How are macroinvertebrates of slow flowing lotic systems directly affected by suspended and deposited sediments?

The effects of suspended and deposited sediments on the macroinvertebrates are well documented in upland streams but not in slower flowing lowland rivers. Using species found in lowland lotic environments, we experimentally evaluate mechanisms for sediments to affect macroinvertebrates, and in one experiment whether salinity alters the effect of suspended sediments. Suspended kaolin clay reduced feeding of Ischnura heterosticta (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) at high turbidity (1000-1500 NTU) but had no effects on feeding of Hemianax papuensis (Odonata: Aeshnidae) and Micronecta australiensis (Hemiptera: Corixidae). In freshwater (0.1 mS/cm), survival of Ischnura aurora was poor in clear water, but improved with suspended kaolin. Growth and feeding of I. aurora were unaffected by suspended sediments and salinity. Burial (1-5 mm) of eggs with kaolin or sand reduced hatching in Physa acuta (Gastropoda: Physidae), Gyraulus tasmanica (Gastropoda: Planorbidae) and Chironomus cloacalis (Diptera: Chironomidae). Settling sediments may pose greater risk to lowland lotic invertebrates than suspended sediments.     

Effects of Geomorphic Setting and Urbanization on Wood,Pools, Sediment Storage,and Bank Erosion in Puget Sound Streams1

Segura, Catalina and Derek B. Booth, 2010. Effects of Geomorphic Setting and Urbanization on Wood, Pools, Sediment Storage, and Bank Erosion in Puget Sound Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(5):972-986. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00470.x Abstract: Interrelationships between urbanization, the near-riparian zone, and channel morphology were examined in 44 lowland stream reaches in the Puget Lowlands of western Washington, United States. Both the degree of urbanization and channel type control channel response to a range of instream and riparian conditions. Some of these relationships are not evident in lumped datasets (i.e., with all channel types and/or degrees of urbanization) and highlight the importance of fluvial geomorphology in determining channel response. We found that in low-urbanized watersheds dominated by forced pool-riffle and plane-bed morphologies, the frequency and distribution of large woody debris (LWD), pool spacing, sediment storage, and bank erosion have a strong relationship with channel confinement and characteristics of near-riparian vegetation. In contrast, high-urbanized reaches dominated by simplified morphologies are substantially less sensitive to the condition of the near-riparian zone (e.g., size of the near-riparian vegetation and the level of channel confinement), due to the common disconnection of stream and floodplain caused by the placement of stabilizing structures in the banks. These structures are typically placed to prevent erosion; however, they also result in fewer LWD and pools, less sediment storage, and higher potential for incision.     

Response of Algal Biomass to Large‐Scale Nutrient Controls in the Clark Fork River,Montana, United States1

Suplee, Michael W., Vicki Watson, Walter K. Dodds, and Chris Shirley, 2012. Response of Algal Biomass to Large‐Scale Nutrient Controls in the Clark Fork River, Montana, United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 1008‐1021. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00666.x Abstract: Nutrient pollution is an ongoing concern in rivers. Although nutrient targets have been proposed for rivers, little is known about long‐term success of programs to decrease river nutrients and algal biomass. Twelve years of summer data (1998‐2009) collected along 383 km of the Clark Fork River were analyzed to ascertain whether a basin‐wide nutrient reduction program lowered ambient total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations, and bottom‐attached algal biomass. Target nutrient and algal biomass levels were established for the program in 1998. Significant declines were observed in TP but not TN along the entire river. Downstream of the city of Missoula, TP declined below a literature‐derived TP saturation breakpoint and met program targets after 2005; TN was below targets since 2007. Algal biomass also declined significantly below Missoula. Trends there likely relate to the city’s wastewater facility upgrades, despite its 20% population increase. Upstream of Missoula, nutrient reductions were less substantial; still, TP and TN declined toward saturation breakpoints, but no significant reductions in algal biomass occurred, and program targets were not met. The largest P‐load reduction to the river was from a basin‐wide phosphate laundry detergent ban set 10 years before, in 1989. We document that nutrient reductions in rivers can be successful in controlling algal biomass, but require achievement of concentrations below saturation and likely close to natural background.     

Compensatory Mitigation for Streams Under the Clean Water Act: Reassessing Science and Redirecting Policy1

Doyle, Martin W. and F. Douglas Shields, 2012. Compensatory Mitigation for Streams Under the Clean Water Act: Reassessing Science and Redirecting Policy. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(3): 494-509. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2011.00631.x Abstract: Current stream restoration science is not adequate to assume high rates of success in recovering ecosystem functional integrity. The physical scale of most stream restoration projects is insufficient because watershed land use controls ambient water quality and hydrology, and land use surrounding many restoration projects at the time of their construction, or in the future, do not provide sufficient conditions for functional integrity recovery. Reach scale channel restoration or modification has limited benefits within the broader landscape context. Physical habitat variables are often the basis for indicating success, but are now increasingly seen as poor surrogates for actual biological function; the assumption “if you build it they will come” lacks support of empirical studies. If stream restoration is to play a continued role in compensatory mitigation under the United States Clean Water Act, then significant policy changes are needed to adapt to the limitations of restoration science and the social environment under which most projects are constructed. When used for compensatory mitigation, stream restoration should be held to effectiveness standards for actual and measurable physical, chemical, or biological functional improvement. To achieve improved mitigation results, greater flexibility may be required for the location and funding of restoration projects, the size of projects, and the restoration process itself.     

Hydrologic Landscape Characterization for the Pacific Northwest,USA

We update the Wigington et al. (2013) hydrologic landscape (HL) approach to make it more broadly applicable and apply the revised approach to the Pacific Northwest (PNW; i.e., Oregon, Washington, and Idaho). Specific changes incorporated are the use of assessment units based on National Hydrography Dataset Plus V2 catchments, a modified snowmelt model validated over a broader area, an aquifer permeability index that does not require preexisting aquifer permeability maps, and aquifer and soil permeability classes based on uniform criteria. Comparison of Oregon results for the revised and original approaches found fewer and larger assessment units, loss of summer seasonality, and changes in rankings and proportions of aquifer and soil permeability classes. Differences could be explained by three factors: an increased assessment unit size, a reduced number of permeability classes, and use of smaller cutoff values for the permeability classes. The distributions of the revised HLs in five groups of Oregon rivers were similar to the original HLs but less variable. The improvements reported here should allow the revised HL approach to be applied more often in situations requiring hydrologic classification and allow greater confidence in results. We also apply the map results to the development of hydrologic landscape regions.     

Integrating Seasonal Information on Nutrients and Benthic Algal Biomass into Stream Water Quality Monitoring

Benthic chlorophyll a (BChl a) and environmental factors that influence algal biomass were measured monthly from February through October in 22 streams from three agricultural regions of the United States. At‐site maximum BChl a ranged from 14 to 406 mg/m² and generally varied with dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN): 8 out of 9 sites with at‐site median DIN >0.5 mg/L had maximum BChl a >100 mg/m². BChl a accrued and persisted at levels within 50% of at‐site maximum for only one to three months. No dominant seasonal pattern for algal biomass accrual was observed in any region. A linear model with DIN, water surface gradient, and velocity accounted for most of the cross‐site variation in maximum chlorophyll a (adjusted R² = 0.7), but was no better than a single value of DIN = 0.5 mg/L for distinguishing between low and high‐biomass sites. Studies of nutrient enrichment require multiple samples to estimate algal biomass with sufficient precision given the magnitude of temporal variability of algal biomass. An effective strategy for regional stream assessment of nutrient enrichment could be based on a relation between maximum BChl a and DIN based on repeat sampling at sites selected to represent a gradient in nutrients and application of the relation to a larger number of sites with synoptic nutrient information.     

