Impact of floodplain and Stage 0 stream restoration on flood attenuation and floodplain exchange during small frequent storms

River flooding impacts human life and infrastructure, yet provides habitat and ecosystem services. Traditional flood control (e.g., levees, dams) reduces habitat and ecosystem services, and exacerbates flooding elsewhere. Floodplain restoration (i.e., bankfull floodplain reconnection and Stage 0) can also provide flood management, but has not been sufficiently evaluated for small frequent storms. We used 1D unsteady Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System to simulate small storms in a 5 km-long, second-order generic stream from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and varied % channel restored (starting at the upstream end), restoration location, restoration bank height (distinguishes bankfull from Stage 0 restoration), and floodplain width/Manning's n. Stream restoration decreased (attenuated) peak flow up to 37% and increased floodplain exchange by up to 46%. Floodplain width and % channel restored had the largest impact on flood attenuation. The incremental effects of new restoration projects on flood attenuation were greatest when little prior restoration had occurred. By contrast, incremental effects on floodplain exchange were greatest in the presence of substantial prior restoration, setting up a tradeoff. A similar tradeoff was revealed between attenuation and exchange for project location, but not bank height or floodplain width. In particular, attenuation and exchange were always greater for Stage 0 than for bankfull floodplain restoration. Stage 0 thus may counteract human impacts such as urbanization.     

COLD WATER PATCHES IN WARM STREAMS: PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THE INFLUENCE OF SHADING1

ABSTRACT: Discrete cold water patches within the surface waters of summer warm streams afford potential thermal refuge for cold water fishes during periods of heat stress. This analysis focused on reach scale heterogeneity in water temperatures as influenced by local influx of cooler subsurface waters. Using field thermal probes and recording thermistors, we identified and characterized cold water patches (at least 3°C colder than ambient streamflow temperatures) potentially serving as thermal refugia for cold water fishes. Among 37 study sites within alluvial valleys of the Grande Ronde basin in northeastern Oregon, we identified cold water patches associated with side channels, alcoves, lateral seeps, and floodplain spring brooks. These types differed with regard to within floodplain position, area, spatial thermal range, substrate, and availability of cover for fish. Experimental shading cooled daily maximum temperatures of surface waters within cold water patches 2 to 4°C, indicating a strong influence of riparian vegetation on the expression of cold water patch thermal characteristics. Strong vertical temperature gradients associated with heating of surface layers of cold water patches exposed to solar radiation, superimposed upon vertical gradients in dissolved oxygen, can partially restrict suitable refuge volumes for stream salmonids within cold water patches.     

Mowers versus growers: Riparian buffer management in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains,USA

Despite long-standing knowledge of the benefits of riparian buffers for mitigating nonpoint source pollution, many streams are unprotected by buffers. Even landowners who understand ecological values of buffers mow riparian vegetation to the streambank. Do trends in rural riparian conditions reflect the development of riparian forest science? What motivates residential riparian management actions? Using high-resolution orthoimagery, we quantified riparian conditions and trends between 1998 and 2015 in the rural upper Little Tennessee River basin in Macon County, North Carolina and explored how landowners view riparian zone management and riparian restoration programs. Buffer composition in 2015 was as follows: no buffer (32.5%), narrow (19.3%), forested (26.7%), shrub (7.2%), and intermediate (7.0%). Relative to 1998, the greatest decrease occurred in the no buffer class (−17.7%, 46 km) and the largest increases occurred in the shrub (+72.5%, 20 km) and narrow (12.6%, 14 km) classes. Forested buffer marginally increased. Semi-structured interview data suggest that landowners prioritize recreational and scenic aspects of riparian buffers over ecological functions such as filtration and bank stabilization. Riparian restoration programs might be made more enticing to non-adopters if outreach language appealed to landowner priorities, design elements demonstrated intentional management, and program managers highlighted areas where ecological goals and landowner values align.     

滨岸缓冲带控制农田氮磷流失的作用和机理研究

农田面源氮磷的流失是导致河流湖泊等水体产生富营养化的主要原因之一,其带来的环境、经济及社会问题已引起国内外广泛关注。近年来,关于滨岸缓冲带截留污染物的效率和机理已成为研究热点。文章介绍了滨岸缓冲带在农业面源污染防治上的功能和作用,论述了滨岸缓冲带对氮磷养分的截留转化机理以及稳定同位素技术在机理研究中的应用,讨论了影响滨岸缓冲带截留转化氮磷养分的调控因子,在此基础上就目前滨岸缓冲带控制农田氮磷流失研究中存在的问题提出了未来的研究展望。     

北京转河河岸带生态修复对河流水质的影响

以北京转河为例,探讨一系列河岸带生态修复措施(尤其是河漫地和护岸的改造)对河流水质的影响.于2009年7～9月进行实地调查,沿河岸选取13个采样点,并定期采集水样,测定其中营养物质和溶解氧(DO)等的浓度.结果表明,转河氨氮(NH4+-N)、硝氮(NO3--N)、总磷(TP)和DO的浓度均有非常明显的季节变化.在居民用...     

三峡水库消落区生态环境保护与调控对策研究

三峡水库建成后,由于水库调度引起库水位周期性的涨落,在库区两岸形成周期性变化的水陆交错区域即消落区。消落区是水、陆生态系统的交错地带,具有生态脆弱性、变化周期性和人类活动频繁性等特点。随着三峡工程逐步投入使用,人类活动对消落区的影响也逐渐增加,并且消落区自身存在生态脆弱性,如果不采取有效措施,它将影响三峡工程的正常运行和整个库区的可持续发展。因此,针对消落区的水、土环境变化特点,分析了消落区土壤与水环境的相互影响,提出了利用生物缓冲带、复合生态、坡地农业、流域生态学、人工湿地及生态河堤等技术来对消落区生态环境进行保护与调控的措施。     

Status of the Riparian Ecosystem in the Upper San Pedro River, Arizona: Application of an Assessment Model

A portion of Arizona’s San Pedro River is managed as a National Riparian Conservation Area but is potentially affected by ground-water withdrawals beyond the conservation area borders. We applied an assessment model to the Conservation Area as a basis for monitoring long-term changes in riparian ecosystem condition resulting from changes in river water availability, and collected multi-year data on a subset of the most sensitive bioindicators. The assessment model is based on nine vegetation bioindicators that are sensitive to changes in surface water or ground water. Site index scores allow for placement into one of three condition classes, each reflecting particular ranges for site hydrology and vegetation structure. We collected the bioindicator data at 26 sites distributed among 14 reaches that had similar stream flow hydrology (spatial flow intermittency) and geomorphology (channel sinuosity, flood-plain width). Overall, 39% of the riparian corridor fell within condition class 3 (the wettest condition), 55% in condition class 2, and 6% in the driest condition class. Condition class 3 reaches have high cover of herbaceous wetland plants (e.g., Juncus and Schoenoplectus spp.) along the perennial stream channel and dense, multi-aged Populus-Salix woodlands in the flood plain, sustained by shallow ground water in the stream alluvium. In condition class 2, intermittent stream flows result in low cover of streamside wetland herbs, but Populus-Salix remain abundant in the flood plain. Perennial wetland plants are absent from condition class 1, reflecting highly intermittent stream flows; the flood plain is vegetated by Tamarixa small tree that tolerates the deep and fluctuating ground water levels that typify this reach type. Abundance of herbaceous wetland plants and growth rate of Salix gooddingii varied between years with different stream flow rates, indicating utility of these measures for tracking short-term responses to hydrologic change. Repeat measurement of all bioindicators will indicate long-term trends in hydro-vegetational condition.