watershed Articles
-
Factors that control the range and variability of Amorphous Silica in soils in the hubbard brook experimental forest
In terrestrial ecosystems, the largest pool of amorphous silica (ASi) is stored in soils and is an important reservoir of biologically active Si for the global biogeochemical cycling of Si. Only limited data are available that quantify the size of this reservoir and often these estimates are made from the physical separation of silt-sized phytoliths, which can underestimate the ASi pool. Soil ...
-
Detection of biotic responses to urbanization using fish assemblages from small streams of western Georgia, USA
We examined relationships between stream fish assemblages and land use alteration associated with urbanization in 15 lower Piedmont watersheds along an urbanization gradient north of Columbus, western Georgia. Based on land cover data from 2002 Landsat 7 TM imagery aerial photos, streams drained watersheds that were largely urban, developing (suburban), agricultural (pasture), managed pine ...
-
Impacts of fertilization on water quality of a drained pine plantation: a worst case scenario
Received for publication December 8, 2008. Intensive plantation forestry will be increasingly important in the next 50 yr to meet the high demand for domestic wood in the United States. However, forest management practices can substantially influence downstream water quality and ecology. This study analyses, the effect of fertilization on effluent water quality of a low gradient drained coastal ...
-
Effect of climate change on potential evapotranspiration: a case study on Gharehsoo sub–basin, Iran
Potential evapotranspiration (ET0) as an important factor in hydrologic cycle has a key role in integrated watershed management practices. Moreover, study of the lack of precipitation with respect to ET0 is one of the main references in management of extreme events. In this study, Gharehsoo sub–basin as a part of Caspian Sea watershed located in Golestan province at Northern Iran is studied to ...
-
Differences in water balance between grassland and forest watersheds using long-term data, derived using the CoupModel
To quantify the role of land cover during a period of climate change, the runoff response is studied for Plynlimon in Wales, UK. The main objective was two-fold: (i) to create a protocol for modeling water balance on a daily basis; and (ii) to describe the extent to which the impact of land-use changes can be identified and supported by the long-term monitoring data of runoff from two ...
-
Nitrogen mass balance of a tile-drained agricultural watershed in East-Central Illinois
Simple nitrogen (N) input/output balance calculations in agricultural systems are used to evaluate performance of nutrient management; however, they generally rely on extensive assumptions that do not consider leaching, denitrification, or annual depletion of soil N. We constructed a relatively complete N mass balance for the Big Ditch watershed, an extensively tile-drained agricultural watershed ...
-
Decadal changes in Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium in a deciduous forest soil
Decadal changes in soil exchangeable K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ concentrations and contents from 1972 to 2004 in eight intensively monitored plots on Walker Branch Watershed were compared with estimates of increments or decrements in vegetation and detritus. The results from these eight plots compared favorably with those from a more extensive set from 24 soil sampling plots sampled in 1972 and 2004. ...
-
Nitrogen mass balance of a tile-drained agricultural watershed in East-Central Illinois
Received for publication September 10, 2008. Simple nitrogen (N) input/output balance calculations in agricultural systems are used to evaluate performance of nutrient management; however, they generally rely on extensive assumptions that do not consider leaching, denitrification, or annual depletion of soil N. We constructed a relatively complete N mass balance for the Big Ditch watershed, an ...
-
A simple approach to assess N load capacity of rice paddy fields in the southern Taihu Lake watershed
High nitrogen (N) leaching from irrigated agricultural soils is the result of N input exceeding soil N load capacity (NLC). A simple approach was developed in this research to assess the NLC of paddy soils in the southern Taihu Lake watershed. Paddy soils were classified into four types (Submergenic, Illuvium, Gleyed, and Percogenic) and 28 soil samples representing all four types were ...
-
Agroforestry Buffers Reduce Runoff from Agricultural Watersheds
Despite increased attention and demand for the adoption of agroforestry practices throughout the world, rigorous long-term scientific studies confirming environmental benefits from the use of agroforestry practices are limited. The objective of this study was to examine nonpoint-source pollution (NPSP) reduction as influenced by agroforestry buffers in watersheds under grazing and row crop ...