Identification of Putative Geographically Isolated Wetlands of the Conterminous United States

Geographically isolated wetlands (GIWs) are wetlands completely surrounded by uplands. While common throughout the United States (U.S.), there have heretofore been no nationally available, spatially explicit estimates of GIW extent, complicating efforts to understand the myriad biogeochemical, hydrological, and habitat functions of GIWs and hampering conservation and management efforts at local, state, and national scales. We used a 10‐m geospatial buffer as a proxy for hydrological or ecological connectivity of National Wetlands Inventory palustrine and lacustrine wetland systems to nationally mapped and available stream, river, and lake data. We identified over 8.3 million putative GIWs across the conterminous U.S., encompassing nearly 6.5 million hectares of wetland resources (average size 0.79 ± 4.81 ha, median size 0.19 ha). Putative GIWs thus represent approximately 16% of the freshwater wetlands of the conterminous U.S. The water regime for the majority of the putative GIWs was temporarily or seasonally flooded, suggesting a vulnerability to ditching or hydrologic abstraction, sedimentation, or alterations in precipitation patterns. Additional analytical applications of this readily available geospatially explicit mapping product (e.g., hydrological modeling, amphibian metapopulation, or landscape ecological analyses) will improve our understanding of the abundance and extent, effect, connectivity, and relative importance of GIWs to other aquatic systems of the conterminous U.S.     

巢湖入湖河流沉积物中有机磷的形态分级研究简

为识别巢湖流域污染物的特征、来源及其沉积物有机磷各形态分布与富营养化的关系,测定了7条巢湖入湖河流沉积物中有机磷各形态的含量,分析不同污染类型入湖河流沉积物中有机磷各形态分布的差异及与其他因素间的相关性。研究发现,不同污染类型入湖河流沉积物中水土保持控制型河流沉积物中有机磷各组分的相对含量顺序为残渣态P_o >富里酸-P_o >HCl-P_o >胡敏酸-P_o >NaHCO₃-P_o,平均的相对比例为7.5：3.1：1.9：1.5：1.0,而城市污染控制型和面源污染控制型河流沉积物中有机磷各组分的相对含量顺序恰好相同,面源污染控制型河流沉积物P_o各形态含量低于城市污染控制型和水土保持控制型河流。中活性P_o和OM、TP、P_i、P_o、TN、NaHCO₃-P_i、NaOH-P_i呈正相关,非活性P_o与P_o、NaOH-P_i呈显著正相关关系,反映了中活性P_o很容易转化为生物可利用磷和非活性P_o,且非活性P_o仍然具有潜在的生物活性。     

宜兴城市内河污染物时空分布及解析

选取宜兴主城区18个典型内河采样点,对NO-3-N、NO-2-N、p H、CODMn、NH+4-N、TN、TP、SS、BOD5、DO、挥发酚、汞、铅及石油类14个主要水质指标进行为期1年的监测,频率为每月1次。采用综合污染指数法、聚类分析及因子分析法,系统解析了宜兴主城区内河水体污染物的时空分布特性。研究结果表明,综合污染指数随季节变化特征较为明显,总体污染程度表现为第三季度第二季度第四季度第一季度;聚类分析结果显示,河道的污染程度从空间上可分为2类(组);对城区内河监测点全年的因子分析提取3个特征因子,分析结果表明,内河河道以氮、磷污染为主导因素。     

2007—2015年长江流域四川段主要江河放射性水平分析

对2007—2015年长江流域四川段主要12条江河水体放射性核素活度浓度的监测结果进行了分析。结果表明,四川段主要江河放射性核素水平远低于我国规定的露天水源的限制浓度。与1995年中国环境天然放射性（四川省部分）、1988年长江水系天然放射性活度浓度参考范围相比,U、Th、²²⁶Ra、⁴⁰K、¹³⁷C_s均有上升趋势,其他核素活度浓度涨落不明显均在本底范围内。总 α、总 β放射性活度浓度测值均符合《生活饮用水卫生标准》（GB 5749—2006）的限值要求。