Beaver Wetland Buffers as Ecosystem-Based Tools for Sustainable Water Management and Lead (Pb) Risk Control

Through their dam-building activities and subsequent water storage, beaver have the potential to restore riparian ecosystems and offset some of the predicted effects of climate change by modulating streamflow. Thus, it is not surprising that reintroducing beaver to watersheds from which they have been extirpated is an often-used restoration and climate-adaptation strategy. Identifying sites for reintroduction, however, requires detailed information about habitat factors—information that is not often available at broad spatial scales. Here we explore the potential for beaver relocation throughout the Snohomish River Basin in Washington, USA with a model that identifies some of the basic building blocks of beaver habitat suitability and does so by relying solely on remotely sensed data. More specifically, we developed a generalized intrinsic potential model that draws on remotely sensed measures of stream gradient, stream width, and valley width to identify where beaver could become established if suitable vegetation were to be present. Thus, the model serves as a preliminary screening tool that can be applied over relatively large extents. We applied the model to 5,019 stream km and assessed the ability of the model to correctly predict beaver habitat by surveying for beavers in 352 stream reaches. To further assess the potential for relocation, we assessed land ownership, use, and land cover in the landscape surrounding stream reaches with varying levels of intrinsic potential. Model results showed that 33% of streams had moderate or high intrinsic potential for beaver habitat. We found that no site that was classified as having low intrinsic potential had any sign of beavers and that beaver were absent from nearly three quarters of potentially suitable sites, indicating that there are factors preventing the local population from occupying these areas. Of the riparian areas around streams with high intrinsic potential for beaver, 38% are on public lands and 17% are on large tracts of privately-owned timber land. Thus, although there are a large number of areas that could be suitable for relocation and restoration using beavers, current land use patterns may substantially limit feasibility in these areas.

The Effects of CaNa2EDTA on Brain Lead Mobilization in Rodents Determined Using a Stable Lead Isotope Tracer

Klemas, V., 2014. Remote sensing of riparian and wetland buffers: an overview. Journal of Coastal Research, 30(5), 869– 880. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Forested riparian and wetland buffers can help protect stream water quality, provide wildlife habitat, preserve floodplains and wetlands, protect against erosion, and provide recreational value. Many waterways have no buffers or buffers that have been degraded by human activities, including agriculture and urban development. To plan, evaluate, and restore riparian buffers, wetland managers need to monitor the conditions of constantly changing buffers over time. Remote sensing offers a cost-effective monitoring approach. Because riparian and wetland buffer zones exhibit extreme variations in width, length, spatial complexity, soil, and vegetation cover, mapping their hydrology and land cover requires high-spatial- and high-spectral-resolution data. The recent availability of high-spatial-resolution satellite and high-spectral-resolution aircraft imagery has significantly improved the capacity for mapping riparian buffers, wetlands, and other ecosystems. However, satellite sensors still do not have the combined spatial and spectral resolution to reliably identify buffer vegetation types and conditions. New interpretation strategies need to be developed to maximize the information obtained from high-resolution satellite sensors while minimizing the problems specific to high-resolution imagery, such as high variability within scene elements and within scene objects. The objective of this article is to review applications of remotely sensed data for modeling, designing, and evaluating riparian and wetland buffers.

There is an urgent need to improve water quality management in forested catchments, particularly in forestry-drained peatland areas. We utilized nutrient export models and forestry simulations to forecast the impact of forest management and water protection practices on nitrogen and phosphorus exports from forests to waters in the Kiiminkijoki catchment area, central Finland. Our simulations indicated that the choice between forest management systems (even-aged forestry, extended rotation length, continuous cover forestry, no forestry) may have a larger impact on nutrient exports from mineral soil forests than from drained peatland forests. Of the water protection practices, sedimentation ponds, peak runoff control dams, and riparian buffer zones may have little effect on nutrient exports, but wetland buffers in drained peatland forests may reduce nutrient exports to a significantly lower level. Our simulations suggested that forestry operators should consider continuous cover forestry and wetland buffers when trying to improve water quality in forested catchments.

