly assessing such widening projects and offers a novel method to comparing restored sites with near-natural stretches (stencil technique). The proposed framework evaluates spatial patterns of riparian habitat types using landscape metrics as indicators. Three case studies from river restoration (river widening) in Switzerland are presented for demonstration purposes.The method compares restored sites with prerestoration conditions and near-natural conditions, which are assumed to represent the worst and best case states of a river system. To take into account the limited spatial extent of the restored sites, the so-called “stencil technique” was developed, where the landscape metrics of the near-natural reference sites are calculated for both the entire study area and smaller sections (clips). The clips are created by using a stencil that has the exact shape and size of the restored area (random window-sampling technique). Subsequently, the calculated metrics for the restored sites are compared to the range of values calculated for the near-natural data subset. Our studies show that the proposed method is easy to apply andprovides a valid way to assess the restoration success of river widenings. We found that river widenings offer real opportunities for establishing riparian habitats. However, they promote mainly pioneer successional stages and the habitat mosaic of the restored section is more complex than at the near-natural reference sites.     

Habitat Assessment of Non-Wadeable Rivers in Michigan

Habitat evaluation of wadeable streams based on accepted protocols provides a rapid and widely used adjunct to biological assessment. However, little effort has been devoted to habitat evaluation in non-wadeable rivers, where it is likely that protocols will differ and field logistics will be more challenging. We developed and tested a non-wadeable habitat index (NWHI) for rivers of Michigan, where non-wadeable rivers were defined as those of order ≥5, drainage area ≥1600 km², mainstem lengths ≥100 km, and mean annual discharge ≥15 m³/s. This identified 22 candidate rivers that ranged in length from 103 to 825 km and in drainage area from 1620 to 16,860 km². We measured 171 individual habitat variables over 2-km reaches at 35 locations on 14 rivers during 2000–2002, where mean wetted width was found to range from 32 to 185 m and mean thalweg depth from 0.8 to 8.3 m. We used correlation and principal components analysis to reduce the number of variables, and examined the spatial pattern of retained variables to exclude any that appeared to reflect spatial location rather than reach condition, resulting in 12 variables to be considered in the habitat index. The proposed NWHI included seven variables: riparian width, large woody debris, aquatic vegetation, bottom deposition, bank stability, thalweg substrate, and off-channel habitat. These variables were included because of their statistical association with independently derived measures of human disturbance in the riparian zone and the catchment, and because they are considered important in other habitat protocols or to the ecology of large rivers. Five variables were excluded because they were primarily related to river size rather than anthropogenic disturbance. This index correlated strongly with indices of disturbance based on the riparian (adjusted R² = 0.62) and the catchment (adjusted R² = 0.50), and distinguished the 35 river reaches into the categories of poor (2), fair (19), good (13), and excellent (1). Habitat variables retained in the NWHI differ from several used in wadeable streams, and place greater emphasis on known characteristic features of larger rivers.     

Assessing landscape dynamics in a protected area

This article describes an approach to assessing spatial and temporal land-use and land-cover changes in and adjacent to protected areas and to the measurement of landscape stability within a protected area. Methods employed include aerial photographic interpretation and GIS technology. Odum's four-compartment ecosystem model provides the conceptual framework for assessing landscape stability. The study area is a selected sample of the Upper San Pedro National Riparian Conservation Area in the high desert grassland of southeastern Arizona. Significant changes were observed in the landscape matrix and riparian ecosystem. However, when these changes were assessed in the context of Odum's model, the change was nonsignificant. Implications of the approach and potential applications in protected area management are discussed.     

A framework for profiling a lake's riparian area development potential

Some of the greatest challenges for managing residential development occur at the interface between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems--in a lake's riparian area. Land use planners need a framework they can use to identify development hotspots, areas were the next push for development will most likely occur. Lake riparian development profiles provide a framework for linking ecological and social factors important to development. In a test of this framework in northern Minnesota, researchers identified seven constructs influencing riparian area development: current general development, current housing development, and availability, accessibility, suitability, aesthetics, and proximity to services. Profiles display a lake's value for each construct relative to the range of values for all lakes in the county. Maps, developed using indicators for several constructs, allow us to identify how the factors interact and are dispersed across the landscape. These profiles help policy makers, planners, and managers identify lakes that are potential development hotspots so they can take timely steps to manage development or control the impacts of development.     

