Representing the Connectivity of Upland Areas to Floodplains and Streams in SWAT+

In recent years, watershed modelers have put increasing emphasis on capturing the interaction of landscape hydrologic processes instead of focusing on streamflow at the watershed outlet alone. Understanding the hydrologic connectivity between landscape elements is important to explain the hydrologic response of a watershed to rainfall events. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool+ (SWAT+) is a new version of SWAT with improved runoff routing capabilities. Subbasins may be divided into landscape units (LSUs), e.g., upland areas and floodplains, and flow can be routed between these LSUs. We ran three scenarios representing different extents of connectivity between uplands, floodplains, and streams. In the first and second scenarios, the ratio of channelized flow from the upland to the stream and sheet flow from the upland to the floodplain was 70/30 and 30/70, respectively, for all upland/floodplain pairs. In the third scenario, the ratio was calculated for each upland/floodplain pair based on the upland/floodplain area ratio. Results indicate differences in streamflow were small, but the relative importance of flow components and upland areas and floodplains as sources of surface runoff changed. Also, the soil moisture in the floodplains was impacted. The third scenario was found to provide more realistic results than the other two. A realistic representation of connectivity in watershed models has important implications for the identification of pollution sources and sinks.     

Road Erosion and Delivery Index (READI): A Model for Evaluating Unpaved Road Erosion and Stream Sediment Delivery

The Road Erosion and Delivery Index (READI) is a new geographic information system–based model to assess erosion and delivery of water and sediment from unpaved road networks to streams. READI quantifies the effectiveness of existing road surfacing and drain placements in reducing road sediment delivery and guides upgrades to optimize future reductions. Roads are draped on a digital elevation model and parsed into hydrologically distinct segments. Segments are further divided by engineered drainage structures. For each segment, a kinematic wave approximation generates runoff hydrographs for specified storms, with discharge directly to streams at road–stream crossings and onto overland‐flow plumes at other discharge points. Plumes are attenuated by soil infiltration, which limits their length, with delivery occurring if plumes intersect streams. Sediment production and sediment delivery can be calculated as a relative dimensionless index. READI predicts only a small proportion of new drains and new surfacing results in the majority of sediment delivery reductions. The model illustrates how the spatial relationships between road and stream networks, controlled by topography and network geometries, influence patterns of road–stream connectivity. READI was applied in seven northern California basins. The model was also applied in a recent burn area to examine how reduced hillslope infiltration can result in increased hydrologic connectivity and sediment delivery.     

黄河口典型潮沟土壤碳氮分布特征规律

为探究黄河三角洲盐沼土壤碳氮含量在潮沟水系中的时空分布特征,选取黄河口一条典型的潮沟系统,采集一、二、三级潮沟表层土壤,探寻土壤有机碳、总氮与土壤容重、盐度、pH等理化因子的相关关系。结果表明：土壤有机碳和总氮在时空尺度上表现出极大的异质性特征。时间尺度上,土壤有机碳和总氮出现先上升后下降的趋势。空间尺度上,一级潮沟土壤有机碳和总氮平均值（2.9 g·kg^-1、0.36 g·kg^-1）大于二级（1.4 g·kg^-1、0.18 g·kg^-1）、三级（1.6 g·kg^-1、0.21 g·kg^-1）潮沟。相关分析表明,土壤有机碳和总氮与盐度呈显著正相关（P<0.01）,与容重呈显著负相关（P<0.01）。盐沼湿地土壤碳氮含量受土壤水盐条件的影响,而潮沟水系的树状结构对水盐条件的影响是导致土壤碳氮含量时空差异分布的重要因素。     

Ability of Wildlife Overpasses to Provide Connectivity and Prevent Genetic Isolation

Abstract:  We reviewed research on wildlife overpasses in the context of their genetic effectiveness to provide connectivity between population patches that have been isolated by road construction. The potential ecological consequences of such habitat fragmentation include reduction of gene flow between subpopulations and hence an increase in genetic differentiation and a decrease in genetic diversity. Among the solutions to provide connectivity between patches isolated by roads, wildlife overpasses are one of the most expensive alternatives. Despite the high costs associated with their construction, most of the studies assessing their use by wildlife remain observational, reporting evidence for passage use but few data on the number of individual crossings. Moreover, the use itself of wildlife overpasses does not appear sufficient to assess their effectiveness from a genetic viewpoint because a minimum number of individuals is required to assure gene flow between population patches and because the spatiotemporal dimension of individual movements and demographic parameters of subpopulations must be considered. So far, there is no evidence that wildlife overpasses do or do not efficiently address genetic issues. This lack of data is probably due to the fact that few mitigation efforts have implemented monitoring programs that incorporate sufficient experimental designs into pre- and postconstruction evaluation. To assess the genetic effectiveness of wildlife overpasses, long-term monitoring programs, including fieldwork and genetic analyses, are needed.     

Setting conservation priorities for migratory networks under uncertainty

Conserving migratory species requires protecting connected habitat along the pathways they travel. Despite recent improvements in tracking animal movements, migratory connectivity remains poorly resolved at a population level for the vast majority of species, thus conservation prioritization is hampered. To address this data limitation, we developed a novel approach to spatial prioritization based on a model of potential connectivity derived from empirical data on species abundance and distance traveled between sites during migration. We applied the approach to migratory shorebirds of the East Asian‐Australasian Flyway. Conservation strategies that prioritized sites based on connectivity and abundance metrics together maintained larger populations of birds than strategies that prioritized sites based only on abundance metrics. The conservation value of a site therefore depended on both its capacity to support migratory animals and its position within the migratory pathway; the loss of crucial sites led to partial or total population collapse. We suggest that conservation approaches that prioritize sites supporting large populations of migrants should, where possible, also include data on the spatial arrangement of sites.     

Building a Regionally Connected Reserve Network in a Changing and Uncertain World

Abstract: Habitat connectivity is required at large spatial scales to facilitate movement of biota in response to climatic changes and to maintain viable populations of wide‐ranging species. Nevertheless, it may require decades to acquire habitat linkages at such scales, and areas that could provide linkages are often developed before they can be reserved. Reserve scheduling methods usually consider only current threats, but threats change over time as development spreads and reaches presently secure areas. We investigated the importance of considering future threats when implementing projects to maintain habitat connectivity at a regional scale. To do so, we compared forward‐looking scheduling strategies with strategies that consider only current threats. The strategies were applied to a Costa Rican case study, where many reserves face imminent isolation and other reserves will probably become isolated in the more distant future. We evaluated strategies in terms of two landscape‐scale connectivity metrics, a pure connectivity metric and a metric of connected habitat diversity. Those strategies that considered only current threats were unreliable because they often failed to complete planned habitat linkage projects. The most reliable and effective strategies considered the future spread of development and its impact on the likelihood of completing planned habitat linkage projects. Our analyses highlight the critical need to consider future threats when building connected reserve networks over time.     

Relations of fish community composition to environmental variables in streams of central Nebraska,USA

Nine sites on streams in the Platte River Basin in central Nebraska were sampled as part of the US Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program during 1993–1994. A combination of canonical correspondence analysis and an index of biotic integrity determined from fish community data produced complementary evaluations of water-quality conditions. Results of the canonical correspondence analysis were useful in showing which environmental variables were significant in differentiating fish communities at the nine sites. Five environmental variables were statistically significant in the analysis. Median specific conductance of water samples collected at a site accounted for the largest amount of variability in the species data. Although the percentage of the basin as cropland was not the first variable chosen in a forward selection process, it was the most strongly correlated with the first ordination axis. A rangeland-dominated site was distinguished from all others along that axis. Median orthophosphate concentration of samples collected in the year up to the time of fish sampling was most strongly correlated with the second ordination axis. The index of biotic integrity produced results that could be interpreted in terms of the relative water quality between sites. Sites draining nearly 100% cropland had the lowest scores for two individual metrics of the index of biotic integrity that were related to species tolerance. Effective monitoring of water quality could be achieved by coupling methods that address both the ecological components of fish communities and their statistical relationships to environmental factors.     

栽种沙枣以改善黄河三角洲地区生态环境

胜利油田位于我国黄河三角洲地区，潜水位高，水的矿化度大。生态环境恶劣，对植物尤其对木本植物的生长不利，整个地区生长的多是抗盐碱能力强的草本植物。针对油田的特殊环境条件，综合有关资料，介绍了以沙枣为代表的植物特性，特别强调了其抗盐碱、降低土壤矿化度和潜水位、增加土壤有机质和引起植被变化的特性。指出黄河三角洲也有些土质较好的、适于作物和木本植物生长的地区，改良盐碱地可以以这些地区为基点，放射性地向外逐步试验沙枣的种植，以探索改善生态环境的途径。努力做到边发展经济，边改善环境，达到经济效益、社会效益和环境效益三统一。     

农业害虫的综合防治

病虫害造成农作物的严重损失，而大量施用农药又造成对环境的污染和人体的危害，本文在收集实例的基础上，论述了综合防治在病虫害防治方面的作用和意义。