Although land-use change in the riparian corridor can be a viable option in mitigating nonpoint source pollution, its impacts under different geographical scales have yet to be ascertained. The goal of this research was to quantify the hydrologic impacts of land-use change in the riparian zones of a subwatershed through the use of an integrated modeling approach. The Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran model was adopted to develop a hydrologic and water quality model for the Upper Little Miami River basin, a headwater subwatershed in Ohio, USA. After calibration and validation, the model was used to predict the hydrologic and water quality impacts under various scenarios of buffer zones. Results indicated that the 60 m, 90 m, and 120 m riparian forest and wetland buffers were able to reduce the mean annual flow by 0.26 to 0.28%, nitrite plus nitrate by 2.9 to 6.1%, and total phosphorus by 3.2 to 7.8%. Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired data revealed significant differences between the base case (no change in land-use pattern) and scenarios of forest or wetland buffer zones, between pairs of different buffer widths, and between pairs of forest and wetland buffers within a single width level. By integrating environmental information and systems analysis, this study has demonstrated that HSPF is an effective tool to model nonpoint source pollution from riparian land-use changes, even in a small subwatershed with relatively minimal anthropogenic influences. The findings from this research may be useful in facilitating the development of management solutions.

Although land-use change in the riparian corridor can be a viable option in mitigating nonpoint source pollution, its impacts under different geographical scales have yet to be ascertained. The goal of this research was to quantify the hydrologic impacts of land-use change in the riparian zones of a subwatershed through the use of an integrated modeling approach. The Hydrological Simulation Program-Fortran model was adopted to develop a hydrologic and water quality model for the Upper Little Miami River basin, a headwater subwatershed in Ohio, USA. After calibration and validation, the model was used to predict the hydrologic and water quality impacts under various scenarios of buffer zones. Results indicated that the 60 m, 90 m, and 120 m riparian forest and wetland buffers were able to reduce the mean annual flow by 0.26 to 0.28%, nitrite plus nitrate by 2.9 to 6.1%, and total phosphorus by 3.2 to 7.8%. Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired data revealed significant differences between the base case (no change in land-use pattern) and scenarios of forest or wetland buffer zones, between pairs of different buffer widths, and between pairs of forest and wetland buffers within a single width level. By integrating environmental information and systems analysis, this study has demonstrated that HSPF is an effective tool to model nonpoint source pollution from riparian land-use changes, even in a small subwatershed with relatively minimal anthropogenic influences. The findings from this research may be useful in facilitating the development of management solutions.

Rising population and demands for rice as a staple food have created severe stress on freshwater availability for paddy cultivation. The literature suggests that conventional irrigation techniques are inadequate to overcome the water constraints arising from drought and extreme weather conditions. In the past few decades, there is an upsurge of scientific exploration of agricultural techniques in reinventing traditional methods of irrigation. Recently, alternate wet and dry irrigation (AWDI) method has shown great promise regarding profitable rice cultivation with limited water supply. The AWDI method is a trending water management system, which inundates rice fields with intermittent wet conditions followed by a dry period. This not only ensures adequate water supply but increases crop yield and water productivity index (WPI). The AWDI also helps in reducing parasitic mosquito population in the rice fields by minimizing the field flooding period and curtailing a major part of their life cycles. This review proposes a novel approach of emphasizing AWDI method as an important agricultural tool for supplementing rice fields with limited freshwater, increasing crop yield, and monitoring parasitic mosquito populations. The major objective of this study is to report the state‐of‐the‐art scenario of AWDI method, critically analyze the research gaps related to conventional methods of irrigation and appreciate the futuristic long‐term benefits of AWDI method. Literature survey was performed using search engines like Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. Comprehensive appraisal of resources (both offline and online) and critical evaluation of AWDI technicalities revealed that the AWDI reduced water usage by 45%, enhanced crop yield and improved WPI in paddy fields in the Asian sub‐continent. The AWDI also curtailed the propagation of lethal mosquito species (Cx. tritaenorhynchus, Cx. vishnui, and Cx pseudovishnui) in rice fields. Therefore, the current study endorses AWDI as a promising substitute of conventional irrigation and a novel approach towards fulfilling water constraints that may be practiced anywhere in the world.

According to the main landscape functions - productional (economic), regulatory (ecological), and social (informative) functions - the role of wetlands and riparian buffers regarding landscape functioning is analysed. An analysis of the literature and authors’ earlier research results and experience has been used to highlight these functions. Special focus is devoted to the regulation of nutrient fluxes by wetlands and riparian buffer zones at landscape level. Examples from Estonia are used to illustrate the relevance of wetlands and riparian buffers in landscapes.

