Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation
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Abstract
The 6.7 billion human inhabitants of the earth have the ability to drastically alter ecosystems and the populations of species that have taken eons to evolve. By better understanding how our actions affect the environment, we stand a better chance of designing successful strategies to manage ecosystems sustainably. Toward this end, the Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds (ICRW) was convened in Estes Park, CO, on September 8-11, 2008. The Conference provided a forum to present adaptive management as a practical tool for learning how to manage complex ecosystems more sustainably. Further complexity introduced by spatially variable and continuously changing environmental drivers favors this management approach because of its emphasis on adaptation in response to changing conditions or ineffective actions. For climate change in particular, an adaptive approach can more effectively accommodate the uncertainty in future climate scenarios. Scenarios compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are built on distinct economic, energy, and societal models. The scenarios predict potential changes in greenhouse gases, temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric aerosols, which would have direct or indirect impacts on the timing, volume, and quality of runoff, vegetation, snowpack, stream temperature, groundwater, thawing permafrost, and icecaps. Through presentations and field trips, researchers and stakeholders described how their findings and issues fit into the adaptive management 'learning by doing' paradigm of Assess > Design > Implement > Monitor > Evaluate > Adjust > Assess.
Table of Contents
Plenary Sessions
Abstracts......11
U.S. Forest Service Research and Development Agency Update—From the Forest to the Faucet, by K. Elder and D. Hayes......13
American Indian Tribes and the Development of Water Resources, by D. Cordalis......14
Contributions of the University Community to Watershed Research, by R.P. Hooper, D.R. Maidment, and D.B. Kirschtel ......15
The Finger Lakes Watershed Environmental Network (FLoWEN)—A Web Services– Based Approach to Environmental Monitoring Data Management, by R. LopezTorrijos, F. Pieper, and B. Houston......16
Manuscripts ......17
Managing the Uncertainties on the Colorado River System, by E. Kuhn......19
Adaptive Management of Watersheds and Related Resources, by B.K. Williams......27
The National Wildlife Refuge System and Resource Management in a Watershed Context, by A. Loranger......35
Selected Achievements, Science Directions, and New Opportunities for the WEBB Small Watershed Research Program, by P.D. Glynn, M.C. Larsen, E.A. Greene, H.L. Buss, D.W. Clow, R.J. Hunt, M.A. Mast, S.F. Murphy, N.E. Peters, S.D. Sebestyen, J.B. Shanley, and J.F. Walker......39
Climate Change Adaptation Lessons from the Land of Dry Heat, by G. Garfin, K. Jacobs, and J. Buizer ......53
An Ecosystem Services Framework for Multidisciplinary Research in the Colorado River Headwaters, by D.J. Semmens, J.S. Briggs, and D.A. Martin ......59
Engaging Stakeholders for Adaptive Management Using Structured Decision Analysis, by E.R. Irwin and K.D.M. Kennedy......65
Climate, Geology, and Geomorphology
Abstracts......69
Considerations in Defining Climate Change Scenarios for Water Resources Planning, by L.D. Brekke ......71
Understanding the Effects of Climate Change in the Yukon River Basin through a Synergistic Research Approach, by M. Walvoord, P. Schuster, and R. Striegl......72
Impacts of Coalbed Methane Development on Water Quantity and Quality in the Powder River Basin, by G.B. Paige and L.C. Munn.......74
Paleoflood Research of South Boulder Creek Basin near Boulder, Colorado, by R.D. Jarrett and J.C. Ferris ......75
Manuscripts ......77
The Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds, 8-11 September 2008, Estes Park, CO Evaluating Hydrological Response to Forecasted Land-Use Change—Scenario Testing with the Automated Geospatial Watershed Assessment (AGWA) Tool, by W.G. Kepner, D.J. Semmens, M. Hernandez, and D.C. Goodrich......79
Environmental Effects of Hydrothermal Alteration and Historical Mining on Water and Sediment Quality in Central Colorado, by S.E. Church, D.L. Fey, T.L. Klein, T.S. Schmidt, R.B. Wanty, E.H. DeWitt, B.W. Rockwell, and C.A. SanJuan ...... 85
U.S. Geological Survey Research in Handcart Gulch, Colorado—An Alpine Watershed with Natural Acid-Rock Drainage, by A.H. Manning, J.S. Caine, P.L. Verplanck, D.J. Bove, and K.G. Kahn ......97
Water Quality Impacts from Agricultural Land Use in Karst Drainage Basins of SW Kentucky and SW China, by T.W. Baker and C.G. Groves......103
Impacts of Forest Management on Runoff and Erosion, by W.J. Elliot and B.D. Glaza.... 117 Modeled Watershed Runoff Associated with Variations in Precipitation Data, with Implications for Contaminant Fluxes—Initial Results, by H.E. Golden, C.D. Knightes, E.J. Cooter, and R.L. Dennis ......129
Post-Fire Watershed Response at the Wildland-Urban Interface, Southern California, by P.M. Wohlgemuth, K.R. Hubbert, J.L. Beyers, and M.G. Narog ......137
Hydrology, Biogeochemistry, and Ecology
Abstracts......143
Isotopic Signatures of Precipitation Quantify the Importance of Different Climate Patterns to the Hydrologic Budget—An Example from the Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico, by M.A. Scholl and J.B. Shanley ......145