-
Cootes paradise, Hamilton, Ont., Canada - Case Study
Across-disciplinary team of engineers and landscape architects opted for a revolutionary cellular confinement system with polymeric tendons to rehabilitate a 1.5h:1v slope in a Hamilton, Ontario, conservation area. Ontario’s transit authority, GO Transit, was expanding its commuter rail lines, necessitating track improvements between Toronto and Hamilton. The owner of that section of ...
-
Soil moisture and temperature dynamics in typical alpine ecosystems: a continuous multi-depth measurements-based analysis from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China
Soil temperature and moisture are the key variables that control the overall effect of climate and topography on soil and vegetation in alpine regions. However, there has been little investigation of the potential soil temperature and moisture feedbacks on climate changes in different alpine ecosystems and their impact on vegetation change. Soil temperature and moisture at five depths were ...
-
Arundo Donax Removal in the Santa Ana River Watershed
Orange County Water District (OCWD) was awarded the Ruth Anderson Wilson Award by the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority for its collaborative efforts in a program to remove Arundo donax (arundo) from the Santa Ana River watershed. The arundo removal program is also one reason the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency selected OCWD as a Clean Water Partner for 2003. Arundo donax, or the giant ...
-
Reducing the impact of summer cattle grazing on water quality in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California: a proposal
The Sierra Nevada Mountain range serves as an important source of drinking water for the State of California. However, summer cattle grazing on federal lands affects the overall water quality yield from this essential watershed as cattle manure is washed into the lakes and streams or directly deposited into these bodies of water. This organic pollution introduces harmful microorganisms and also ...
-
Abiotic nitrate retention in agroecosystems and a forest soil
Agricultural ecosystems are the primary source of nitrate (NO3–) pollution in many watersheds. We used a laboratory 15N tracer study with live and gamma irradiated soils to examine the role of land management in abiotic retention of NO3– in three agroecosytems and a forest soil. Nitrogen retention was defined as the quantity of 15N that remained in soil following salt extractions. Land management ...
-
Insights from the field: forests for water
In the Neuse River Basin in North Carolina, WRI is working with partners to identify beneficiaries and their water-related dependencies. We learned that clear documentation of the risks that beneficiaries face from water pollution, drought, and watershed degradation will help jump-start their participation in emerging PWS programs. In the Sebago Lake Watershed in Maine, WRI is finalizing a ...
-
Relationship between Riparian Vegetation and Stream Benthic Communities at Three Spatial Scales
We examined the influence of riparian vegetation on macroinvertebrate community structure in streams of the Upper Thames River watershed in southwestern Ontario. Thirty-three µ-basins (129–1458 ha) were used to identify land cover variables that influenced stream macroinvertebrates. Micro-basins represented the entire drainage area of study streams and were similar in stream order (first, second) ...
-
Procedure for rapid determination of δ15N and δ18O values of nitrate: development and application to an irrigated rice paddy watershed
The dual isotope approach using the stable isotope ratios of nitrate nitrogen (δ15NNO3) and oxygen (δ18ONO3) is a strong tool for identifying the history of nitrate in various environments. Basically, a rapid procedure for determining δ15NNO3 and δ18ONO3 values is required to analyze many more samples quickly and thus save on the operational costs of isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS). We ...
-
Projection of future climate change impacts on nonpoint source pollution loads for a forest dominant dam watershed by reflecting future vegetation canopy in a Soil and Water Assessment Tool model
This study is to assess the future impact of climate change on hydrological behavior considering future vegetation canopy prediction and its propagation to nonpoint source pollution (NPS) loads. The SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was used for the assessment. For a forest dominant ChungjuDam watershed of South Korea, the MIROC3.2hires climate data of SRES A1B and B1 scenarios were ...
-
An overview of microfinance and the environmental sustainability of smallholder agriculture
The interest and growth in microfinance have burgeoned during the last two decades with the involvement of both private and public sector agencies. As a result of the interest in this sector, microfinance services have grown rapidly. However, little attention has been given to the environmental impacts of microcredit, or ways to mitigate those impacts. This is of particular concern in a rural ...
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you