Improving the Urban Stream Restoration Effort: Identifying Critical Form and Processes Relationships

Stream restoration projects are often based on morphological form or stream type and, as a result, there needs to be a clear tie established between form and function of the stream. An examination of the literature identifies numerous relationships in naturally forming streams that link morphologic form and stream processes. Urban stream restoration designs often work around infrastructure and incorporate bank stabilization and grade control structures. Because of these imposed constraints and highly altered hydrologic and sediment discharge regimens, the design of urban channel projects is rather unclear. In this paper, we examine the state of the art in relationships between form and processes, the strengths and weaknesses of these existing relationships, and the current lack of understanding in applying these relationships in the urban environment. In particular, we identify relationships that are critical to urban stream restoration projects and provide recommendations for future research into how this information can be used to improve urban stream restoration design. It is also suggested that improving the success of urban restoration projects requires further investigation into incorporating process-based methodologies, which can potentially reduce ambiguity in the design and the necessity of using an abundant amount of in-stream structures.     

干湿循环对三峡支流消落带沉积物中可转化态氮及其形态分布的影响

水体富营养化的形成与沉积物中氮素的"源-汇"关系密切,本研究选取三峡典型支流澎溪河消落带上、中、下这3个水文断面,160 m和170 m两个水位高程,0~20、20~40、40~60、60~80、80~100 cm共5个深度的沉积物样品,通过研究其总可转化态氮(TF-N)与各形态可转化态氮含量及分布特征,旨在揭示周期性水位变化对消落带沉积物氮释放的影响.结果表明,澎溪河消落带沉积物总氮含量在313.02~3 255.53 mg·kg-1之间,空间分布上呈上站位(渠口)中站位(高阳)下站位(双江)的趋势;总可转化态氮含量范围为288.54~1 123.27mg·kg-1,均值为639.40 mg·kg-1,空间分布趋势与总氮一致;TF-N中各形态氮的大小顺序为:OSF-N(有机态和硫化物结合态)IMOF-N(铁锰结合态)CF-N(碳酸盐结合态)IEF-N(离子交换态).沉积物中TF-N主要以OSF-N(50.9%)和IMOF-N(33.3%)形态存在.OSF-N很难释放,不易参与氮循环.IMOF-N受水文条件影响显著,表现为在低水位高程和下采样站位沉积物中含量更低.淹水胁迫、水体富营养化等情况下氧含量较低,相对还原条件下有利于其向水体释放.而TF-N及其形态分布在垂直深度上无显著差异.可见,三峡库区特殊调蓄水制度加速了澎溪河下游、低水位高程消落带沉积物中IMOF-N向水体的释放.     

清河流域水环境质量监测与评价研究

近年来,随着全球各地城市化和工业化进程的不断加快,以及人类对河流水生态系统资源的不合理、掠夺式利用,河流水生态系统遭到严重破坏,各地河流相继出现水质恶化、水文条件改变、物种多样性退化、生境条件恶劣等诸多问题。文章对辽河主要支流清河水生态系统的水质状况进行了研究,并于2012年6月,对清河流域22个监测断面水质状况进行了实地调查,对其水质状况进行了评价,结果表明:22个监测断面中,达到Ⅲ类水质断面的有8个,Ⅳ类7个,Ⅴ类1个,劣Ⅴ类6个。其中6个劣Ⅴ类断面分别因氟化物、氨氮、总磷浓度超标而为劣Ⅴ类。     

三峡库区典型支流库湾消落带沉积泥沙特征及重金属评价

为了分析三峡库区支流消落带沉积泥沙的理化特征以及重金属污染的空间变化特征,选择9条典型一级支流,共采集54个消落带沉积泥沙样品,测定了粒径分布、容重、有机质(TOC)、总氮(TN)、总磷(TP)、钾(K)等养分元素含量特征以及运用地累积指数评价铬(Cr)、铜(Cu)、镍(Ni)、铅(Pb)、锌(Zn)等重金属.结果表明消落带沉积泥沙粒径分布在空间上(乌江-磨刀溪)中值粒径呈波动变化;支流消落带下部(160~165 m)沉积泥沙相比上部(165~175 m)偏粗,不同高程带砂粒和黏粒体积分数变化属于中等变异,粉粒属于弱变异.独立样本t检验表明消落带上部和下部之间沉积泥沙特征差异不显著.地累积指数评价表明支流消落带沉积泥沙只有Zn元素在珍溪河、龙洞河和龙河属于无-中的污染程度,Pb元素在磨刀溪属于无-中的污染程度,其他元素在所选支流消落带均为无污染.     

Thinking inside the basin: scale in transboundary water management

While transboundary waters are widely advocated to be best managed at the basin level, practical experience in transboundary waters at the basin vis‐à‐vis other scales has not been systematically examined. To understand past experiences in transboundary water management at alternate scales, this paper: (i) determines the relative abundance of water treaties at different scales and (ii) elucidates how transboundary water law varies according to the scale to which it applies. The paper developed a scale typology with six groups, and systematically applied it to stratify transboundary water treaties. Treaty contents were then compared across scales according to the following set of parameters: primary issue area, temporal development, and important water management attributes. Results of this work reveal: (i) treaties tend to focus on hydropower and flood control at smaller scales, and organizations and policies at larger scales; (ii) a temporal trend toward treaties concluded at larger scales; and (iii) a higher proportion of treaties is at larger scales in Africa and Asia than in Europe and the Americas. These findings suggest that smaller scale cooperation may constitute a more constructive scale in which to achieve development‐oriented cooperation. Further, scope may exist to complement basin scale cooperation with cooperation at smaller scales, in order to optimize transboundary water management. In the context of basin‐wide management frameworks, Africa and Asia may benefit from greater emphasis on small‐scale transboundary water cooperation.     

