Evaluating the effects of spatial monitoring policy on groundwater quality portrayal

What size sample is sufficient for spatially sampling ambient groundwater quality? Water quality data are only as spatially accurate as the geographic sampling strategies used to collect them. This research used sequential sampling and regression analysis to evaluate groundwater quality spatial sampling policy changes proposed by California's Department of Water Resources. Iterative or sequential sampling of a hypothetical groundwater basin's water quality produced data sets from sample sizes ranging from 2.8% to 95% coverage of available point sample sites. Contour maps based on these sample data sets were compared to an original (control), mapped hypothetical data set, to determine at which point map information content and pattern portrayal are not improved by increasing sample sizes. Comparing series of contour maps of ground water quality concentration is a common means of evaluating the geographic extent of groundwater quality change. Comparisons included visual inspection of contout maps and statistical tests on digital versions of these map files, including correlation and regression products. This research demonstrated that, down to about 15% sample site coverage, there is no difference between contour maps produced from the different sampling strategies and the contout map of the original data set.     

EFFECTS OF WATERSHED BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON HABITAT AND FISH IN WISCONSIN STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: We evaluated the effectiveness of watershed‐scale implementations of best‐management practices (BMPs) for improving habitat and fish attributes in two coldwater stream systems in Wisconsin. We sampled physical habitat, water temperature, and fish communities in multiple paired treatment and reference streams before and after upland (barnyard runoff controls, manure storage, contour plowing, reduced tillage) and riparian (stream bank fencing, sloping, limited rip‐rapping) BMP installation in the treatment subwatersheds. In Spring Creek, BMPs significantly improved overall stream habitat quality, bank stability, instream cover for fish, abundance of cool‐ and coldwater fishes, and abundance of all fishes. Improvements were most pronounced at sites with riparian BMPs. Water temperatures were consistently cold enough to support coldwater fishes such as trout (Salmonidae) and sculpins (Cottidae) even before BMP installation. We observed the first‐time occurrence of naturally reproduced brown trout (Salmo trutta) in Spring Creek, indicating that the stream condition had been improved to be able to partially sustain a trout population. In Eagle Creek and its tributary Joos Creek, limited riparian BMPs led to localized gains in overall habitat quality, bank stability, and water depth. However, because few upland BMPs were installed in the subwatershed there were no improvements in water temperature or the quality of the fish community. Temperatures remained marginal for coldwater fish throughout the study. Our results demonstrate that riparian BMPs can improve habitat conditions in Wisconsin streams, but cannot restore coldwater fish communities if there is insufficient upland BMP implementation. Our approach of studying multiple paired treatment and reference streams before and after BMP implementation proved effective in detecting the response of stream ecosystems to watershed management activities.     

Environmental Impacts of the Akosombo Dam and Effects of Climate Change on the Lake Levels

The Akosombo dam was constructed on the Volta river primarily for the generation of hydropower. The resultant Volta lake which was formed between 1962 and 1966 in Ghana will probably long be one of the greatest man-made lakes. It produces 912MW of electricity at its maximum operating capacity. The Akosombo hydroelectric project (HEP) was meant among others to open up Ghana to rapid industrialization and hence modern development. Other positive impacts of the HEP include fishing, farming, transportation and tourism. However, there are equally negative impacts, some of which the project did not envisage and these are felt on the physical, biological and human subsystems within the immediate project environments and places much more distant from them. Recently, there have been declines in the lake levels resulting most probably from inadequate rainfall and/or runoff from the river catchments that feed the lake, and also from the observed rising temperatures. Comparisons of the runoff from two most important tributaries of the Volta (White Volta and Oti) for two time periods of 1951–1970 and 1971–1990 showed reductions in mean streamflows of 23.1% on the White Volta and 32.5% on the Oti. Similarly, a plot of the mean annual temperatures for the upper Volta basin indicated a 1^C rise in temperature from 1945–1993.     

MANAGEMENT ASPECTS OF CYCLIC STORAGE OF WATER IN AQUIFER SYSTEMS1

ABSTRACT: Most of California's precipitation falls at the wrong place in the wrong season in relation to the water needs. Redistribution and regulation are essential. Aquifer systems – groundwater basins – can provide a share of the future cyclic storage regulation. There are some differences in management concepts in using a full basin in comparison with a partially dewatered basin. Legal, water quality, and physical impacts on aquifer systems, including subsidence, are concerns. Storage may be for the benefit of overlying water users or for distant areas. Extraction during dry periods or recharge methods will require careful planning. Existing rights and uses and equitable treatment of all parties must be assured. Financial compensation may be involved. Changes in methods of operation or degree of self-determination by affected water agencies will require committed watermanship to resolve. Legislation or amendments to organic acts may be needed but much can be accomplished within existing statutes. Environmental impacts which can be avoided by not using large surface storage sites are important. Energy for pumping will be a key consideration. About 40 percent of California is underlain by aquifer systems. This resource offers major potential in overcoming the maldistribution of natural water resources.     

WATER RESOURCES AND HUMAN HEALTH: THE VIEWPOINT OF MEDICAL GEOGRAPHY1

ABSTRACT: Medical geography studies both areal patterns of human health and disease and the environmental and cultural factors that contribute to such conditions. In such studies water resources are of major importance, not only because they are essential for life and their scenic beauty is of inspirational value, but also because they are involved, directly or indirectly, in more than 80 percent of all disease. The direct involvements result from various disease causing agents sometimes found in surface or ground water organic ones such as bacteria, worms, etc., which are known as pathogens, and inorganic ones such as trace elements and synthetic toxic chemicals. Surface waters may have indirect effects also, for they may serve as habitats or breeding places for organisms that do not themselves cause human disease but that serve as vectors or hosts for such pathogens. This paper will discuss these various roles of water resources in both endemic and epidemic disease occurrences and ways in which various human activities domestic, economic, recreational, or religious — increase or reduce our exposure to such diseases.     

