Identifying Watershed, Landscape, and Engineering Design Factors that Influence the Biotic Condition of Restored Streams
| Autor: | Joseph Usset, Mark Fernandez, David L. Penrose, Jean Spooner, Gregory D. Jennings, Barbara A. Doll, James Blackwell |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
restoration lcsh:Hydraulic engineering Watershed Floodplain Geography Planning and Development macroinvertebrates Site selection STREAMS Sinuosity 010501 environmental sciences Aquatic Science 01 natural sciences Biochemistry lcsh:Water supply for domestic and industrial purposes lcsh:TC1-978 rivers/streams Restoration ecology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Water Science and Technology Hydrology lcsh:TD201-500 geography geography.geographical_feature_category 010604 marine biology & hydrobiology watersheds Substrate (marine biology) Ridge Environmental science |
| Zdroj: | Water, Vol 8, Iss 4, p 151 (2016) Water; Volume 8; Issue 4; Pages: 151 |
| ISSN: | 2073-4441 |
| Popis: | Restored stream reaches at 79 sites across North Carolina were sampled for aquatic macroinvertebrates using a rapid bioassessment protocol. Morphological design parameters and geographic factors, including watershed and landscape parameters (e.g., valley slope, substrate), were also compiled for these streams. Principal component regression analyses revealed correlations between design and landscape variables with macroinvertebrate metrics. The correlations were strengthened by adding watershed variables. Ridge regression was used to find the best-fit model for predicting dominant taxa from the “pollution sensitive” orders of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies), or EPT taxa, resulting in coefficient weights that were most interpretable relative to site selection and design parameters. Results indicate that larger (wider) streams located in the mountains and foothills where there are steeper valleys, larger substrate, and undeveloped watersheds are expected to have higher numbers of dominant EPT taxa. In addition, EPT taxa numbers are positively correlated with accessible floodplain width and negatively correlated with width-to-depth ratio and sinuosity. This study indicates that both site selection and design should be carefully considered in order to maximize the resulting biotic condition and associated potential ecological uplift of the stream. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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