Riparian livestock exclosure research in the western United States: a critique and some recommendations

Over the last three decades, livestock exclosure research has emerged as a preferred method to evaluate the ecology of riparian ecosystems and their susceptibility to livestock impacts. This research has addressed the effects of livestock exclusion on many characteristics of riparian ecosystems, including vegetation, aquatic and terrestrial animals, and geomorphology. This paper reviews, critiques, and provides recommendations for the improvement of riparian livestock exclosure research. Exclosure-based research has left considerable scientific uncertainty due to popularization of relatively few studies, weak study designs, a poor understanding of the scales and mechanisms of ecosystem recovery, and selective, agenda-laden literature reviews advocating for or against public lands livestock grazing. Exclosures are often too small (<50 ha) and improperly placed to accurately measure the responses of aquatic organisms or geomorphic processes to livestock removal. Depending upon the site conditions when and where livestock exclosures are established, postexclusion dynamics may vary considerably. Systems can recover quickly and predictably with livestock removal (the “rubber band” model), fail to recover due to changes in system structure or function (the “Humpty Dumpty” model), or recover slowly and remain more sensitive to livestock impacts than they were before grazing was initiated (the “broken leg” model). Several initial ideas for strengthening the scientific basis for livestock exclosure research are presented: (1) incorporation of meta-analyses and critical reviews. (2) use of restoration ecology as a unifying conceptual framework; (3) development of long-term research programs; (4) improved exclosure placement/design; and (5) a stronger commitment to collection of pretreatment data.     

Collapse of riparian poplar forests downstream from dams in western prairies: Probable causes and prospects for mitigation

Although historically abundant, the riparian poplar forests of the western prairies are now endangered as a result of the damming and diversion of rivers in this region. Recent reports have described substantial declines of riparian poplar forests downstream from dams in Alberta, Canada; Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arizona, USA. The present report analyzes the forest and hydrological conditions reported previously in order to clarify the causes of the downstream forest decline. Dams were found to contribute to forest failure by (1) reducing downstream flows and/or (2) altering flow patterns to attenuate spring flooding and/or stabilize summer flows. Reduced flows are reported to induce drought stress, which is particularly lethal to seedlings and very old poplars. The artificial moderation of spring flooding may inhibit the formation of seedbeds essential for seedling replenishment. Increased river valley development involving cattle grazing, agricultural clearing, and direct harvesting of trees also contributes to forest failure. Potential methods for mitigating the impacts of dams on downstream forests include downstream flow schedules that (1) retain occasional spring flooding, (2) taper off rather than abruptly drop downstream flow, and (3) provide adequate flows throughout the summer. Poplar forest stabilization and recovery can be further promoted by fencing to protect trees from livestock grazing and trampling, or artificial site preparation such as cultivation or scarification to encourage poplar regeneration.     

Role of refugia in recovery from disturbances: Modern fragmented and disconnected river systems

Habitats or environmental factors that convey spatial and temporal resistance and/or resilience to biotic communities that have been impacted by biophysical disturbances may be called refugia. Most refugia in rivers are characterized by extensive coupling of the main channel with adjacent streamside forests, floodplain features, and groundwater. These habitats operate at different spatial scales, from localized particles, to channel units such as pools and riffles, to reaches and longer sections, and at the basin level. A spatial hierarchy of different physical components of a drainage network is proposed to provide a context for different refugia. Examples of refugia operating at different spatial scales, such as pools, large woody debris, floodplains, below dams, and catchment basins are discussed. We hope that the geomorphic context proposed for examining refugia habitats will assist in the conservation of pristine areas and attributes of river systems and also allow a better understanding of rehabilitation needs in rivers that have been extensively altered.     

State wetlands and riparian area protection programs

The protection of wetlands and riparian areas has emerged as an important environmental planning issue. In the United States, several federal and state laws have been enacted to protect wetlands and riparian areas. Specifically, the federal Clean Water Act includes protection requirements in Sections 301 and 303 for state water quality standards, Section 401 for state certification of federal actions (projects, permits, and licenses), and Section 404 for dredge and fill permits. The Section 401 water quality state certification element has been called the “sleeping giant” of wetlands protection because it empowers state officials to veto or condition federally permitted or licensed activities that do not comply with state water quality standards. State officials have used this power infrequently. The purpose of this research was to analyze the effectiveness of state wetland and riparian programs. Contacts were established with officials in each state and in the national and regional offices of key federal agencies. Based on interviews and on a review of federal and state laws, state program effectiveness was analyzed. From this analysis, several problems and opportunities facing state wetland protection efforts are presented.