Using participatory geographic approaches for urban flood risk in Santiago de Chile: Insights from a governance analysis

Studies based on information acquired by participative geographic approaches have sought to cope with emergency situations and disasters such as floods. However, the impact of these approaches to flood risk governance systems in order to understand these types of events as a complete risk cycle is still not clear. This paper focuses on analysing the governance possibilities of using participative geographic information like volunteered and public participatory geographic information for flood risk reduction in the case of Santiago de Chile, a city which regularly experiences urban floods during rainy seasons. Based on in-depth interviews and document analysis, our study indicates that a relevant part of the current information used for flood risk reduction efforts is provided to local and regional authorities by the affected population. Though, local actors are not recognized by central agencies as valid agents for the production of official information. Moreover, there are neither instances of communication or deliberation with the community, which reduces the capacity of local actors to discuss possible solutions. Participative geographic instruments are seen as potential mechanisms to strengthen work relations among local actors and authorities, by enhancing new logics for producing and sharing information. The impacts for the current risk governance system though can be diverse depending on the participants' level of commitment of participants and the political relations between actors and agencies. Considered as merely data acquisition and analysis mechanisms, participative instruments reproduce the existing hierarchical top-down structures. Furthermore, local-based approaches can enhance local work, support local diagnostics and increase the decision capacity of citizens.     

“The commons” as a dynamic variable in understanding strategic alliances of scale: A groundwater case study in Pajaro Valley,California

Groundwater, a critical resource in many parts of the world, is often characterized as a common pool resource (Brozovic et al., 2006). Multiple individuals utilize groundwater from a basin, and each person has the capacity to reduce the quantity or quality available to others. We turn to a case study of the Pajaro Groundwater Basin in Central California to re-envision the characterization of “commons.” While providing a useful frame from which to analyze groundwater depletion in the Pajaro, we find Common Pool Resource (CPR) theory to be imprecise in its approach to a geographic scale. The notion of the “commons” is central to CPR studies, but there is wide divergence in what the “commons” constitutes, both spatially and socially (Laerhoven and Ostrom, 2007). Rather than propose a normative definition for the “commons,” we suggest that the “commons” as a geographic category is socially constructed and dynamically active over time, akin to the analytic of scale as developed within the fields of political ecology and geography. This move from situating the “commons” as a fixed and discrete geographic area to that which is constantly changing and relational helps us to better understand the ways in which water users collaborate and communicate around shared groundwater sources.     

Uneven Environmental Management: A Canadian Perspective

Advocates of community-based approaches to environmental management argue that by respecting local circumstances, skills, and concerns we may improve the prospects of achieving environmental sustainability; yet, within nation states such as Canada, environmental conditions, management and enforcement costs and capabilities, and power differentials within and among civic and public sectors may result in a highly differentiated capacity for environmental management across different localities and regions. This article draws on insights of political ecology to 1) create a conceptual framework that identifies key elements shaping regional environmental management regimes and to 2) undertake a comparative analysis to assess how elements interact to generate uneven management outcomes. I compare experiences of two Canadian biosphere reserves designated in 2000: Clayoquot Sound, BC; and Redberry Lake, SK. Analysis reveals that differences in governance and institutional capacities in the biosphere reserves are key to explaining uneven local outcomes. Where the public and civic sectors are strong, a robust and publicly vetted form of management will emerge. Where these sectors are weak and land is held as private property, environmental nongovernmental organizations can set the type and level of management, to the exclusion of effective civic and state involvement. This result may improve environmental sustainability but hinder social sustainability of a management regime and raises questions about the efficacy of community-based management.     

The relationship between sustainable development and resource use from a geographic perspective

Geography provides the basic building blocks for the study of resource use and sustainable development, inasmuch as it categorizes the human environment. Within the environment are resources that are needed for the survival of society. As resources are largely limited and finite, humans as agents of change must employ techniques that allow an efficient and lasting use of the available resources in their environment. This paper discusses the nexus between geography, resource exploitation, use, and sustainable development. It also discusses the characteristics, types, and classification of resources, development and sustainable development as well as the challenges and strategies for attaining sustainable development, particularly in developing countries.     

滇西北高原生态恢复过程中土壤侵蚀特征及其影响因子

滇西北高原由于地处生态脆弱的石灰岩区,水土流失严重,探讨该区生态恢复过程中土壤侵蚀的变化规律,为开展人工植被建设提供依据。以时空互代的方法,通过径流小区,对坡面的产沙产流特性及其影响因素进行研究。结果表明:天然次生林和人工混交林均有较好的调节径流和减少泥沙的作用,产沙量分别比坡耕地减少了51.46%、43.18%,产流量也相应降低了39.39%、24.24%。在最大次降雨条件下,荒草丛、坡耕地、次生林和混交林单次降雨的产沙量分别占试验期产沙总量的55.38%、55.58%、58.35%和58.05%,产流量相应占产流总量的64.72%、64.63%、73.85%和55.39%。而且,产流产沙量与土壤有机质质量分数均存在明显正相关,与乔、灌层植物多样性及均匀度指数等呈显著负相关性(P<0.05)。因此,乔灌草结合的群落结构配置模式是滇西北地区水土保持林营造的目标和方向。