Analysis of bank erosion on the Merced River,Yosemite Valley,Yosemite National Park,California, USA

Channel changes from 1919 to 1989 were documented in two study reaches of the Merced River in Yosemite National Park through a review of historical photographs and documents and a comparison of survey data. Bank erosion was prevalent and channel width increased an average of 27% in the upstream reach, where human use was concentrated. Here, trampling of the banks and riparian vegetation was common, and banks eroded on straight stretches as frequently as on meander bends. Six bridges in the upper reach constrict the channel by an average of 38% of the original width, causing severe erosion. In the downstream control reach, where human use was minimal, channel widths both decreased and increased, with a mean increase of only 4% since 1919. Bank erosion in the control reach occurred primarily on meander bends. The control reach also had denser stands of riparian vegetation and a higher frequency of large woody debris in channels. There is only one bridge in the lower reach, located at the downstream end. Since 1919, bank erosion in the impacted upstream reach contributed a significant amount of sediment (74,800 tonnes, equivalent to 2.0 t/km²/yr) to the river. An analysis of 75 years of precipitation and hydrologic records showed no trends responsible for bank erosion in the upper reach. Sediment input to the upper reach has not changed significantly during the study period. Floodplain soils are sandy, with low cohesion and are easily detached by lateral erosion. The degree of channel widening was positively correlated with the percentage of bare ground on the streambanks and low bank stability ratings. Low bank stability ratings were, in turn, strongly associated with high human use areas. Channel widening and bank erosion in the upper reach were due primarily to destruction of riparian vegetation by human trampling and the effect of bridge constrictions on high flow, and secondarily to poorly installed channel revetments. Several specific recommendations for river restoration were provided to park management.     

Modeling channel management impacts on river migration: a case study of Woodson bridge state recreation area,Sacramento river,California, USA

Understanding how hydraulic factors control alluvial river meander migration can help resource managers evaluate the long-term effects of floodplain management and bank stabilization measures. Using a numerical model based on the mechanics of flow and sediment transport in curved river channels, we predict 50 years of channel migration and suggest the planning and ecological implications of that migration for a 6.4-km reach (river miles 218–222) of the Sacramento River near the Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area, California, USA. Using four different channel management scenarios, our channel migration simulations suggest that: (1) channel stabilization alters the future channel planform locally and downstream from the stabilization; (2) rock revetment currently on the bank upstream from the Woodson Bridge recreation area causes more erosion of the channel bank at the recreation area than if the revetment were not present; (3) relocating the channel to the west and allowing subsequent unconstrained river migration relieves the erosion pressure in the Woodson Bridge area; (4) the subsequent migration reworks (erodes along one river bank and replaces new floodplain along the other) 26.5 ha of land; and (5) the river will rework between 8.5 and 48.5 ha of land in the study reach (over the course of 50 years), depending on the bank stabilization plan used. The reworking of floodplain lands is an important riparian ecosystem function that maintains habitat heterogeneity, an essential factor for the long-term survival of several threatened and endangered animal species in the Sacramento River area.     

Channelization and levee construction in Illinois: Review and implications for management

The environmental impact of loss of natural stream and riparian habitat is of concern throughout the United States and Europe. Environmental impacts related to such activities as channelization of and levee construction along streams and rivers are particularly apparent in the Midwestern United States. The objective of the research presented here was to delineate the extent, relative degree of impact, and implications for management of channelization and levee construction along watercourses located in the state of Illinois. According to records maintained through the Illinois Streams Information System data base (Illinois Department of Conservation), nearly 25% of surface water resources in the state have been modified directly by channelization and/or levee construction. Reviews of agency records, elaboration of case histories, interviews with agency personnel, and inspections of impacted sites indicated that these alterations have occurred without the benefit of effective mitigation. Although permit records may provide suggestions for mitigation to be incorporated in the design of a particular project, permits issued generally do not require even minimal instream habitat and bank stabilization efforts in conjunction with channel alteration. Information derived from policy and case study analyses suggests that institutional constraints, rather than lack of particular understanding about mitigation, provide major barriers to protecting the state's surface water resources in terms of regulatory review, policy interpretation and implementation, and project evaluation. Recommendations for environmental management efforts regarding these and similar channel alterations are elaborated from these findings.     

ESTIMATED STREAM FLOW REQUIREMENTS FOR FISHES OF THE WASHITA RIVER BELOW FOSS RESERVOIR,WESTERN OKLAHOMA1

Velocity and depth preference curves for juvenile and adult red shiners (Notropis lutrensis) were developed for each season of the year. The incremental methodology, developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for quantifying the amount of physical habitat available for fish, was applied as a basis for recommending minimum stream flows for life stages of red shiners and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) in the Washita River below Foss Reservoir. The minimum stream flow required to support populations of red shiners and channel catfish was estimated to be 0.60 m³/s during all months except April and May, during which flushing flows of 3.0 m³/s were recommended. Under drought conditions a contingency flow of 0.18 m³/s was recommended for August through March, a flushing flow of 2.4 m³/s for April and May, and a flow of 0.30 m³/s for channel catfish spawning in June and July. Standing crop of adult red shiners per weighted usable area averaged 2.73 g/m² (27 kg/ha) for two sites on the Washita River. A positive relation between standing crop and weighted usable area was suggested. Use of the incremental methodology on the study reach below Foss Reservoir required 96 person-hours of labor, excluding training, travel, and developing preference curves, and a total cost of $1,762, of which $1,200 was for the purchase of equipment.