Stepwise logistic regression was used to identify factors important for habitat use by beavers (Castor canadensis) on streams. Increasing stream width and depth and decreasing gradient had the strongest positive effects on habitat use; food availability variables added little explanatory power. Some abandoned colony sites appeared to have been located on physically unsuitable habitat, whereas others appeared to be physically suitable sites abandoned due to resource depletion. The fact that few unused or uncolonized reaches were misclassified as suitable habitat suggests that suitable habitat has been saturated. Impact of beaver on woody plants was assessed for 8 forage species. Local extinction of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) and black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa) occurred on 4-5% of stream reaches. Willow (Salix spp.) showed good vigor despite heavy use in most reaches. J. WILDL. MANAGE. 51(4):794-799 Multivariate wildlife-habitat relationships models are often used to identify actually or potentially suitable habitat for various species, or to identify those factors that are important in habitat selection (Shugart 1981). Retzer (1955), Slough and Sadlier (1977), and Howard and Larson (1985) have used quantitative techniques to relate beaver occurrence, persistence, and density to various physical and vegetative characteristics. Wildlife managers have long been concerned with the loss of aesthetic value and impacts on stream channels due to destruction of riparian vegetation by beaver (Bump 1941, Munther 1981). Hall (1960) reported that beaver will deplete aspen in the immediate vicinity of a colony. However, there has been little quantitative documentation of the role of these animals in the loss of riparian vegetation (Kindschy 1985). Our objectives were to: (1) develop a model to identify the physical and vegetative characteristics of habitat colonized by beavers, and validate the model on a set of stream reaches not used in model development; (2) use the model results to suggest causes for colony abandonment, and evaluate whether beaver have saturated suitable habitat during the 40 years since introduction; and (3) describe the impact of beavers on woody vegetation. This research was supported by the Calif. Dep. Fish and Game and the Calif. Agric. Exp. Stn. Proj. 4326-MS. J. S. Slaymaker assisted in most of the fieldwork. M. L. Morrison, R. A. Lancia, S. H. Jenkins, and W. M. Block provided helpful criticisms of the manuscript. STUDY AREA The Truckee River Basin lies within Sierra, Nevada, Placer, and El Dorado counties, California, and Washoe County, Nevada. Our study covered the Truckee River and its tributaries from the confluence with Deer Creek downstream to Verdi, Nevada. This encompassed an area of approximately 600 km2, with 153 km of streams ranging from 1,485 to 2,750 m in elevation. Beavers were introduced into the area during 1938-46 and have since established colonies throughout the basin (P. Beier and R. H. Barrett, unpubl. data). The dominant vegetation of the area is mixed conifer forest with an overstory of white fir (Abies concolor); Jeffrey (Pinus jeffreyi), ponderosa (P. ponderosa), Washoe (P. washoensis), and lodgepole (P. contorta) pine; and a shrub component including greenleaf (Arctostaphylos patula) and whiteleaf (A. viscida) manzanita, snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus) and squawcarpet ceanothus (C. prostratus), pale serviceberry (Amelanchier pallida), rose (Rosa spp.), and Sierra gooseberry (Ribes roezlii). The mixed conifer forest is replaced in higher elevations by a forest dominated by Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica), western white pine (P. monticola), and lodgepole pine, with squawcarpet as a dominant shrub; and in lower elevations by open stands of Jeffrey pine and an understory including big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), and herbaceous plants. Stream banks were characterized by deciduous riparian vegetation consisting of aspen, cottonwood, willow, mountain alder (Alnus in-

Integrating forest biomass and distance from channel to develop an indicator of riparian condition

Water is an important natural element of our environment, and its management and security are also serious concerns. Agricultural non-point source pollution (NPSP) is one of the major sources of contaminants causing water quality degradation. A riparian buffer zone is a vegetative cover adjacent to water channels that positively contributes to pollutant filtration and sediment trapping. It has the potential to filter nutrients, reduce nutrients and pesticide leakage, provide habitat and protection against floods, minimize erosion issues, improve biodiversity and ecological connectivity, and add aesthetics to the area. Moreover, it is inexpensive and requires little maintenance making buffer zone an attractive approach to NPSP control. In this review, we have enlightened the effects of the riparian buffer zone on water quality and agricultural NPSP and how its structures and mechanisms contribute to controlling water pollution effectively. We conclude that the riparian buffer zone is an effective technique for water safety, NPSP control, and creating a suitable environment for terrestrial and aquatic species. Moreover, it has the potential to reduce the water temperature due to the shading effect and sustain water habitat acting as a climate adaptation tools. Buffer zones should be adopted for agricultural non-point source pollution and achieve environmental sustainability. However, the long-term influence of the riparian buffer zone on trapping NPS pollutants, soil properties, and groundwater quality is s research gap.

Substance flow analysis as a tool for urban water management

Niche construction within riparian corridors. Part II: The unexplored role of positive intraspecific interactions in Salicaceae species

<em>Abstract</em>.—Reservoir fishery managers have traditionally viewed reservoirs as stand-alone systems and emphasized in-lake management practices such as controlling selected fish populations, restraining and promoting harvest, and enhancing fish habitat. However, reservoirs do not always respond to in-lake approaches that ignore important factors operating outside the reservoir. I propose an expanded concept where reservoirs are viewed as parts of the landscape and influenced by tributaries, riparian zones, watersheds, and position in the river basin. The influence of tributaries over reservoir fish assemblages ranges from almost none in reservoirs positioned high in a basin where lacustrine fish assemblages prevail to a large effect in downstream reservoirs where riverine fish assemblages prevail. Many species inhabiting reservoirs typically require tributaries to complete their life cycle, or at least their abundance in the reservoir is enhanced by access to flowing water and upriver floodplain lakes. Riparian and buffer zones surrounding tributaries and the reservoir trap sediments and nutrients, reduce wind and associated wave action, provide bank stability and woody debris, and improve esthetics. Direct links between riparian zones and reservoir fish assemblages have received limited research attention, but evidence indicates that riparian plant debris enhances fish species richness, predator–prey interactions, and recruitment of selected species in the littoral zone. Imports from watersheds, including sediments, nutrients, and carbon from dissolved or particulate organic matter, interact to influence turbidity, water quality, primary production, and habitat quality. Fish assemblages are shaped by eutrophication, and organic detritus imported from highly disturbed watersheds may play a major role in promoting key detritivores. At the basin scale, abiotic characteristics, species richness, species and trophic composition, biomass, and population characteristics show longitudinal gradients along reservoir series. Basin-scale variables constrain the expression of processes at smaller scales but are seldom controllable, although an appreciation of basin patterns helps set limits for smaller-scale determinants and thereby management expectations. Extending the scale of reservoir management can enhance the manager’s ability to impact reservoir fish populations and assemblages and increase the effectiveness of traditional in-lake management measures. Nevertheless, reaching outside the reservoir through potentially segregated efforts of isolated managers may not be sustainable, especially if reservoir managers lack jurisdiction and training to reach beyond the reservoir shores. Thus, managers must participate in landscape-level partnerships to advocate landscape changes likely to benefit reservoir environments. Extending the scale of reservoir management does not mean that reservoir managers must become watershed managers, but simply that they should think about reservoirs as part of bigger systems and thereby network with those working upstream and in the watershed to advance reservoir issues.

Mountain wetlands, although limited in their spatial extent, provide many important hydrological and ecological services. There is a need to know existing beaver habitation patterns across mountain wetlands because of emerging interest in using beaver to restore and protect riparian and wetland habitats. However, there exist few inventories of wetlands, or their use as beaver habitat, for any mountain region of North America. We studied the distribution of beaver-impacted mineral wetlands and peatlands in a 7,912 km2 area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Using aerial photography and an existing wetland database, we inventoried 529 wetlands at elevations of 1,215 to 2,194 m; peat soils were found at 69 % of the 81 field verified wetlands. Wetland distribution and beaver habitation varied by physiography and jurisdiction. While 75 % of the wetlands identified were located in the foothills region, beaver were twice as likely to inhabit those in the mountain region owing to differences in land use activities and wildlife conservation measures. Wetlands inhabited by beaver had an order of magnitude greater area of open water and 12 times the number of individual open water features than those without. Beaver-enhanced open water extent has far-reaching consequences for wetland ecohydrological and biogeochemical functioning.