Mercury Cycling Research Using the Small Watershed Approach, by J. Shanley and A. Chalmers ......146
Manuscripts......147
Soil Evaporative Response to Lehmann Lovegrass Eragrostis lehmanniana Invasion in a Semiarid Watershed, by M.S. Moran, E.P. Hamerlynck, R.L. Scott, W.E. Emmerich, and C.D. Holifield Collins......149
Using a Coupled Groundwater/Surface-Water Model to Predict Climate-Change Impacts to Lakes in the Trout Lake Watershed, Northern Wisconsin, by J.F. Walker, R.J. Hunt, S.L. Markstrom, L.E. Hay, and J. Doherty......155
Using Passive Capillary Samplers to Collect Soil-Meltwater Endmembers for Stable Isotope Analysis, by M.D. Frisbee, F.M. Phillips, A.R. Campbell, and J.M.H. Henrickx ......163
Using High Frequency Sampling to Detect Effects of Atmospheric Pollutants on Stream Chemistry, by S.D. Sebestyen, J.B. Shanley, and E.W. Boyer......171
Flowpath Contributions of Weathering Products to Stream Fluxes at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed, Georgia, by N.E. Peters and B.T. Aulenbach ......177
Responses of Benthic Macroinvertebrates to Urbanization in Nine Metropolitan Areas of the Conterminous United States, by T.F. Cuffney, G. McMahon, R. Kashuba, J.T. May, and I.R. Waite ....... 187
Aquatic Ecosystems in Central Colorado Are Influenced by Mineral Forming Processes and Historical Mining, by T.S. Schmidt, S.E. Church, W.H. Clements, K.A. Mitchell, D.L. Fey, R.B. Wanty, P.L. Verplanck, C.A. San Juan, T.L. Klein, E.H. DeWitt, and B.W. Rockwell ......195
Timber Harvest and Turbidity in North Coastal California Watersheds, by R.D. Klein...... 207
The Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds, 8-11 September 2008, Estes Park, CO ix Facilitating Adaptive Management in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed through the Use of Online Decision Support Tools, by C. Mullinix, S. Phillips, K. Shenk, P. Hearn, and O. Devereux ......213
Poster Session and Field Trip Orientation
Abstracts......219
Reflections on the July 31, 1976, Big Thompson Flood, Colorado Front Range, USA, by R.D. Jarrett and J.E. Costa ...... 221
Climate-Induced Changes in High Elevation Nitrogen Dynamics, by J.S. Baron, T.M. Schmidt, and M.D. Hartman...... 222
Potential Climate Impacts on the Hydrology of High Elevation Catchments, Colorado Front Range, by M.W. Williams, K.H. Hill, N. Caine, J.R. Janke, and T. Kittel...... 223
Manuscripts ......225
Monitoring Hydrological Changes Related to Western Juniper Removal—A Paired Watershed Approach, by T.L. Deboodt, M.P. Fisher, J.C. Buckhouse, and J. Swanson ...... 227
A Study on Seed Dispersal by Hydrochory in Floodplain Restoration, by H. Hayashi, Y. Shimatani, and Y. Kawaguchi......233
Lessons Learned in Calibrating and Monitoring a Paired Watershed Study in Oregon’s High Desert, by M. Fisher, T. Deboodt, J. Buckhouse, and J. Swanson...... 237
Hydrologic Instrumentation and Data Collection in Wyoming, by G.B. Paige, S.N. Miller, T.J. Kelleners, and S.T. Gray......241
Advanced Spatial and Temporal Rainfall Analyses for Use in Watershed Models, by D. Hultstrand, T. Parzybok, E. Tomlinson, and B. Kappel...... 245
Primary Factors Affecting Water Quality and Quantity in Four Watersheds in Eastern Puerto Rico, by S.F. Murphy and R.F. Stallard ......251
Human Impacts and Management
Abstracts......257
The Importance of Considering Aquifer Susceptibility and Uncertainty in Developing Water Management and Policy Guidelines, by T. Wellman ......259
Water Quality Screening Tools—A Practical Approach, by B. Houston and R. Klosowski .......260
Herbicide Transport Trends in Goodwater Creek Experimental Watershed, by R.N. Lerch, E.J. Sadler, K.A. Sudduth, and C. Baffaut ...... 261
A Watershed Condition Assessment of Rocky Mountain National Park Using the FLoWS Tools, by D.M. Theobald and J.B. Norman ...... 262
Manuscripts .......263
Long-Term Patterns of Hydrologic Response after Logging in a Coastal Redwood Forest, by E. Keppeler, L. Reid, and T. Lisle ......265
Recognizing Change in Hydrologic Functions and Pathways due to Historical Agricultural Use—Implications to Hydrologic Assessments and Modeling, by C.C. Trettin, D.M. Amatya, C. Kaufman, N. Levine, and R.T. Morgan .......273
Integrating Terrestrial LiDAR and Stereo Photogrammetry to Map the Tolay Lakebed in Northern San Francisco Bay, by I. Woo, R. Storesund, J.Y. Takekawa, R.J. Gardiner, and S. Ehret...... 279
Does Climate Matter? Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change on Future Ethiopian Hydropower, by P. Block and C. Brown ...... 285
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Planning for an uncertain future - Monitoring, integration, and adaptation |
| Series title | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Series number | 2009-5049 |
| DOI | 10.3133/sir20095049 |
| Year Published | 2009 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Fort Collins Science Center |
| Description | Report: xii, 293 p.; Available online and on DVD-ROM |
| Larger Work Type | Report |
| Larger Work Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Larger Work Title | Proceedings of the Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds |
| Time Range Start | 2008-09-08 |
| Time Range End | 2008-09-11 |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |