Abstract
Seasonal rainfall dynamics in Mediterranean-climate coastal California place pressures on humans and aquatic ecosystems. Without rainfall during summer, residents and land managers commonly turn to streams and adjacent shallow aquifers to meet domestic, irrigation, and recreational water needs, often depleting the water necessary to support stream biota. The potential for adverse ecological impacts within this coupled natural-human system has led to interest in restoring summer base flow (especially for federally protected steelhead and coho salmon, which depend on flow through the summer dry season for juvenile survival) through methods such as reducing dry-season water abstractions. Characterizing constraints and opportunities has proven useful for planning streamflow restoration in Mediterranean-climate coastal California. Biophysical parameters such as ample rainfall and very low summer discharge are critical considerations, but institutional parameters are equally important: regional management practices and state laws can inhibit streamflow restoration, and implementation is dependent on interrelationships among residents, agency staff, and other stakeholders (which we term the egosystem) within each watershed. Additionally, while watershed-scale spatial analysis and field-based evaluations provided a solid foundation for exploring streamflow restoration needs, adaptation based on information from local stakeholders was often essential for prioritizing projects and understanding whether projects will have their intended benefits.
Highlights
In Mediterranean-climate coastal California, sustaining adequate summer base flow has been recognized as a key factor for maintaining aquatic organisms and ecosystem services [1,2].The seasonality of precipitation, manifested almost entirely as rainfall during the rainy winter season, results in base flow that steadily recedes through spring and summer and often reaches intermittence.While the flow regime of a handful of major rivers in coastal Mediterranean California are controlled by large reservoirs, this recession trend is a characteristic feature of non-regulated streams in this region ranging from first-order headwater streams to seventh-order rivers [3,4]
We describe the constraints and the opportunities that have arisen as our partnership of conservation-oriented non-governmental organizations working in non-regulatory collaborative partnerships with resource agencies and local stakeholders have worked to restore base flow in Mediterranean-climate coastal California; and we share the initial outcomes of streamflow restoration actions in three watersheds in the region
Characterizing opportunities and constraints has helped to provide a roadmap for streamflow restoration in Mediterranean-climate coastal California
Summary
In Mediterranean-climate coastal California, sustaining adequate summer base flow has been recognized as a key factor for maintaining aquatic organisms and ecosystem services [1,2]. While the flow regime of a handful of major rivers in coastal Mediterranean California are controlled by large reservoirs, this recession trend is a characteristic feature of non-regulated streams in this region ranging from first-order headwater streams to seventh-order rivers [3,4]. These climatic variations can have detrimental impacts on aquatic communities [5,6]; but they result in high biodiversity [7,8]. We describe the constraints and the opportunities that have arisen as our partnership of conservation-oriented non-governmental organizations working in non-regulatory collaborative partnerships with resource agencies and local stakeholders have worked to restore base flow in Mediterranean-climate coastal California; and we share the initial outcomes of streamflow restoration actions in three watersheds in the region
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
